Data Report
LLC vs Corporation Trends
28,119 business filings across 9 states analyzed by entity type. LLCs claim 66.9% of formations. Florida reaches 90% LLC. DC leads on nonprofit formations at 9%.
Total Filings
28,119
Across 9 states
LLC Share
66.9%
18,809 filings
Corp Share
10.4%
2,921 filings
Nonprofit Share
2.5%
Highest: DC at 9%
Why This Matters
LLCs now dominate business formation at 67% nationally, but the entity mix varies dramatically by state. Florida is 90% LLC while British Columbia favors corporations at 62%. These patterns shape everything from state tax revenue to regulatory burden and legal liability exposure. For founders choosing where to incorporate, this data shows what your peers are actually filing.
Overall Entity Type Breakdown
LLCs account for 66.9% of all filings across the 9 states in this dataset.
Entity Mix by State
Florida at 90% LLC, Connecticut at 89%. DC and TX skew heavily toward Other (unclassified entity types from their SOS data).
Corporation Formation Patterns
| State | LLC | Corp | Nonprofit | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FL | 6,111 | 532 | 137 | 6,787 |
| CO | 5,653 | 1,201 | 0 | 7,237 |
| CT | 4,637 | 533 | 0 | 5,195 |
| DC | 0 | 0 | 475 | 5,289 |
| IA | 1,267 | 80 | 70 | 1,421 |
| NY | 756 | 241 | 0 | 1,000 |
| OR | 385 | 39 | 0 | 538 |
| BC | 0 | 279 | 17 | 449 |
| TX | 0 | 16 | 15 | 203 |
Which states lean toward corps? BC at 62.1% corp vs. FL at 7.8%. Full analysis in the report.
Nonprofit Formation Rates
DC
9.0%
nonprofit rate
475 orgs
IA
4.9%
nonprofit rate
70 orgs
FL
2.0%
nonprofit rate
137 orgs
BC
3.8%
nonprofit rate
17 orgs
TX
7.4%
nonprofit rate
15 orgs
All 9 states
2.5%
nonprofit rate
714 orgs
DC at 9.0% nonprofit is 3.6x the dataset average. Iowa at 4.9%. Full nonprofit analysis in the report.
Monthly Formation Trends
Feb vs. March 2026 state-by-state volume shifts. Trend data in the full report.
Why does DC show 91% “Other”?
DC’s corporate registry classifies most entities as Domestic Limited Liability Company (included in LLC count for other states) under a different taxonomy. The 4,814 “Other” records in DC represent entity types that do not map directly to LLC or Corporation in the source data. The full report explains the state-by-state classification differences.
The Bottom Line
The LLC has won. Two-thirds of all new businesses choose it, and in states like Florida that number hits 90%. The corporation is fading as a startup vehicle. The interesting exceptions are jurisdictions with unusual regulatory frameworks: DC classifies most entities differently, and British Columbia still favors corporations.
For founders, the message is clear: unless you have a specific reason not to, you are forming an LLC. The combination of pass-through taxation, liability protection, and operational flexibility has made it the default structure for American entrepreneurship. The data just confirms what most business attorneys already tell their clients on day one.
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Source: Palavir’s NewFilings database (nb_businesses table), sourced from Secretary of State offices in CO, CT, DC, FL, IA, NY, OR, TX, and BC (Canada). Data covers Feb–Mar 2026. Report by Palavir LLC.