Business Vitality - Establishments Surviving 5 Years
Establishments Surviving 5 Years
49.8%
7th of 13 States
Colorado Data
1-year survival (Businesses started 2017)
Colorado: 81.1%
United States: 79.4%
Colorado: 81.1%
United States: 79.4%
10-year survival (Businesses started 2007)
Colorado: 31.9%
United States: 33.7%
Colorado: 31.9%
United States: 33.7%
Why do we track this? Some portion of new businesses will fail. Some of the causes for business failures lie within a business's design, management or financial structure. Even luck and timing may boost or stress a fledgling company. Some of the factors that lead to problems in new businesses can be mitigated with support and education for novice business owners, such as those provided by Small Business Development Centers and smart regulatory policies that support healthy business growth and competition. Small businesses create and sustain new jobs, and as these businesses grow they impact a community through employment, tax revenue and the benefit of the goods and services they provide to a region.
Why did we use this source? The BLS BED program includes all private industry employers who must participate in the Unemployment Insurance program.
The data is free to access, use and share. It is consistently produced every year. The Census data set used in one of the charts does not track business survival and has a broader definition of "business start" than the BLS data.
Data Sources
- U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics Business Employment Dynamics. "Establishment Age and Survival Data" at National and State levels. Values reported as of March 1 for each year.
- U.S. Census Bureau Business Formation Statistics. Values presented here are calculated in a Q3 previous - Q2 current year manner to align more closely with July 1 current year population estimates. "Business Applications" excludes EIN applications for non-businesses (such as household employers or trusts) and EINs in NAICS sector 11 (Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting)
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates. Population estimates as of July 1 for each year since 2010.
Related Dashboard Measures
- Loans to Businesses under $1M Revenue (Business Vitality)
- STTR/SBIR Awards to Businesses (Business Vitality)
Additional Information and Other Data Sources
- What are the major reasons for small business failure? U.S. Small Business Administration (archive.org)
- Do economic or industry factors affect business survival? U.S. Small Business Administration. Small Business Facts.
- Entrepreneurship and the U.S. Economy. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Blog-style overview of BED dataset with additional charts and discussion of national trends.
- Kaufman Foundation Main Street Entrepreneurship Index. The Kaufman Foundation publishes several leading indexes for business creation activities.