State reports record number of businesses

(Secretary of State’s office) Tennessee has a record number of companies registered in the state, according to the new Quarterly Business and Economic Indicators report issued by the Secretary of State’s Office.

The approximately 486,000 business entities operating in the Volunteer State represent an astounding 37.5% annual increase.

“Tennessee is proud to have such a robust business environment,” said Secretary Hargett. “Our state leaders are committed to preserving and strengthening our business climate, so Tennessee remains a place where businesses and families can succeed.”

Tennessee also saw the second largest number of new entity filings for a fourth quarter in the 25-year history of data being collected. 

The largest number of fourth quarter new entity filings in history was in 2021, which contributed to the current year-over-year number of filings declining by 2%. However, compared to pre-pandemic filings in the fourth quarter of 2019, filings this quarter are up by 58.2%. 

In the fourth quarter of 2022, 16,780 new entities were filed. A high level of business filings typically leads to growth in jobs, personal income and state revenue. Tennessee’s unemployment in December stayed at 3.5%, the same as the national rate.

The largest number of filings in the fourth quarter were in Davidson County, followed by Shelby, Knox and Hamilton counties. Together, filings in these four most-populous counties decreased 0.9% compared to Q4 2021, but Knox County filings grew 4.4%. 

In Tennessee’s other 91 counties, filings fell 10.3% from the incredibly strong Q4 2021 when filings in those counties grew an astonishing 72.7%.

“Tennessee continues to be a place where businesses thrive, with nearly a half million now registered in the state—the most since we began tracking in 1993,” said Don Bruce, director of the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research. “This strengthens the state’s tax revenues and puts Tennesseans in a good position to weather the effects of inflation.”

The Quarterly Business and Economic Indicators report provides a snapshot of the state’s economy based on key indicators, including new business data from the Secretary of State’s Division of Business and Charitable Organizations. It is published through a partnership with the University of Tennessee Knoxville’s Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research and the Secretary of State.

To review the complete Q4 2022 Tennessee Quarterly Business and Economic Indicators report and past reports, please visit www.sos.tn.gov.