Reference · sourced

U.S. small business statistics

The key numbers behind American small business, how many there are, how many survive, what they owe, and what it costs to start one. Every figure is sourced and free to cite.

The big picture

Small businesses are 99.9% of all U.S. businesses and employ nearly half the private workforce - yet only about half survive five years. The numbers below are the landscape every owner is operating in.

SBA Office of Advocacy (2023 Small Business Profile); BLS Business Employment Dynamics; IRS; U.S. Census Bureau. How we calculate →

33.3M
U.S. small businesses · SBA
99.9%
of all U.S. businesses · SBA
~50%
survive past year five · BLS
15.3%
self-employment tax · IRS
33.3M
U.S. small businesses
SBA Office of Advocacy, 2023 Small Business Profile
99.9%
of all U.S. businesses are small
SBA Office of Advocacy
45.9%
of private-sector employees work at small businesses
SBA Office of Advocacy
~50%
of new businesses survive past five years
BLS Business Employment Dynamics
15.3%
self-employment tax on net earnings
IRS (12.4% Social Security + 2.9% Medicare)
5M+
business applications filed in 2024
U.S. Census Bureau Business Formation Statistics
9
states with no personal income tax
Tax Foundation (2025)
$383
average first-year LLC cost
SmallBizCalc analysis of state filings

LLC formation cost, 8 cheapest states

Total first-year cost (filing fee + first annual report + a $125 registered-agent estimate + any publication). National average: $383; range $175 (Arizona) to $1,834 (New York).

1. Arizona$1752. Mississippi$1753. Missouri$1754. New Mexico$1755. Kentucky$1806. Montana$1807. Colorado$1858. Hawaii$190
Total first-year LLC cost, 8 cheapest states

Source: each state's Secretary of State, compiled by SmallBizCalc. See the full 50-state ranking.

Cite this page

These statistics are free to reference with attribution. Suggested citation:

SmallBizCalc, "U.S. Small Business Statistics (2025)." smallbizcalc.com/statistics. Underlying sources: SBA Office of Advocacy, BLS, IRS, U.S. Census Bureau.

Each figure links to or names its primary source above. We aggregate published public data; always confirm a figure with its original source before relying on it.