The U.S. Census Bureau has released the latest Business Formation Statistics (BFS) for January 2026. The BFS offers monthly data on new business applications and formations across the United States and Puerto Rico.
According to the Census Bureau, “The BFS provide timely and high frequency information on new business applications and formations in the United States and Puerto Rico. The BFS are a standard data product of the Census Bureau, developed in research collaboration with economists affiliated with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, the University of Maryland, and the University of Notre Dame.”
The dataset includes 12 series—four covering business applications and eight tracking business formations. Data is available at national, regional, and state levels. Additionally, four monthly business application series are reported specifically for Puerto Rico.
Both seasonally adjusted and unadjusted data are included in each release. There is no accompanying news release for this update; only a tip sheet was provided.
