Wyoming small business statistics
Wyoming produced 79,023 business applications in 2025, up 22.6% from 2024 and 301.9% from the pre-pandemic 2019 baseline. The page shows the latest employer-likely application signal, county concentration after adjusting for population, private-sector labor growth, SBA lending, unincorporated receipts, bankruptcy filings, and federal contract demand.
Public source files covering Wyoming business formation, labor, lending, proprietor income, bankruptcy, and federal contracting.
What the data shows
The topline combines new filing volume, employer-likely application quality, county concentration, labor-market structure, lending, and business stress signals.
Wyoming logged 79,023 business applications in 2025, up 22.6% from 2024 and 301.9% from the pre-pandemic 2019 baseline.
Through May 2026, total applications were up 12.6% from the same months in 2025; high-propensity applications were up 3.5%.
Sheridan filed 47,787 applications in 2025, the largest county total in Wyoming. The county signal is extreme enough to treat as filing-location intensity for follow-up reporting, not as a count of newly opened local establishments.
Professional services led both private-sector establishment and job growth since 2019.
SBA 7(a) and 504 approvals to Wyoming businesses reached $81.7M in FY2025 across 168 loans, led by retail trade, accommodation and food services, professional services, other services, and transportation and warehousing.
Business bankruptcy cases tied to Wyoming counties fell from 41 to 37 in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2026.
New business formation
Wyoming business applications reached 79,023 in 2025, up 22.6% from 2024. Through May 2026, applications were running up 12.6% from the same months in 2025.
The long comparison starts before the pandemic reset.
The 2019 comparison uses the last full pre-pandemic year. The shutdown period and the business churn that followed reshaped EIN filing patterns; high-propensity applications totaled 9,102 through May 2026, up 3.5% from Jan-May 2025. Projected business formations within eight quarters rose 13.8% over the same period.
Metric note: Census BFS counts applications for employer identification numbers. Applications are early filings; confirmed operating-business counts arrive later.
Where applications are concentrated
Sheridan dominates both raw and population-adjusted Census filing-location data. The size of the signal makes it a follow-up item rather than a normal local startup-rate read.
Wyoming's county signal needs extra caution.
The chart uses 2025 Census BFS applications divided by Census Vintage 2025 resident population estimates. Sheridan’s row is extreme: 47,787 applications, or 60.5% of statewide 2025 applications. Treat it as a filing-location signal for follow-up reporting, not proof that that many operating businesses opened in Sheridan County.
Metric note: Census BFS counts EIN applications. The denominator is 2025 resident population, not existing businesses, so this is a scale adjustment rather than a startup conversion rate.
| County | 2025 applications | Change vs 2024 | Change vs 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sheridan | 47,787 | +25.1% | +517.3% |
| Laramie | 14,904 | +57.5% | +299.7% |
| Natrona | 7,711 | -17.7% | +452.4% |
| Teton | 1,437 | +3.3% | -20.9% |
Jobs, establishments, and wages
In 2024, Wyoming had 29,070 private-sector establishments and 214,502 private-sector jobs in the QCEW annual file. Establishments changed 15.1% from 2019 to 2024; jobs changed 1.3%.
Professional services is the establishment-growth story.
Professional services added 1,368 establishments from 2019 to 2024. Professional services added 1,576 jobs over the same period.
QCEW tracks employer establishments. It is the recurring source here for jobs, wages, payroll, and local industry structure.
| Industry | 2024 establishments | Change vs 2019 | 2024 jobs | Change vs 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional services | 4,318 | +1,368 (+46.4%) | 11,416 | +1,576 (+16.0%) |
| Construction | 3,514 | +87 (+2.5%) | 23,679 | +804 (+3.5%) |
| Health care and social assistance | 3,489 | +384 (+12.4%) | 26,272 | +654 (+2.6%) |
| Administrative services | 2,168 | +553 (+34.2%) | 9,718 | +1,218 (+14.3%) |
| Accommodation and food services | 2,003 | +45 (+2.3%) | 33,948 | +516 (+1.5%) |
| Other services | 1,717 | +62 (+3.7%) | 7,452 | +264 (+3.7%) |
| Finance and insurance | 1,625 | +440 (+37.1%) | 7,173 | +256 (+3.7%) |
| Wholesale trade | 1,380 | +93 (+7.2%) | 8,047 | -347 (-4.1%) |
| Real estate and rental | 1,130 | +9 (+0.8%) | 4,108 | -155 (-3.6%) |
| Mining | 857 | -107 (-11.1%) | 16,059 | -4,705 (-22.7%) |
SBA lending
SBA 7(a) and 504 approvals to Wyoming businesses totaled $81.7M in FY2025 across 168 loans. The SBA files report 1,305 jobs supported for those approvals.
Retail trade drew the most SBA capital.
Retail trade drew $18.6M in FY2025 SBA approvals. accommodation and food services, professional services, other services, and transportation and warehousing also ranked among the top capital destinations.
SBA fiscal year 2025 ran from Oct. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2025. The source package was current as of April 28, 2026.
| Sector | FY2025 loans | FY2025 approvals | SBA jobs supported |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail trade | 31 | $18.6M | 257 |
| Accommodation and food services | 24 | $16.0M | 244 |
| Professional services | 29 | $11.3M | 216 |
| Other services | 14 | $7.7M | 64 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 8 | $6.5M | 113 |
| Manufacturing | 3 | $6.5M | 42 |
| Construction | 14 | $3.3M | 40 |
| Health care and social assistance | 8 | $2.0M | 102 |
| Mining | 4 | $1.9M | 35 |
| Finance and insurance | 3 | $1.8M | 13 |
| County | FY2025 loans | FY2025 approvals | SBA jobs supported |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laramie | 39 | $24.4M | 346 |
| Sheridan | 36 | $18.7M | 295 |
| Campbell | 12 | $5.6M | 118 |
| Park | 5 | $5.1M | 34 |
| Hot Springs | 1 | $5.0M | 51 |
| Natrona | 21 | $4.9M | 139 |
| Albany | 8 | $4.7M | 55 |
| Teton | 18 | $4.3M | 122 |
| Sweetwater | 5 | $3.9M | 46 |
| Uinta | 3 | $1.6M | 15 |
The unincorporated business economy
IRS SOI data show 69,047 Wyoming Schedules C and partnership returns/forms in Tax Year 2023. Those businesses reported $11.8B in gross receipts and $594.4M in the combined income/profit measure.
Sole proprietors account for most returns.
Wyoming had 46,705 nonfarm sole-proprietor Schedules C in Tax Year 2023, with $3.2B in gross receipts and $629.9M in net profit.
Partnerships reported more gross receipts.
Wyoming partnerships filed 22,342 Forms 1065 in Tax Year 2023 and reported $8.6B in gross receipts.
| County | Returns/forms | Gross receipts | Combined income/profit metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laramie | 11,307 | $1.4B | -$553.0M |
| Sheridan | 9,738 | $2.3B | $168.1M |
| Natrona | 8,259 | $2.1B | $325.9M |
| Teton | 6,837 | $2.0B | $218.0M |
| Park | 4,090 | $516.9M | $58.4M |
| Campbell | 4,005 | $666.9M | $49.0M |
| Fremont | 3,475 | $205.3M | $38.3M |
| Albany | 3,407 | $422.1M | $61.4M |
| Sweetwater | 2,654 | $459.1M | $95.9M |
| Lincoln | 2,465 | $485.2M | $23.3M |
Business stress signals
U.S. Courts F-5A shows 37 business bankruptcy cases tied to Wyoming counties in the 12 months ending March 31, 2026, fell from 41 in the prior 12-month period. Chapter 11 cases totaled 10.
County bankruptcy rows can move sharply.
Sheridan had the largest business-bankruptcy count in the latest F-5A table. County bankruptcy rows can move when related business cases are filed in the same venue, so this table works best as a lead for follow-up reporting.
Definition: U.S. Courts classifies debt as business when the debtor is a corporation or partnership, or when business-related debt predominates.
| County | Business cases, 12 months ending Mar. 31, 2026 | Change vs prior 12 months | Chapter 11 cases | All bankruptcy cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheridan | 7 | -1 | 4 | 32 |
| Laramie | 7 | +5 | 1 | 122 |
| Natrona | 6 | +3 | 1 | 106 |
| Albany | 4 | -4 | 0 | 21 |
| Teton | 3 | +1 | 1 | 11 |
| Johnson | 2 | +1 | 0 | 5 |
| Uinta | 2 | -1 | 2 | 35 |
| Park | 1 | -2 | 0 | 24 |
| Big Horn | 1 | +1 | 0 | 8 |
| Weston | 1 | +1 | 0 | 4 |
National credit backdrop
The 2026 Fed Small Business Credit Survey appendix reported that 94% of U.S. employer firms faced a financial challenge in 2025, 38% applied for financing, and 52% of applicants were fully approved.
Federal contract demand
USAspending reports $192.7M in FY2025 federal procurement obligations to recipients located in Wyoming. The filter covers procurement awards to WY recipients across award type codes A, B, C, and D.
| NAICS | Federal procurement category | FY2025 obligations |
|---|---|---|
| 236220 | Commercial and Institutional Building Construction | $28.9M |
| 481211 | Nonscheduled Chartered Passenger Air Transportation | $24.0M |
| 115310 | Support Activities for Forestry | $18.0M |
| 481212 | Nonscheduled Chartered Freight Air Transportation | $12.2M |
| 237310 | Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction | $9.7M |
| 541519 | Other Computer Related Services | $9.4M |
| 541512 | Computer Systems Design Services | $8.6M |
| 221320 | Sewage Treatment Facilities | $7.7M |
| 541715 | Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) | $7.1M |
| 541511 | Custom Computer Programming Services | $6.2M |
Sources and methodology
The charts and figures on this page come from public source files or APIs. Annual sources use the most recent complete year available; partial-year figures are labeled in the text.
- Census BFS monthly CSV
Updated June 10, 2026, 14:00 GMT - Census BFS county workbook
Updated June 10, 2026, 14:22 GMT - Census county population estimates
Vintage 2025 county resident population estimates - BLS QCEW annual area files
2019 and 2024 annual API files - SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA package
Updated April 28, 2026, 14:42 GMT - IRS SOI Tax Year 2023 unincorporated tables
Tax Year 2023 county combined, sole proprietor state, and partnership state tables - U.S. Courts F-5A bankruptcy XLSX
12 months ending March 31, 2026 - Fed SBCS Main Street Metrics appendix
Last updated March 23, 2026 - USAspending API
FY2025 procurement obligations
Alex Morgan edits public business datasets for SMB Statistics, including Census, BLS, SBA, IRS, U.S. Courts, Fed SBCS, and USAspending files.