.us

What is .us 

The .us domain is the country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the United States. The .us extension was at one point, restricted to only government entities (just like .gov) and was made available for use to commercial entities. In order to use the .us domain extensions, you must be a permanent resident of the United States or have a significant presence in the country for your business operations, whether you are an individual, corporation, or nonprofit organization.

.us domain popularity 

Early on, the .us extension was not a top choice for companies with in the us, which is strange considering the United States is among the top countries for users and commerce. Maybe the aforementioned restriction of the extension, contributed to .us not gaining any traction among U.S. entrepreneurs/companies. However, unlike individuals in other countries that typically look to their ccTLD as a second choice to the .com extension, In the U.S., the .com kind of became the de facto ccTLD. Americans and/or US entities even looked to other alternative extensions to launch their endeavors, such as .co, .io, .net, .xyz, etc. 

That said, the .us extension has seemed to turn the corner as of late and is emerging as a legitimate option when the desired .com is not available. Companies like Ali Express, Binance, Aldi, Bark, Amung and early adopters such as Zoom, which really put .us on the map. 

.us