The Age of Oregon’s Private Business Establishments
May 26, 2026Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Business Employment Dynamics (BED) program can help measure the role of younger and older businesses in the Oregon labor market. The BED program uses data from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages to measure employment and business survival rates by the age of privately owned establishments. An establishment is defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as an economic unit that produces goods or services, usually at a single physical location, and engages in one or predominantly one activity. In contrast, a firm can comprise one or more establishments under a common ownership by a corporate parent. The age of establishments is defined using the first quarter during which an establishment reports positive employment.
In March 2025, Oregon was home to 134,104 private business establishments, which employed over 1,650,000 workers. About 20,600 of those establishments (15%) were born before March 1993 and employed 40% of all private-sector workers. On the other side of the spectrum, 12,100 private establishments were less than one year old, representing 9% of all establishments. In contrast to the oldest businesses, these young businesses only employ 2% of all private workers.
Oregon trended very similarly to the United States overall. With about 9,327,400 private establishments across the U.S., 11% of those establishments were less than a year old in March 2025, and they employed 3% of U.S. private employees. Oregon’s oldest businesses represented a slightly larger share than the U.S.’s. Across the U.S., establishments born before March 1993 made up 14% of all private establishments and employed 38% of workers.
| Establishment Age Class | Establishments | Employment | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 134,104 | 1,658,816 | ||
| Less than 1 year | 12,127 | 9.0% | 35,729 | 2.2% |
| 1 year to 5 years | 39,957 | 29.8% | 201,981 | 12.2% |
| 6 to 10 years | 21,287 | 15.9% | 168,780 | 10.2% |
| 11 to 15 years | 12,787 | 9.5% | 146,325 | 8.8% |
| 16 to 20 years | 9,932 | 7.4% | 141,867 | 8.6% |
| 21 to 25 years | 9,232 | 6.9% | 140,433 | 8.5% |
| 26 to 31 years | 8,101 | 6.0% | 155,129 | 9.4% |
| Born before March 1993 | 20,681 | 15.4% | 668,572 | 40.3% |
Looking at the last 10 years, there has been a shift both in the age of establishments and where employment in those establishments was concentrated. From 2015 to 2025, the share of private establishments that were 21 years and older has remained relatively stable. Over those years, the share of older private establishments has remained between 27% and 30%. However, the share of Oregon establishments between 11 and 20 years old has decreased from 23% in 2015 to 17% in 2025. The youngest of establishments, those 10 years and younger, has increased from 48% in 2015 to 55% in 2025. Oregon experienced a similar trend to the U.S. overall. In the U.S., establishments less than 10 years old increased from 52% in 2015 to 57% in 2025, while establishments 21 years and older remained relatively flat, and those 11 to 20 years old decreased from 22% to 17%.
At the same time the average age of establishments was decreasing, the share of Oregon employment became more concentrated in older businesses. The share of employment in businesses 21 years and older increased from 53% in 2015 to 58% in 2025. The share of employment in businesses between 11 and 20 years old decreased from 23% to 17% in 2025. The share of employment at establishments 10 years and younger was between 23% and 25% over the last decade. The same trend was seen across the U.S., with the share of employment at businesses ages 21 years or older increasing from 49% in 2015 to 57% in 2025.