The SBA’s Office of Advocacy released their annual Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business publication that “gathers the most up to-to-date statistics about American small businesses in one place.”
Here are the key statistics formed from recent government data:
• There are over 33 million small businesses in the United States.
• In 2020, more than two-thirds of small businesses applied to a bank for new credit.
• 86% of businesses received financial assistance from a pandemic-related loan program at the SBA during 2020. In 2021, two-thirds of small businesses received pandemic financial assistance.
• 1.07 million small businesses opened in 2020, and 1.02 million small businesses closed that year.
• From 1997 to 2019, the number of nonemployer firms increased from 15.4 million to 27.1 million.
• Small businesses comprise 43.5% of the nation’s gross domestic product.
• During fiscal year 2021, more than a quarter of contracting dollars went to small businesses, a slight increase from the previous fiscal year.
• The Office of Personnel Management (67.35%), the Department of Interior (61.02%), and the SBA (60.55%) awarded the highest share of contracting dollars to small businesses.
• An average of two-thirds of new small businesses survive the first two years. After five years, 48.9% of small businesses survive, and in ten years, a third of small businesses survive.
• The 2017 to 2019 two-year survival rate for young small businesses was 79%.
Source: Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business
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About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the Federal Government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.
