Doing Business in the United States: Market Entry, GTM Strategy & Growth Potential

The population of the United States is 349,035,494, and is growing at the rate of 0.49%. The GDP per capita, which represents the potential spending power of the people, is $94,430, measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis to allow comparison with other countries.

80.27% of the United States’s population lives in urban areas. 58.18% of the population is of working age (15-59). 94.69% of the population has internet access and 97% has 5G mobile coverage. These factors are important for digital-first businesses to keep in mind.

The Accuracast International Growth Index ranks the United States #3 overall for market attractiveness, no change from last year’s position.

How we can help you grow in the United States:

Accuracast offers a comprehensive range of international digital marketing services to support brands looking to grow their presence in the United States. Whether you need an international SEO agency, an international advertising agency, or an international social media marketing agency specialising in the United States, we’ve got you covered.

How Digitally Mature is the Market in the United States

The digital search demand score for the United States is 43.46.

More searches (67 million) are recorded every month in the US on our benchmark keyword set than in any other country, by far. The normalised number of searches per 1,000 inhabitants is in the top quartile globally, which isn’t exceptional, but given the overall market size, this is a very significant figure.

Two factors bring down the digital search demand score for the US:

1. The highest average advertising costs per click of any country, which also translate to a very high budget requirement to reach the entire market.
2. Extremely competitive market conditions – in the top 10 percent globally.

Go-To-Market Strategy Considerations for the United States

The purchasing power score for the United States is 71.03, and the country scores 93.01 for digital readiness.

The nominal current-dollar GDP for the US reached $32.49 trillion, having grown at a 1.5% annual rate in Q2 2026. This computes a GDP per capita (PPP) of $94,430, which is the twelfth highest in the world, only behind countries like Switzerland, Norway, Ireland, Qatar and Singapore.

On average, American consumers and businesses have significant purchasing power. It is important to distinguish regions, sectors and audience segments where the wealth is especially concentrated.

Financial & payment infrastructure

In terms of financial infrastructure, the United States scores 81.18.

Across the board, the US market has highly developed financial infrastructure. Credit card usage is very high, and credit is easily accessible to consumers and businesses. Use of modern digital payment methods is catching up with Asian markets, but credit and debit cards remain the primary payment method for Americans.

Businesses that sell to US consumers should offer Visa, Mastercard and American Express as a standard, but would do well to also offer Apple Pay / Google Pay or even PayPal where relevant. Buy Now Pay Later services are growing in popularity in some sectors.

Foreign B2B companies selling to US firms should offer ACH or other local payment options rather than requiring international bank transfers.

Financial centres like New York, Chicago and San Francisco are major global hubs, offering access to capital markets, venture funding, specialist talent, and a highly developed financial services ecosystem.

Regulatory & business setup friction

From a business expansion point of view, the United States scores 64.5 for regulatory complexity and legal restrictions. This is reverse-scored, meaning the higher the score, the easier it is to navigate local regulation.

Regulation in the US market rates average, on the whole. Regulation is spread across federal, state and local jurisdictions, making it complex to navigate the substantial variation in requirements. That said, the regulatory infrastructure is well-established, with a good degree of transparency and predictable enforcement.

The score of 27.2 indicates the costs and friction associated with setting up a business presence in the United States.

Setting up a domestic firm in the USA is fast, easy, and very cheap. Foreign firms are required to go through a slightly more involved process, but it’s still fast and relatively cheap, costing $1,000 to $3,000 in the first year, depending on the state and structure.

The main source of setup friction in the US arises when companies need to operate across multiple states, which may need different qualifications, registered agents, and additional filings, taxes and fees in each state.

United States market attractiveness change

Compared to last year, the overall International Growth Index score for the United States has changed 1.2 points, but this wasn’t sufficient to change its ranking from 2025, so the United States still ranks #3 in 2026.

Attractiveness of the US has increased as a destination for international business growth, but the increase wasn’t enough to outrank Singapore. The US remains the holy grail of international business expansion. Succeeding in the market can provide significant opportunities for growth in most sectors.

Most Popular Social Media Platforms in the United States:

1. YouTube
2. Facebook
3. Pinterest
4. Instagram
5. Reddit
6. WhatsApp
7. TikTok
8. LinkedIn
9. Nextdoor
10. Quora
11. X

The official national language is US English, which is spoken comfortably by over 95% of the population. However, about 13.6% of the population now speak Spanish as the primary language at home. Marketing teams that wish to target the US Latin-American community should also consider localising website content for search, and social media and advertising content into Spanish to engage that audience effectively.

Differences between US English and UK English spellings, grammar and terminology are also important to keep in mind if you wish to build trust and improve website visitor conversion rates.

What Are the Risks of Expanding into the United States

While new market expansion can be exciting, it is important to also consider the risks when entering a market like United States.

In the past twelve months, the wars in Iran and Ukraine, and uncertainty around tariffs have negatively impacted the perception of the US market, but not enough to cause a drop in ranking on the Accuracast International Growth Index.

Our experience shows five main risks surrounding business expansion in the USA:

1. Underestimating the sheer size – and the associated marketing budget requirements for growing brand awareness and truly breaking into the market.
2. Labour costs are extremely high. OECD data finds the average salary in the USA is $86,977, which is much higher than the averages in the UK ($66,299) and Europe ($64,809). For specialist jobs like AI & ML engineering, quantitative finance, and tech product leadership, US salaries can be 60-100% higher than in the UK.
3. Changes to tariffs can make foreign goods less attractive to local consumers. This has become a significant concern recently. The IMF has identified further tariff increases and trade policy changes as a risk to US growth.
4. Litigation and liability exposure is substantially greater in the US than any other market in the world. Companies risk commercial disputes, employment claims, consumer lawsuits and product liability, with class action lawsuits and 7-figure punitive damages creating very significant exposure. Insurance costs also rise significantly as a result of this.
5. Cultural and linguistic differences are fairly significant between the US and other English-speaking countries, and overlooking these differences can lead to failure. The saying “the US and UK are two countries separated by a common language” is very true.

How Does the United States Compare to Other Top Markets?