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Data and charts

How long new businesses last

Thirty years of opening-year groups, the same shape every time: a steep first five years, then a long, slow tail.

An establishment is one location of a business, so closures include sales and mergers as well as failures. The data does not show whether any program changes these odds.

These figures describe all new U.S. businesses, not WE's results.

View 1 of 3

Six groups, one shape

Each small chart is one opening-year group, on the same axes. The groups opened in different economies, in 1994, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020, and the first years look alike.

Share of establishments still open, by years since opening, six opening-year groups Same axes, six decades of openings: the shape of the first years barely changes.
  • All private industries
  • Information
  • Professional, scientific and technical
Share of establishments still open, by years since opening, six opening-year groups Six small charts, one per opening-year group from 1994 to 2020, drawn on the same axes. In every group the share still open falls steeply in the first five years and then flattens; later groups are drawn only as far as they have been observed. Opened 1994 0 50 100 0102030 Opened 2000 0 50 100 0102030 Opened 2005 0 50 100 0102030 Opened 2010 0 50 100 0102030 Opened 2015 0 50 100 0102030 Opened 2020 0 50 100 0102030
Show the data as a table
Share of establishments still open, by years since opening, six opening-year groups
GroupSeriesAt year 0At year 1At year 2At year 3At year 5At year 7At year 10At year 15At year 20At year 25At year 30
Opened 1994All private industries100.0%79.6%68.1%60.6%49.6%41.5%33.6%25.5%20.3%16.6%13.1%
Opened 1994Information100.0%78.6%67.0%58.7%45.7%36.9%28.1%21.3%15.7%11.5%8.9%
Opened 1994Professional, scientific and technical100.0%80.6%69.7%62.1%51.3%42.6%34.0%25.8%20.0%15.7%12.1%
Opened 2000All private industries100.0%78.4%66.0%58.2%48.2%41.6%32.9%26.3%20.8%16.5%n/a
Opened 2000Information100.0%72.6%52.9%43.3%33.5%26.9%20.4%14.5%10.9%8.7%n/a
Opened 2000Professional, scientific and technical100.0%78.4%64.2%55.8%45.5%38.8%30.3%22.6%17.3%13.4%n/a
Opened 2005All private industries100.0%80.1%68.7%60.2%46.8%40.5%33.8%25.5%19.5%n/an/a
Opened 2005Information100.0%76.8%62.4%53.8%40.9%33.3%25.0%17.4%13.5%n/an/a
Opened 2005Professional, scientific and technical100.0%79.3%67.5%59.2%45.4%38.5%30.8%22.4%17.0%n/an/a
Opened 2010All private industries100.0%78.6%68.6%61.6%51.1%43.0%35.3%25.5%n/an/an/a
Opened 2010Information100.0%76.6%64.5%55.6%43.1%35.5%27.4%19.3%n/an/an/a
Opened 2010Professional, scientific and technical100.0%77.0%65.0%56.9%45.9%38.2%29.7%21.3%n/an/an/a
Opened 2015All private industries100.0%79.6%69.1%61.4%50.2%43.6%34.7%n/an/an/an/a
Opened 2015Information100.0%80.8%70.0%60.8%46.8%38.6%30.0%n/an/an/an/a
Opened 2015Professional, scientific and technical100.0%81.6%71.2%63.0%50.3%43.2%34.3%n/an/an/an/a
Opened 2020All private industries100.0%80.9%72.3%63.6%51.4%n/an/an/an/an/an/a
Opened 2020Information100.0%79.6%67.5%59.0%45.7%n/an/an/an/an/an/a
Opened 2020Professional, scientific and technical100.0%83.3%72.2%64.0%50.8%n/an/an/an/an/an/a

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics, Table 7 , Data through March 2025 ; BLS Business Employment Dynamics, Table 7, Information (NAICS 51) , Data through March 2025 ; BLS Business Employment Dynamics, Table 7, Professional and technical services (NAICS 54) , Data through March 2025

Retrieved 2026-10-15. Values are copied as printed. Years since opening are the number of Marches after the opening year.

View 2 of 3

The risk is front-loaded

In year 1 about one in five establishments closes. By year 13 the yearly figure is between 4 and 6 in 100. The longer a business has lasted, the more likely it is to last another year.

Share of survivors that close in each year of life, seven opening-year groups The risk is front-loaded: year 1 is by far the hardest, and it keeps easing for a decade.
Share of survivors that close in each year of life, seven opening-year groups Seven curves, one per opening-year group, show the percent of establishments open at the start of a year that are gone by the next March. Each curve peaks in year 1, at 20 to 23 percent, and falls to between 4 and 6.5 percent by year 13. 135791113 1994199720002003200620092012 Year of life. Every curve uses the same vertical scale, 0 to 25%.
Show the data as a table
Share of survivors that close in each year of life, seven opening-year groups
GroupAt year of life 1At year of life 2At year of life 3At year of life 4At year of life 5At year of life 6At year of life 7At year of life 8At year of life 9At year of life 10At year of life 11At year of life 12At year of life 13
199420.4%14.4%11%10.4%8.6%8.8%8.3%7.6%6.7%5.9%5.5%4.5%5.4%
199721.5%13%11.9%11.8%10.2%8.3%7.3%7%5.4%6.1%5.8%7.1%5.9%
200021.6%15.8%11.8%9.3%8.6%7.3%7%7.2%8%7.4%5%4.6%4%
200320.7%13.7%10.2%10%9.6%10.3%8.7%6.9%5.4%5.1%5.5%4.9%5.2%
200621.7%15.4%14.5%12.1%8.8%6.8%6.4%6.4%6.2%5.9%5.4%5.6%5.5%
200923.3%13.4%9.8%8.5%8.5%7.9%7.3%7%6.3%6.1%6.6%5.9%4.7%
201220.8%13.3%10.9%9.6%9.4%7.5%7.4%7.6%6.8%5.6%7.6%6.5%6.3%

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics, Table 7 , Data through March 2025

Retrieved 2026-10-15. Each value is 100 minus the published survival rate of the previous year's survivors (all private industries).

View 3 of 3

Every group, every industry, one band

Each dot is one opening-year group at year 5. Across 27 groups, the all-industry figure stays in a narrow band near half. Information, which includes software publishing, sits lower; professional and technical services sits close to the total.

Share still open at year 5, every opening-year group from 1994 to 2020 Twenty-seven groups, three industries: about half of all establishments are gone by year 5, and the number barely moves from group to group.
Share still open at year 5, every opening-year group from 1994 to 2020 Three rows of 27 dots, one per opening-year group, show the share of establishments still open five years after opening: all private industries, Information, and Professional, scientific and technical services. Every dot falls between about 33 and 53 percent. 30% 35% 40% 45% 50% 55% All private industries Information Professional, scientificand technical
Show the data as a table
Share still open at year 5, every opening-year group from 1994 to 2020
RowOpening-year groupValue
All private industriesOpened 199449.6%
All private industriesOpened 199548.8%
All private industriesOpened 199648.1%
All private industriesOpened 199747.6%
All private industriesOpened 199848.1%
All private industriesOpened 199948.2%
All private industriesOpened 200048.2%
All private industriesOpened 200148.1%
All private industriesOpened 200250.1%
All private industriesOpened 200349.9%
All private industriesOpened 200448.4%
All private industriesOpened 200546.8%
All private industriesOpened 200645.4%
All private industriesOpened 200746.4%
All private industriesOpened 200847.8%
All private industriesOpened 200950.1%
All private industriesOpened 201051.1%
All private industriesOpened 201150.9%
All private industriesOpened 201250.1%
All private industriesOpened 201350.6%
All private industriesOpened 201450.8%
All private industriesOpened 201550.2%
All private industriesOpened 201650.7%
All private industriesOpened 201751.6%
All private industriesOpened 201851.9%
All private industriesOpened 201951.5%
All private industriesOpened 202051.4%
InformationOpened 199445.7%
InformationOpened 199542.5%
InformationOpened 199642%
InformationOpened 199740.2%
InformationOpened 199841%
InformationOpened 199938.6%
InformationOpened 200033.5%
InformationOpened 200132.6%
InformationOpened 200239.1%
InformationOpened 200341.6%
InformationOpened 200443%
InformationOpened 200540.9%
InformationOpened 200641.9%
InformationOpened 200742.9%
InformationOpened 200840%
InformationOpened 200940.8%
InformationOpened 201043.1%
InformationOpened 201141.2%
InformationOpened 201242.7%
InformationOpened 201344.3%
InformationOpened 201445.7%
InformationOpened 201546.8%
InformationOpened 201648.4%
InformationOpened 201748.1%
InformationOpened 201844.2%
InformationOpened 201945.4%
InformationOpened 202045.7%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 199451.3%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 199550.2%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 199648.6%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 199747%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 199845.9%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 199945.1%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 200045.5%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 200144.2%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 200247.4%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 200348.3%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 200448.3%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 200545.4%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 200644.5%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 200744.5%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 200843.5%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 200945%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 201045.9%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 201145.1%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 201244.9%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 201346.3%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 201450.5%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 201550.3%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 201652.4%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 201752.8%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 201850.2%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 201950.7%
Professional, scientific and technicalOpened 202050.8%

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics, Table 7 , Data through March 2025 ; BLS Business Employment Dynamics, Table 7, Information (NAICS 51) , Data through March 2025 ; BLS Business Employment Dynamics, Table 7, Professional and technical services (NAICS 54) , Data through March 2025

Retrieved 2026-10-15. Each dot is the published survival rate at year 5 of one opening-year group.

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Sources and method

Every figure is copied from the publisher or computed from published numbers by simple arithmetic, and says how. Figures that could not be verified are left out. These figures describe all new U.S. businesses, not WE's results.

  1. Business Employment Dynamics, Table 7: Survival of private sector establishments by opening year (Total Private)

    U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Published: Data through March 2025. Retrieved 2026-10-15.

    What WE did. Values are copied as printed: "Survival Rates Since Birth" and "Survival Rates of Previous Year's Survivors". Each opening-year group is the establishments that opened in the twelve months ended March of the year named. Ages are the number of Marches since opening.

    • The unit is the establishment (one location), not the firm: a new branch of an existing company counts as an opening.
    • Private employer establishments only; businesses with no employees are not covered.
    • An exit is not always a failure: closures include sales, mergers and voluntary closures of healthy businesses.

  2. Business Employment Dynamics, Table 7: Survival of private sector establishments by opening year (Information, NAICS 51)

    U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Published: Data through March 2025. Retrieved 2026-10-15.

    What WE did. Values are copied as printed ("Survival Rates Since Birth").

    • Information includes software publishers, telecommunications, media and data processing; it is not software alone.
    • Industry cells are small, and a published curve can rise between two years (for example the 2002 opening-year group between years 20 and 21) when establishments are reclassified. Values are shown as published.

  3. Business Employment Dynamics, Table 7: Survival of private sector establishments by opening year (Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services, NAICS 54)

    U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Published: Data through March 2025. Retrieved 2026-10-15.

    What WE did. Values are copied as printed ("Survival Rates Since Birth").

    • Includes consulting, legal, accounting, design and computer systems design.