Reference desk
A concise, citable snapshot of the scale, economic role, and survival pattern of U.S. small businesses. Every figure below links to its original public source.
The numbers in context
These figures describe different things, such as businesses, establishments, employees, and economic output. Read each statistic with its source and date, rather than treating the numbers as interchangeable.
34,752,434
The SBA Office of Advocacy reported this national total in its July 2024 small-business fact book.
SBA Office of Advocacy, Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business, July 2024 ↗Source date: July 202499.9%
Small businesses make up virtually the entire U.S. business population under the SBA’s reporting definition.
SBA Office of Advocacy, Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business, July 2024 ↗Source date: July 202445.9%
That is about 59 million workers, according to the SBA Office of Advocacy.
SBA Office of Advocacy, Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business, July 2024 ↗Source date: July 202443.5%
The SBA fact book presents this as small business’s share of U.S. GDP.
SBA Office of Advocacy, Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business, July 2024 ↗Source date: July 202439%
The figure is reported in the SBA Office of Advocacy’s 2024 national small-business snapshot.
SBA Office of Advocacy, Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business, July 2024 ↗Source date: July 20241.4 million
In the same year, 1.2 million establishments closed permanently. These are establishment counts, not a measure of individual company success.
SBA Office of Advocacy, Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business, July 2024 ↗Source date: 2022 data, published July 202434.7%
The Bureau of Labor Statistics found the largest decline occurred in the first year, when the survival rate fell 20.4 percentage points.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics ↗Source date: January 20246.2 million
Those firms operated about 8 million employer business locations and employed about 140 million people.
U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census First Look ↗Source date: June 2024 release, 2022 dataSources and methodology
This page uses public data from the U.S. Small Business Administration, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the U.S. Census Bureau. The source listed with each statistic is the source for that specific figure. Figures are reported as published, with their reference year shown where it differs from the publication date.
“Business,” “firm,” and “establishment” are not identical measures. An establishment is a single physical location or business operation, while a firm may own one or more establishments. The SBA’s small-business figures use its own reporting definition, so readers should consult the linked source for definitions and methodology.
Cite this page
Suggested citation: “U.S. Small Business Statistics,” Business Blueprint 4 U, updated October 2, 2026. Individual statistic links on this page are stable, so a reader can go directly to the figure being cited.
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