Small Business Counter
Small Businesses aren't so small. In fact a small business is opening every few minutes. This page is a place to get real time statistics on the Small Businesses. Be sure to check back frequently for updates.
New business applications filed with the IRS while you've been on this page.
Net new small businesses added across the U.S. each minute.
Net new small businesses expected to be added in the U.S. this year.
33 MILLION STORIES.
99.9% of American businesses are small. They employ nearly half the country, and the people behind them aren't who you think they are.
Small businesses across the U.S.
Americans they employ
New applications filed in 2023
Of U.S. private-sector payroll
WHO OWNS AMERICA'S SMALL BUSINESSES
More diverse than ever. Roll over each chart for the underlying numbers.
By Gender
Roughly 4 in 10 small businesses are women-owned — up from 1 in 4 a generation ago.
By Race & Ethnicity
Minority-owned firms grew ~30% faster than the national average over the last decade.
Veteran-Owned
About 1.9 million U.S. small businesses are owned by military veterans.
Mom-Owned
An estimated 10+ million U.S. small businesses are owned by mothers — about 1 in 3.
WHAT THEY DO
Share of U.S. small businesses by industry.
HOW BIG ARE THEY, REALLY?
"Small business" usually means tiny. Over 4 out of 5 have no employees at all — just the owner.
THE BOOM YEARS
New business applications filed each year (millions). The pandemic kicked off the largest startup wave in U.S. history.
WILL YOUR BUSINESS SURVIVE?
Slide to see how many small businesses are still operating after each year, based on BLS Business Employment Dynamics survival data.
of small businesses are still operating.
WHAT WILL IT COST TO START?
Rough estimates based on Kauffman Foundation, SBA, and industry survey data. Real costs vary widely — use this as a sanity check, not a budget.
$0 / month
Year-one runway: $0 covers ~12 months of operation.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Common questions about America's small-business economy, answered with public data.
How many small businesses are in the United States?
There are approximately 33.3 million small businesses in the United States, accounting for 99.9% of all U.S. businesses, per the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy (2024). The live counter at the top of this page ticks up from that anchor in real time.
What counts as a small business?
The U.S. Small Business Administration generally defines a small business as an independent firm with fewer than 500 employees. About 81% of U.S. small businesses have no employees at all — they are nonemployer firms run by sole proprietors, freelancers, and contractors.
How many U.S. small businesses are owned by women?
Roughly 39% of U.S. small businesses are women-owned, with another 14% equally owned by men and women, according to the U.S. Census Annual Business Survey.
How many small businesses are veteran-owned?
About 5.7% of U.S. employer businesses — roughly 1.9 million firms — are owned by military veterans, per the Annual Business Survey.
How many small businesses are owned by mothers?
An estimated 10+ million U.S. small businesses are owned by mothers — roughly 1 in 3 — based on combined estimates from NAWBO and American Express's State of Women-Owned Businesses reports.
What is the survival rate of a small business?
Per BLS Business Employment Dynamics data, about 78% of small businesses survive their first year, 50% reach year five, and roughly 33% are still operating after ten years. Use the calculator above to see the full curve.
How much does it cost to start a small business?
Median startup capital is about $10,000 for sole proprietors and $40,000+ for businesses with employees, ranging from under $5,000 for online services to over $100,000 for restaurants and manufacturing, per Kauffman Foundation data.
What types of small businesses are most common?
Professional, scientific, and technical services lead at about 15% of all U.S. small businesses, followed by construction (12%) and personal/other services (11%). Retail trade and health care & social assistance round out the top five.
How many new small businesses are started each year?
U.S. entrepreneurs filed about 5.5 million new business applications in 2023 — the highest year on record, per U.S. Census Business Formation Statistics. The line chart above shows the full 2010–2024 trend.
WE HELP BIG BRANDS
SPEAK TO SMALL BUSINESS.
This counter is a project from Cargo, a marketing agency that helps large brands and enterprises connect with America's small businesses — the 33 million founders, owners, and operators above. We build the strategy, brand, and creative our clients use to reach an audience that doesn't behave like anyone else.
We made this page because the size and shape of the U.S. small-business audience is hard to picture until you watch it tick up in real time. Every figure here is from public data — see the data sources page for the full citation list.
Cargo (also known as The Cargo Agency) is a B2SMB marketing agency that helps large brands communicate, market, and sell to small business audiences across the U.S. — strategy, brand, and creative built around the way small businesses actually buy.
