In the second week of Small Business Month, I thought it would be interesting to look at the new stats released last week by the U.S. Census Bureau. Of course, the Census Bureau’s “current” stats are actually a few years old, but they are the latest “official” numbers.
According to the new Nonemployer Statistics by Demographics (NES-D), in 2022, there were 29.8 million non-employer businesses (businesses without paid employees) earning $1.7 trillion. For this category, Census counts businesses that earn at least $1,000 and file federal taxes.
Of these businesses:
- 7% or 12.7 million, earning $411.6 billion, were owned by women.
- 2% or 5.1 million, earning $235.7 billion, were owned by Hispanic Americans.
- 9% or 4.4 million, earning $130.9 billion, were owned by Black or African Americans.
- 3% or 2.8 million, earning $163.1 billion, were owned by Asian Americans.
- 6% or 1.4 million, earning $67.7 billion, were owned by veterans
- 2% or 361,000, earning $14 billion, were owned by Native Americans or Native Alaskans.
- 3% or 101,000, earning $4.2 billion in receipts, were owned by Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders.
When you combine the non-employer numbers with the stats from the 2023 Annual Business Survey, covering the year 2022, you get a better picture of the size and breadth of the small business market.
There were 5.9 million employer companies in the U.S.
Of these businesses:
- 3 million, earning $2.1 trillion, with 11.4 million employees, were owned by women.
- 650,680, earning 1.2 trillion, with 5.2 million employees, were owned by Asian Americans.
- 465,202, earning $635.5 billion, with 3.6 million employees, were owned by Hispanic Americans.
- 194,585 businesses, earning $211.8 billion, with 1.6 million employees, were owned by Black or African Americans.
- 47,519, earning $78.5 billion, with 333,153 employees, were owned by Native Americans and Native Alaskans.
- 9,552, earning $13.8 billion, with 68,795 employees, were owned by Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders.
- 273,542, earning $884.5 billion, with 3.2 million employees, were owned by veterans.
As of 2022, there were 35.7 million employer and non-employer businesses in America, generating $51.7 trillion in revenue. Of course, since the last few years featured record numbers of startups, and the March 2025 Business Formation Report from Registered Agents showed another increase in business starts in 45 states, these stats are likely underestimating the total. As I noted in last week’s Currents, there are approximately 33 million small businesses, employing 60 million people (about 46% of the private workforce), and contributing around 44% of the nation’s GDP, or over $13 trillion.
In aggregate, we’re a powerful group. But, at the moment, we’re being ignored. The here-today, gone-tomorrow, and back-again tariff crisis is having a significant and negative impact on small businesses. The President’s proposed budget aims to eliminate vital small business resources.
I’m not talking politics here, but about the survival of millions of small businesses. At it stands today, this is not okay. We need to speak up and speak out. Start by contacting your local congressional representative, senators, the governor of your state, the mayor of your city, and state representatives.
The Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship is chaired by Iowa Republican Joni Ernst. The ranking member is Massachusetts Democrat Ed Markey. Call (202) 224-5175 for the Republican line, and (202) 224-0507 for the Democratic line.
The House Committee on Small Business is chaired by Republican Roger Williams of Texas. You can reach the Republicans at (202) 225-5821.
The ranking member is Democrat Nydia Velázquez of New York, who has been fighting for small business owners for decades. You can reach the Democrats at (202) 225-4038.
If you’ve been affected by cuts or terminations to SBA or other federal programs and agencies, you can share your story.
And let me know. I’ll try to amplify as much as I can.
Rieva Lesonsky is President of Small Business Currents, LLC, a content company focusing on small businesses and entrepreneurship. While you can still find her on Twitter @Rieva, you can also reach her @Rieva.bsky.social and LinkedIn. Or email her at Rieva@SmallBusinessCurrents.com.
Picture: NASA via Unsplash
