Every year since 1963, U.S. presidents have issued a Small Business Week proclamation to recognize the contributions of entrepreneurs and small business owners.

The theme of Small Business Week 2024, which runs from April 28 – May 4, is “Building on the Small Business Boom.”

How Many Small Businesses Are There in the United States?

A small business is one with fewer than 500 employees, according to the Small Business Administration (SBA). The Census Bureau’s Business Dynamics Statistics indicate there were 5,358,600 such firms in 2021, up from 5,322,155 in 2020.

According to County Business Patterns (CBP), 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 webpage 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 Nonemployer Statistics (NES), 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.

Women-Owned Businesses

There were 1,275,523 women-owned employer firms in the United States, according to the 2022 Annual Business Survey, which covers the reference year of 2021.

Of those women-owned employer firms, 14,573 were owned by female veterans and 353,636 by minority women. Minority-owned refers to businesses with owners who are any race and ethnicity combination other than non-Hispanic and White.

Recognizing Small Business Week

To celebrate Small Business Week, the Small Business Administration (SBA) is inviting people to register for a free, two-day summit set to be held April 30 to May 1.

The Census Bureau not only recognizes the importance of all small businesses but offers resources and tools to help them. A new Census Bureau webpage provides free resources, data tools and training opportunities for small businesses to highlight their key economic role. Among them:

Census Business Builder: Version 5.5, a suite of services designed to help entrepreneurs assess their competition and the best location(s) to start their businesses.
Small Business Census webpage helps businesses identify their customer’s needs.
Census Bureau webinars. Earlier this month, our “Mom and Pop Shops Lead Job Recovery From Economic Downturn After Covid-19” webinar used Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics data to explore job recovery through an Illinois case study. Also this month, the Using CBP and NES to Make Informed Business Decisions webinar offered resources for entrepreneurs interested in starting or growing a business.