United States

Ease of Doing Business in

United States

This page shows summary Doing Business 2012 data for the United States. The first table lists the overall "Ease of Doing Business" rank (out of 183 economies) and the rankings by each topic. The rest of the tables summarize the key indicators for each topic and benchmark against regional and high-income economy (OECD) averages.

Economy Overview

Region OECD high income
Income Category High income
Population 309,712,000
GNI Per Capita (US$) 47,140.00
Doing Business 2012 Rank Doing Business 2011 Rank Change in Rank
4 4 0
Topic Rankings DB 2012 Rank DB 2011 Rank Change in Rank
Starting a Business 13 11 up -2
Dealing with Construction Permits 17 17 No change
Getting Electricity 17 16 up -1
Registering Property 16 11 up -5
Getting Credit 4 4 No change
Protecting Investors 5 5 No change
Paying Taxes 72 70 up -2
Trading Across Borders 20 20 No change
Enforcing Contracts 7 7 No change
Resolving Insolvency 15 14 up -1

Economy Profile

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Starting a Business

Info

The challenges of launching a business are shown below. Included are: the number of steps entrepreneurs can expect to go through to launch, the time it takes on average, and the cost and minimum capital required as a percentage of gross national income (GNI) per capita.

DB 2012 Rank 13 DB 2011 Rank 11 Change in Rank down-2
Indicator United States OECD high income OECD

The total number of procedures required to register a firm. A procedure is defined as any interaction of the company founders with external parties (for example, government agencies, lawyers, auditors or notaries).

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Procedures (number)
6 -- 5

The total number of days required to register a firm. The measure captures the median duration that incorporation lawyers indicate is necessary to complete a procedure with minimum follow-up with government agencies and no extra payments.

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Time (days)
6 -- 12

Cost is recorded as a percentage of the economy’s income per capita. It includes all official fees and fees for legal or professional services if such services are required by law.

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Cost (% of income per capita)
1.4 -- 4.7

The amount that the entrepreneur needs to deposit in a bank or with a notary before registration and up to 3 months following incorporation and is recorded as a percentage of the economy’s income per capita.

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Paid-in Min. Capital (% of income per capita)
0.0 -- 14.1
No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Reserve the company's business name (optional), file the company's articles of organization and adopt the company's operating agreement 1 day USD 275 (USD 200 filing fee, USD 75 expedited service fee)
2 Apply for federal identification number (EIN) for tax and employer purposes 1 day no charge
3 Register to collect State sales tax 1 day no charge
4 Register as an employer with the Unemployment Insurance Division of the state Department of Labor 1 day no charge
5 Arrange for workers' compensation insurance and disability insurance 1 day no charge
6 Arrange for publication and submit certificate and affidavits of publication 1 day USD 400

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