Earlier this month, SBA’s Office of Advocacy released their annual “Small Business Profiles for the States and Territories,” which provides a snapshot of small business activity per state across the U.S. According to the report, there are currently 28,443,856 small businesses operating in the United States today (5,707,941 with employees and 22,735,915 nonemployer businesses). In addition, there are 56,062,893 workers employed by small businesses. Following are some key metrics revealed by the report.

  • Small businesses continue to be major contributors to U.S. employment: U.S. small businesses employed about half (56.1 million) of the nation’s private workforce in 2012. On a national scale, small businesses created 2,175,253 net new jobs for 2012, with the biggest gain in the smallest firm category size of 1 to 4 employees. In addition, firms with fewer than 100 employees had the largest share of small business employment overall.
  • A greater percentage of small business startups are surviving. In 2013, of the 630,357 establishments that were opened, 79.5 percent survived through 2014. This is up from earlier statistics, where in 2010 507,129 establishments opened and 67.7 percent survived through 2012.

Top Ten Lists for Small Business Activity in the U.S.

At the beginning of the report, the SBA lists a number of top 10 lists for small business activity in various states. Here are some of the major takeaways.

Number of Establishments Opened, First Quarter 2014:

  • California: 62,938
  • Florida: 31,578
  • New York: 25,698
  • Texas: 25,324
  • Illinois: 17,196
  • Georgia: 13,200
  • Pennsylvania: 12,975
  • Michigan: 11,150
  • Massachusetts: 10,627
  • North Carolina: 10,286

Highest % of Small Establishments Surviving from 2013–2014

  • Washington: 87.4%
  • Delaware: 84.7%
  • Wisconsin: 83.1%
  • Connecticut: 82.1%
  • Utah: 81.8%
  • South Carolina: 81.5%
  • Massachusetts: 81.5%
  • New York: 80.7%
  • Texas: 80.6%
  • South Dakota: 80.6%

Number of All Self-Employed Individuals, 2013

  • California: 2,475,500
  • Texas: 1,402,000
  • Florida: 1,236,300
  • New York: 1,058,600
  • Illinois: 611,700
  • Pennsylvania: 583,400
  • Georgia: 536,800
  • Ohio: 528,000
  • North Carolina: 507,700
  • Michigan: 487,200

Incorporated Self-Employed Median Income, 2013

  • DC: $91,644
  • Massachusetts: $61,434
  • North Dakota: $60,602
  • New Jersey: $60,089
  • Connecticut: $59,067
  • Alaska: $58, 132
  • California: $56,029
  • New Hampshire: $53,214
  • Rhode Island: $52,322
  • Delaware: $52,148

Highest Self-Employment Rate, 2013 (%)

  • Montana: 13.6%
  • Vermont: 13.6%
  • South Dakota: 13.1%
  • Maine: 12.2%
  • North Dakota: 11.8%
  • Idaho: 11.6%
  • California: 11.5%
  • Florida: 11.4%
  • Oregon: 11.4%
  • Colorado: 11.2%

References:

King, Steve. “SBA’s Small Business Profiles for States.” Small Business Labs. 2/10/15.

SBA. “Small Business Profiles for the States and Territories.” Office of Advocacy. 2/15. (2/12/15.)