Albany County led New York in new LLC formations in September

New York logged 14,776 active new LLCs and PLLCs in September 2026, up 6% from a year earlier, with Albany County overtaking Brooklyn and Manhattan. The county mix matters because New York’s publication law can make filing costs much higher in some counties than others.

Why it matters: - New York’s county of formation affects where every new LLC must publish legal notices under state law. - Those newspaper costs can vary sharply by county, with Manhattan typically running $1,000 or more and Albany among the cheapest. - The filing location can therefore change the startup cost for thousands of businesses.

What happened: - New York had 14,776 new limited liability companies and professional LLCs formed in September 2026 that remain active today. - That total was up 6% from 13,897 in September 2025. - Albany County had the most new LLCs on file, with 2,485. - Kings County (Brooklyn) had 1,691 new LLCs. - New York County (Manhattan) had 1,531 new LLCs. - New York City’s five boroughs together accounted for 5,164 new LLCs, or 35% of the state total. - NYC’s total was flat versus September 2025.

The details: - Albany County was up 29% from a year earlier. - Brooklyn was up 5% year over year. - Manhattan fell 9% from a year earlier. - Nassau had 1,227 new LLCs, unchanged from a year earlier. - Queens had 1,143 new LLCs, unchanged from a year earlier. - Suffolk had 1,138 new LLCs, up 12%. - Westchester had 724 new LLCs, up 6%. - The Bronx had 514 new LLCs, up 15%. - Rockland had 508 new LLCs, up 7%. - Erie had 504 new LLCs, up 6%. - Among counties with at least 150 new LLCs, the fastest growth came from Albany (+29%), Dutchess (+19%), Onondaga (+17%), the Bronx (+15%) and Suffolk (+12%). - Nearly 1 in 5 new LLCs, or 2,746, listed a commercial registered agent address instead of their own. - Most of those commercial registered-agent filings were in downtown Albany. - Northwest Registered Agent was the address on file for 1,208 new LLCs, about 8% of the state total. - Two-thirds of Albany County’s new LLCs, or 1,662 of 2,485, listed a commercial registered agent address. - Without those registered-agent filings, Albany County would not have led the state. - Excluding registered agents, the top ZIP codes for new LLC legal mail were 10003 in Manhattan, with 177. - The other top ZIPs were 11219 in Brooklyn with 114, 11211 in Brooklyn with 102, 11201 in Brooklyn with 99, 10952 in Monsey with 90 and 10977 in Spring Valley with 85.

Between the lines: - Albany’s lead reflects a legal-mailing and publication dynamic, not just raw business location demand. - A large share of Albany filings use commercial registered agents, which pushes the county to the top of the file even when the businesses are not necessarily operating there. - Manhattan still dominates among ZIP codes that receive legal mail directly, showing how business formation remains concentrated in dense commercial areas.

What's next: - Every new LLC has 120 days from formation to publish notices in two newspapers designated by the clerk of the county on file. - The filings must then be documented with the Department of State. - The monthly county, ZIP code and registered-agent data, plus a downloadable CSV, are updated daily at More information.

The bottom line: - Albany County led New York’s September LLC formation count because registered-agent filings pushed it ahead, and the county choice can materially change what new businesses pay to comply with state law.