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GDP & Growth · August 14, 2026 · 2 min read

Census Data Showed 578,926 Seasonally Adjusted U.S. Business Applications in July

By Econ Data Tools Editorial Team

Published August 14, 2026 • Updated August 21, 2026

The Census Bureau’s Business Formation Statistics reported 578,926 seasonally adjusted U.S. business applications in July 2026, up 8.1% from June; high-propensity applications totaled 151,857.

CONFIRMED FACTS The U.S. Census Bureau’s Business Formation Statistics (BFS) monthly file reported 578,926 seasonally adjusted business applications for the United States in July 2026. The June 2026 value in the same series was 535,690, so the July level was 43,236 higher, or 8.1%, using the published values. July 2025 was 469,274. The same Census file reported 151,857 seasonally adjusted high-propensity business applications (HBA) in July 2026, compared with 149,792 in June. Census defines HBA as applications whose characteristics on IRS Form SS-4 are associated with a high rate of business formation. The file also reported 35,024 seasonally adjusted applications with planned wages in July, versus 35,587 in June. Census defines applications with planned wages as HBA that indicate a first wages-paid date on Form SS-4. ANALYSIS The data show a month-over-month increase in the seasonally adjusted applications series, while the HBA increase was more modest and the planned-wages series declined. Business applications are applications for Employer Identification Numbers filtered for business purposes; they are not a count of operating firms, payroll jobs, or realized business formations. The figures therefore provide a timely reading on applications rather than a direct measure of new employer-business creation. UNKNOWNS AND LIMITS Census states that business formations are employer businesses that originate from applications, and that formation measures have endpoints determined by the availability of administrative payroll data. The July applications figures do not establish how many applications will become employer businesses, when any will do so, their employment, survival, financing, or economic output. Census also notes that seasonally adjusted BFS data use X-13 ARIMA-SEATS and that the series can be revised, including during annual updates. UPDATE LOG Published August 14, 2026 after direct review of the Census Bureau’s July 2026 BFS monthly CSV and its definitions page. Live Data Briefs were checked for duplicate slug, canonical source URL, and substantive overlap before publication.

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