How many new businesses were started in McHenry County in 2020?
Looking at data on new business applications in 2020
This week, we’re taking a look at the number of new businesses started in McHenry County in 2020. Every year, the Census Bureau releases data on how many new business applications were filed in states and counties.
In 2020, 2,163 applications for new businesses were filed in McHenry County. That represents a 0.56% increase from 2019 and the highest number since 2010.
I also wanted to compare the growth to the rest of the collar counties by looking at the increase in new business applications from 2019 to 2020.
You can see that McHenry County had the lowest increase in new business applications among the collar counties—by quite a bit.
Nationwide, new business applications soared. Those new businesses could represent people entering entrepreneurship after being let go from full-time jobs or entrepreneurs starting new businesses after they had to shutter another venture during the pandemic.
All of this makes the small increase in McHenry County even more notable, although there is no single way to explain it. (The Census Bureau also releases detailed employment statistics by county, but 2020 data won’t be available until spring 2022.)
You can look back at our post from earlier this year that looked at the unemployment rate and labor force to add some additional context.