How many publicly traded companies are in the US: 3,908 domestic, about 5,450 listed, and what each count includes

This page is for anyone who needs the number of public companies in the US, and for companies that sell to them: audit and reporting software, investor relations, legal services, cybersecurity and insurance. It sets the official counts side by side, explains why they differ, breaks them down by exchange, size, industry and state, covers corporations, and shows where to download the list. For the biggest names, see the largest companies in the US.

How many public companies there are in the US

Our directory count drops ETFs and test issues by their flags, drops preferred shares, notes, warrants, rights, units and closed-end funds by their security names, and counts each issuer once (Alphabet's two share classes count as one company). Security names aren't standardized, so treat it as accurate to within a few dozen.

Why the counts differ

• Domestic or foreign. The WFE counts a foreign company only if the US is its sole listing. Ritter counts all 1,515 foreign operating companies separately and says a wave of foreign "penny stock" IPOs in 2024 and 2025 pushed that number up.
• Funds, REITs and SPACs. The WFE excludes investment funds and holding companies; Ritter also excludes REITs. Our directory count keeps REITs and SPACs: about 240 listed issuers have "Acquisition" in the name, and the SEC classes 286 exchange-listed filers as blank check companies (SIC 6770). The directory also lists about 290 closed-end funds, mostly on the NYSE, which we left out.
• Listed or quoted. An exchange applies listing standards; OTC securities are only quoted. 1,812 SEC filers trade only OTC, and OTC markets also quote foreign companies that don't file with the SEC at all.
• A corporation isn't a public company. "Corporation" is a legal form. Of the roughly 8.5 million corporation tax returns, fewer than one in 1,500 belongs to a listed company (our calculation).

The number of public companies over time

The WFE count of listed domestic companies peaked at 8,090 in 1996, fell to 6,917 by 2000, 4,666 by 2008 and 4,102 by 2012, rose to 4,774 in 2021 and was back to 3,908 at the end of 2025. Ritter's quarterly series for US operating companies tells the same story: a peak of 7,451 in mid-1997, a low of 3,631 in early 2013, and a surge in 2021 that later delistings undid.

Public companies by exchange

Our count of the Nasdaq Trader symbol directory files created on 29 October 2026, one row per issuer.

The Capital Market is Nasdaq's tier for smaller companies. 290 Nasdaq issuers were flagged deficient (below a continued listing requirement) or delinquent (late with a filing).

Public companies by size

The SEC sorts filers by public float, the market value of shares held by non-affiliates on the last day of the second fiscal quarter (Rule 12b-2). The tier sets the 10-K deadline and whether an auditor must attest to internal control under Sarbanes-Oxley section 404(b). These are the 4,692 exchange-listed SEC filers with a US business address:

Public companies by industry

SEC filers are classified by 1987 SIC codes, not NAICS. To find a code, use the SIC code lookup.

Public companies by state

Where a company is incorporated is a different question: 2,451 of the 4,692 US-based filers (52%) are Delaware corporations, followed by Maryland (315, mostly REITs and funds) and Nevada (220). Another 1,373 exchange-listed filers give a business address outside the US.

How many corporations there are in the US

The IRS counts returns processed in its fiscal year, not distinct companies, and its C corporation figure includes homeowners associations, REITs, mutual funds and foreign corporations. Corporations run 72% of employer locations and employ 71% of their workers (our calculation from County Business Patterns), yet almost none are public. For all businesses, see how many businesses are in the US.

How to get a list of public companies

Join the tickers file to the submissions API on the CIK to get a list you can filter by state, industry and size. EDGAR full-text search finds filings that mention a phrase, and 8-K Item 5.02 reports officer changes, such as a new CFO.

Who buys at a public company

As general guidance, these are the usual owners by what you sell:

The filings tell you when to call. The 10-K gives the fiscal year end, auditor and any material weakness; Item 1C describes the cybersecurity program, and an 8-K under Item 1.05 reports a material cyber incident within four business days.

Worked example: SOX testing software for accelerated filers

Illustrative example. The company and its rates are invented; the counts come from SEC EDGAR data on 30 October 2026.

The seller: Ledgerline (ledgerline.example) sells SOX control-testing software to companies that need an auditor's attestation but have small finance teams.

1. Count the segment. 605 US-based listed companies are accelerated filers. 19 are emerging growth companies and exempt for now, so 586 need an auditor's attestation each year. 201 of the 605 are also smaller reporting companies, often with a finance team of a handful of people.
2. Time the outreach. 470 of the 605 have a 31 December year end, so their 10-K is due 75 days later, in mid-March. Testing is planned in the summer and run in the fall; reach them by June.
3. Do the arithmetic. If Ledgerline reaches the controller or CFO at an illustrative 70% of the 586, that's 410 contacts. A 4% reply rate gives 16 conversations; winning a quarter gives 4 customers. At an illustrative $40,000 a year, that's $160,000 in new annual revenue.
4. Find the buyer. Pull the 605 from the submissions API and read each 10-K's Item 9A for a reported material weakness, the strongest signal. Finding the controller and what's changed at each company is the slow part; Bebop finds the contacts and researches each company in the list.

Next step: turn the filtered list into named accounts with our guide to building a prospect list.