Methodology: where ListRiver's business data comes from
ListRiver counts and sells records of active registered businesses taken from official state business registries. It currently holds 20.2 million records across 15 states, last updated October 16, 2026. This page explains the sources, the definitions behind every number on the site, and the limits you should know before quoting or buying the data.
Sources
Every state keeps a public registry of the businesses formed or registered there, usually run by the Secretary of State. ListRiver uses only registries that the state publishes openly and allows to be reused. We load each state's full file, put it into one layout, remove duplicates and track status changes.
Phone numbers, email addresses, websites, industry (NAICS) codes and ownership details are not in most state files. Where we have them, they come from SMBCredit.net, a small business credit bureau. Most records do not have them.
What counts as a business
- Active businesses only. A record is counted while the state lists the business as active on its register. Dissolved and defunct entities are excluded.
- One record per state filing. A business registered in more than one state has one record for each registration. These out-of-state filings are a small share of the total.
- Place is the business address. City and county figures use the business address on file. County is filled in only when a business is registered in the same state as its address.
- Entity types are grouped as LLCs, corporations, nonprofits, limited partnerships, LLPs and other.
How often the data is updated
ListRiver updates its database every week. States publish on their own schedules, from daily to monthly, so each state is only as current as its latest published file. Customers who buy a list also receive monthly refresh files that flag new and changed businesses.
| State | Active businesses | State publishes | Registered agent | Last updated |
|---|
| New York | 4,134,732 | Monthly | Included | Oct 16, 2026 |
| Florida | 3,965,810 | Daily | Included | Oct 16, 2026 |
| California | 3,637,036 | On its own schedule | Included | Oct 16, 2026 |
| Texas | 2,676,924 | Monthly | Not published | Oct 16, 2026 |
| Pennsylvania | 2,263,028 | Monthly | Not published | Oct 16, 2026 |
| Colorado | 930,878 | Daily | Included | Oct 16, 2026 |
| Virginia | 860,483 | On its own schedule | Included | Oct 16, 2026 |
| Oregon | 499,625 | Weekly | Included | Oct 16, 2026 |
| Connecticut | 407,905 | Nightly | Included | Oct 16, 2026 |
| Iowa | 292,378 | Monthly | Included | Oct 16, 2026 |
| Mississippi | 289,013 | On its own schedule | Not published | Oct 16, 2026 |
| Alaska | 73,649 | On its own schedule | Included | Oct 16, 2026 |
| District of Columbia | 72,975 | Weekly | Included | Oct 16, 2026 |
| Vermont | 69,233 | On its own schedule | Included | Oct 16, 2026 |
| Ohio | 57,839 | On its own schedule | Included | Oct 16, 2026 |
Monthly new-business counts
The monthly reports count businesses by the formation (registration) date the state reports. A business that has already been dissolved is not counted, so figures for older months can drift down slightly over time. The current month is only partly on file, so charts stop at the last complete month.
Known limits
- Ohio provides new filings only, not its historical register, so Ohio counts cover recent formations and are far smaller than the state's true total. The full-database file includes those Ohio records.
- Registered agents are not published by 3 of the 15 states (see the table above).
- Contact details are sparse. An email address is on file for about 2% of records, mostly in Connecticut. Phone numbers and websites are almost never on file. The list builder shows the exact count before you pay.
- Status lags the state. Standing and status are as each state last published them; a small share of businesses will have changed since.
- Fields vary by state. Each state publishes a different set of fields. The data dictionary lists every column.
Using and citing these figures
Journalists and researchers are welcome to use the counts on ListRiver's state, city and report pages with a link. Cite as: ListRiver, the page title, the page address, and the date you read it. Every data page shows the date its figures were current.
If your business appears in our data and something is wrong, tell us and we will correct it.