West Virginia and Pennsylvania share the second-highest rate in a new business longevity study, with 55.9% of establishments surviving five years in the Mountain State.
The first year is often treated as the biggest test for a new business, but surviving the initial launch does not necessarily mean an establishment will remain open over the longer term.
Location can also shape the environment in which a business develops. Although online companies may sell to customers across the country, hiring, premises, logistics, and access to local business networks can still depend heavily on where they are based.
With this in mind, a new study by ecommerce experts Build Your Store compared all 50 US states to identify where new employer establishments have the strongest chances of remaining active five years after opening.
The research used Business Employment Dynamics data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. It combined establishments that opened in 2018, 2019 and 2020, then measured how many remained active five years later.
West Virginia and Pennsylvania share second place, with both states recording a five-year survival rate of 55.9%. West Virginia’s result covers 8,364 establishments across the three five-year opening groups. Its one-year survival rate stands at 76.3%, while 38% of establishments from the 2015 group were still active after a decade.
Pennsylvania’s result is based on a much larger cohort of 64,353 opening establishments. It performs more strongly during the first year, with a survival rate of 78.8%, although its ten-year figure is lower at 36.4%.
The tie places both states ahead of major business markets including California, Texas, New York and Florida for establishments reaching their fifth anniversary.