Small businesses in the U.S. are growing and make up the majority of U.S. employer establishments
Grundy, U.S. Census Bureau, Economic Management Division, Supervisory Statistician, 24 [Adam, 4/29/24, United States Census Bureau, “Small Business Week 2024: How Small Businesses Impact our Economy”, https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2024/04/small-business-week-2024.html DOA 7/16/24, MP]
How Many Small Businesses Are There in the United States? A small business is one with fewer than 500 employees, according to the . The Census Bureau’s indicate there were 5,358,600 such firms in 2021, up from 5,322,155 in 2020. According to , 56.6% of all U.S. employer establishments in 2021 (the latest year for which these statistics are available) had fewer than five employees, up from 55% in 2020. A new Census Bureau provides free resources, data tools and training opportunities for small businesses to highlight their key economic role. In addition to small employer businesses, there are many self-employed entrepreneurs with no paid employees who run small businesses and contribute to the economy. According to , there were 28,477,518 businesses with no paid employees in 2021. These nonemployer businesses operated in various sectors of the economy such as retail, manufacturing and services.