[Data studies](/studies) / State licensing leaderboards # State licensing leaderboards: where new business licenses are being issued Which states and license types are issuing the most new licenses, from the open state and city licensing datasets Zalwin tracks: contractors, liquor and cannabis, child care, health, vehicles and more. **Across 18 state and city licensing datasets, 18,136 new license records are dated in the 90 days from 2026-08-07 to 2026-11-05 (counting a license that appears in two datasets once).** Data as of 2026-11-05 · Updated every 6 hours as each licensing dataset refreshes; the window is the 90 days to the update date. Copy citation ## Key findings - Across 18 state and city licensing datasets, 18,136 new license records are dated in the 90 days from 2026-08-07 to 2026-11-05 (counting a license that appears in two datasets once). [#](#finding-1) - New York leads with 11,138 new license records (61.4%) across 7 dataset(s), ahead of Washington with 3,729. [#](#finding-2) - The busiest single dataset is New Liquor & Cannabis Licenses and Pending Applications (NY, CO, OR, MO, TX), with 10,925 records in the period (most in New York); its most common license type is Bar, restaurant or venue (on-premises). [#](#finding-3) New license records by state, last 90 days (tracked datasets). [Chart data (CSV)](/studies/state-licensing-leaderboards/by-state.csv) · [SVG](/studies/state-licensing-leaderboards/by-state.svg) Embed this chartFree to embed with the source link. Paste this HTML:

Source: Zalwin State licensing leaderboards

Busiest licensing datasets, last 90 days. [Chart data (CSV)](/studies/state-licensing-leaderboards/by-dataset.csv) · [SVG](/studies/state-licensing-leaderboards/by-dataset.svg) Embed this chartFree to embed with the source link. Paste this HTML:

Source: Zalwin State licensing leaderboards

- [New Liquor & Cannabis Licenses and Pending Applications (NY, CO, OR, MO, TX)](/research/liquorcannabislicensepulse): 10,925 - [Newly Licensed Contractors in Washington State (L&I)](/research/contractorlicensepulse): 5,079 - [Washington L&I Contractor License Data Pulse](/research/wacontractorlicensepulse): 2,977 - [Washington L&I Contractor License Pulse](/research/wacontractorlicense4xk5pulse): 2,356 - [Newly Licensed Child Care Centers & After-School Programs (TX, NY, PA, WA, MA)](/research/childcarecenterlicensepulse): 1,799 - [State of Missouri Licensee Excise Tax Reported Commercial Feed](/research/molicenseeexcisetaxpulse): 624 - [State of Colorado Liquor Licenses in Colorado Commercial Feed](/research/coliquorlicensescoloradopulse): 249 - [New NY Car Dealers, Repair Shops & Inspection Stations (DMV)](/research/nyautofacilitylicensepulse): 149 - [New Washington Car Dealers, Transporters & Tow Licenses](/research/wavehiclebusinesslicensepulse): 126 - [State of Delaware Delaware Business Licenses Commercial Feed](/research/dedelawarebusinesslicensespulse): 89 - [Montgomery County MD HHS - Bodyworks Licenses From July 2024 and Onwa Pulse](/research/mdhhsbodyworkslicensesjupulse): 73 - [Illinois Professional Licensing Pulse](/research/ilprofessionallicensingpulse): 41 - [Montgomery County MD Door-To-Door Vendor's License Pulse](/research/mddoordoorvendorlicensepulse): 37 - [New York State Currently Licensed Real Estate Appraisers Commercial Feed](/research/nycurrentlylicensedrealpulse): 27 - [New York City License Applications Commercial Feed](/research/nyclicenseapplicationspulse): 26 ## Licensing datasets, last 90 days | Dataset | Top state | Records | Most common type | |---|---|---|---| | New Liquor & Cannabis Licenses and Pending Applications (NY, CO, OR, MO, TX) | New York | 10,925 | Bar, restaurant or venue (on-premises) | | Newly Licensed Contractors in Washington State (L&I) | New York | 5,079 | Public-works contractor (NY registry) | | Washington L&I Contractor License Data Pulse | Washington | 2,977 | CC | | Washington L&I Contractor License Pulse | Washington | 2,356 | CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTOR | | Newly Licensed Child Care Centers & After-School Programs (TX, NY, PA, WA, MA) | Pennsylvania | 1,799 | Child care center | | State of Missouri Licensee Excise Tax Reported Commercial Feed | Missouri | 624 | General Commercial Filings | | State of Colorado Liquor Licenses in Colorado Commercial Feed | Colorado | 249 | General Commercial Filings | | New NY Car Dealers, Repair Shops & Inspection Stations (DMV) | New York | 149 | Repair or body shop | | New Washington Car Dealers, Transporters & Tow Licenses | Washington | 126 | Vehicle dealer or manufacturer | | State of Delaware Delaware Business Licenses Commercial Feed | Delaware | 89 | Licensing & Registrations | | Montgomery County MD HHS - Bodyworks Licenses From July 2024 and Onwa Pulse | Maryland | 73 | 67006 | | Illinois Professional Licensing Pulse | Illinois | 41 | LICENSED PSYCHOLOGICAL PARTNERSHIP | | Montgomery County MD Door-To-Door Vendor's License Pulse | Maryland | 37 | 226169 | | New York State Currently Licensed Real Estate Appraisers Commercial Feed | New York | 27 | Licensing & Registrations | | New York City License Applications Commercial Feed | New York | 26 | General Commercial Filings | | Austin TX Hotel, Motel, and B&B Licenses Pulse | Texas | 10 | Hotel | | New York State Licensed Elevator Contractors & Inspectors | New York | 6 | Elevator inspection contractor | | City of Cincinnati Licenses and Use Permits Commercial Feed | Ohio | 1 | Licensing & Registrations | ## Methodology and data provenance - Source: State and city open-data licensing portals (one per dataset; see each dataset page). 18 datasets with an issue or filing date; 2026-08-07 to 2026-11-05. - Counts are records in each dataset whose issue or filing date falls in the window; datasets whose date column is mostly in the future (an expiry date) are left out. - Coverage follows which jurisdictions publish open licensing data: a state ranks by the datasets tracked here, not by every license it issues. - State totals count a license once when it appears in more than one dataset (same holder, state and date); dataset rows show each dataset’s own count. - Organization-level records only. - Updated every 6 hours as each licensing dataset refreshes; the window is the 90 days to the update date. - Organization-level public records only. Informational; verify individual records at the official source. ### Cite or embed this study Zalwin, "State licensing leaderboards: where new business licenses are being issued" (data as of 2026-11-05), https://zalwin.com/studies/state-licensing-leaderboards Copy citation Journalists, researchers and bloggers may republish these charts with a link to this page. The chart data is free to download as CSV. [Statistics for every dataset](/research) [All data studies](/studies)