Inc. today revealed the 41st edition of the Inc. 5000, our annual ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. The list ranks companies based on three years of annual revenue growth and is considered America's entrepreneurial benchmark.

Methodology - Updated 2024

Step 1: The application

We collect information such as when the company was founded, who is the CEO, and what the annual revenue is. As you might expect, the application carries a processing fee to help offset the eight months of work we do in producing the program. This step also helps determine whether a company meets the key requirements.

To be eligible for the Inc. 5000, a company must:

• be privately held, for profit, and independent (not a subsidiary or a division of another company)
• have been founded and generating revenue as of March 31, 2020
• have generated a minimum of $100,000 in revenue in 2020
• have generated a minimum of $2 million in revenue in 2023

Note that Inc. does not publish revenue figures with the list. However, if our editors decide to write about an honoree, in keeping with journalistic best practices, we will ask to include revenue in the article.

Step 2: Revenue verification

Next up in the Inc. 5000 selection process is revenue verification. All companies applying must provide documented gross annual revenue for the base year (2020) and for year three (2023). We use those figures to calculate the three-year revenue growth rate that determines the ranking. The financial statements provided, which can include redacted tax returns, must be signed by the CEO and a credentialed third party. In cases where a company claims especially fast growth, we typically ask for audited financial statements. We reserve the right to ask for additional documentation to support reported revenue figures.

Step 3: Vetting

Once the data are in order, a draft list comes to the editorial team. We then embark on an intensive secondary vetting process, interviewing select founders and conducting background research to guard against companies with a checkered history appearing on the list. For example, if editors or our research department uncover allegations of fraud, sexual misconduct, or unlawful activity by the company or its leaders, we may disqualify that company. So, while the Inc. 5000 is a purely data-driven list, all companies must pass editorial review.

That's an important safeguard to protect both Inc.'s reputation and that of the companies on the Inc. 5000. Some household names that have appeared on the list include Intuit, Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, GoPro, Timberland, Clif Bar, Patagonia, Oracle, Box, and Grubhub.

The 2024 Inc. 5000 includes companies from every state and Puerto Rico. They range in size from one employee up to 262,079 workers, and from roughly $2 million in 2023 revenue up to $15.5 billion. That staggering figure belongs to Reston, Virginia-based Carahsoft Technology, which provides IT services for federal, state, and local governments, as well as customers in education and healthcare. Carahsoft ranks No. 4,650 this year--its 17th appearance on the Inc. 5000.

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