2024 Small Business Statistics | That's it

Small business growth and income statistics.

• There are 33.3 million small businesses in the United States.
• 5.5 million new business applications were filed by 2023 continuing the surge in small business growth since the start of the pandemic. (US Census Bureau)
• Small businesses make up 99% of all US companies.
• Small businesses employ 61.6 million people and about 46% of all private sector workers.
• Small businesses generate a total of $13.3 trillion annually.
• The number of businesses owned by Black, Hispanic, and Asian Americans increased by more than 50 percent from 2007 to 2020.
• The most common industries to start a business include retail, technology services, and construction.

Small business owners

Who owns a small business?

• 63% of employer firms are owned by men.
• In total, women own 13.8 million businesses that employ 10 million workers and generate $3.9 billion in revenue in the US
• There are approximately 3.7 million black-owned businesses in the United States and approximately 161,422 black-owned businesses with at least one employee in the United States.
• Veterans own 8.1% of businesses. (SBA)

Emotive statistics of small business owners.

• 49% of small business owners believe that it is somehow more difficult to achieve the dream of owning a small business than in the past. 33% of SMB owners believe it is easy or very easy. 19% say it is the same.
• 89% of small business owners believe it is possible to achieve the goal of owning your own business.
• The Mid-Atlantic region (New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) had the best feeling about being able to start a business, with 96% of respondents believing it was possible.
• The East South Central region (Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi) had the most negative feelings, where 30% of respondents said they did not believe it was possible to find the goal of owning their own business.

Source: Lendio

A summary of the challenges for small business owners.

• 41% of small business owners say their number one challenge is related to the economy and inflation, while another 14% struggle most with financial issues.
• Recruiting remains the No. 1 challenge. 1 in 11% of small business owners, while the COVID recovery is disrupting 4.5% of business owners and supply chain issues are affecting 3.4% of SMB owners.
• 56% of small businesses say that large companies have a negative impact on their business's growth opportunities.

• 66% of small business owners say having a financial safety net would have had a major impact on their ability to start a business, followed by access to finance at 53%.
• 24.2% of new businesses fail within the first year. (BLS)
• Of the respondents, 52% say that living in an area with low business costs and a low cost of living would be beneficial. The 44% lower taxes will have a positive effect.
• 33% say more customers and resources, 26% say less cultural bias, and 32% government access to educational services and guidance would have impacted their ability to start a business.

Source: Lendio

Small business funding statistics.

• 54% of SMB owners started their business with personal money, while another 12% relied on friends and family. 14% used bank loans, 3% online lenders, 3% used venture capital, 3% crowdfunding, and 4% credit cards.
• 79% of SMB owners need less than $100,000 to start their business, while 43% need less than $10,000.
• The average loan amount for a small business owner is $47,000.*
• A small business has an average of five employees when it first gets financed by an external lender.
• A small business has been in business for about three years (average 40 months) when it first receives financing from an external lender.
• Minors received 32% of SBA 7(a) loans and 30% of SBA 504 loans by 2023.

*Based on Lendio's internal data of 300,000+ loans funded since 2013.

Source: Lendio

Statistics on the productivity of small business owners.

• Those under 45 report needing more capital to start a business, with 23% needing $100K to $250K. In contrast, only 10% of those aged 45+ needed that amount.
• While both generations rely heavily on personal finance to start their businesses, those under 45 have started to turn to other sources, such as crowdfunding (6%) and online lenders (5%).

• 46% of young business owners (18-44) believe that owning a small business is easy or very easy to achieve.
• 58% of older business owners (45+) believe that owning a small business is somewhat or very difficult to achieve.
• While the majority (71%) of SMB owners aged 18-44 believe that large companies have a negative impact on their business's growth prospects, 57% of those 45+ disagree, saying that large companies do not have a negative impact on their business. .
• While generations agree that a financial safety net, access to capital, and low costs are critical to success, those 44 and younger place greater importance on access to educational resources and see cultural bias as a major barrier.
• Both generations agree that the freedom to live the way you want is the most important part of the American dream. Perhaps unsurprisingly, those 45+ place the most importance on retirement (46%), while those under 45 place the most importance on wealth (36%).

Source: Lendio