The U.S. Census Bureau has released new data detailing the demographic characteristics of business owners in the United States, covering both employer and nonemployer firms. This is the first time estimates have been published for employer businesses by owner demographics, industry sector, and congressional district.
The data is sourced from the Annual Business Survey (ABS), which covers businesses with paid employees, and the Nonemployer Statistics by Demographics (NES-D), which focuses on businesses without paid employees. Combined, these sources provide a comprehensive view of business ownership across the country.
In 2023, there were an estimated 36.4 million U.S. businesses generating $50 trillion in receipts. Women owned about 14.2 million of these businesses, accounting for $2.8 trillion in receipts, while veterans owned approximately 1.6 million with $1 trillion in receipts.
According to the ABS for reference year 2023, there were around 5.9 million employer firms nationwide. Of these, women owned 1.4 million (22.9%) and veterans owned 261,000 (4.4%).
Demographic breakdowns show that White-owned firms made up 80.6% of employer businesses with $17 trillion in receipts; Asian-owned firms represented 11.5% with $1.2 trillion; Hispanic-owned accounted for 8.4% with $730.3 billion; Black or African American-owned comprised 3.4% with $249 billion; American Indian or Alaska Native-owned held 0.9% with $70.8 billion; and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander-owned accounted for 0.2% with $13.1 billion.
The ABS is sponsored by the National Science Foundation’s National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) and conducted jointly with the Census Bureau to measure aspects such as research and development among microbusinesses as well as annual economic and demographic details about business owners by sex, ethnicity, race, and veteran status.
Data from NES-D indicates there were about 30.4 million nonemployer businesses in the U.S., earning a total of $1.8 trillion in receipts during 2023. Women owned approximately 12.9 million nonemployer firms—42.3%—with receipts totaling $423 billion; veteran-owned nonemployer firms numbered about 1.4 million—4.5%—with receipts of $65 billion.
Additional findings reveal that among nonemployer firms: White owners accounted for nearly three-quarters at 73%, Hispanic owners made up just under one-fifth at nearly 18%, Black or African American owners represented over one-seventh at more than 14%, Asian owners stood at just over nine percent, American Indian or Alaska Native owners at slightly above one percent, while Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander owners made up less than half a percent.
The NES-D series uses administrative records alongside census data to link business owner demographics to all nonemployer businesses—defined as those reporting annual receipts above $1,000 on federal tax filings.
For further methodological details regarding how demographic characteristics are assigned to nonemployer firms through this program, refer to information provided within NES-D documentation.
“This release also includes estimates of employer firms by owner characteristics, industry sector and congressional district.”
“The ABS is sponsored by the National Science Foundation’s National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) and conducted jointly with the Census Bureau.”
“The NCSES is set to release more data on research and development and innovation in the coming months.”
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