Number of Small Business Employees in the US in 2024
As more and more small businesses in the United States are established, the number of small business employees has also increased. However, recent small business statistics reveal that while the number of small businesses in the US has risen consistently over the past few years, the growth in the number of small business employees has not kept the same momentum.
In this article, we dive into key small business statistics focusing on employee numbers.
Small business: number of employees
|
Year |
Number of small business employees |
Annual change |
|
2017 |
57.9 million |
|
|
2018 |
58.9 million |
+1.7% |
|
2019 |
59.9 million |
+1.7% |
|
2020 |
60.6 million |
+1.2% |
|
2021 |
61.2 million |
+1.0% |
|
2022 |
61.7 million |
+0.8% |
|
2023 |
61.6 million |
-0.2% |
|
2024 |
59.0 million |
-4.2% |
Number of employees in small businesses: 2017–2024
In 2024, the number of employees in a small business in the US fell to 59 million. This means that small business employees make up 45.9% of the total number of US employees.
This marks a 4.2% decrease from 2023’s 61.6 million and is the second consecutive annual fall. Prior to this, the last time the number of small business employees rose was in 2022, growing by a marginal 0.8%, to 61.7 million.
What is the average number of employees in a small business?
The average small business in the US has very few employees, with many operating as one-person ventures. According to the US Small Business Administration, “small businesses” are defined as companies that hire fewer than 500 employees.
Small businesses statistics from 2024 show that, of the 34.8 million small businesses in the US, the majority—28.5 million (81.9%)—have no employees at all, functioning as sole proprietorships. About 5.7 million small businesses have between 1 and 19 employees, while just 607,000 employ between 20 and 499 people.
Number of employees in a small business: ranked by state
As the US’s most populous state with nearly 40 million residents, it should come as no surprise that the West Coast state of California is also home to the biggest number of small business employees. There are 7 million of them in California, which is 47.1% of the state’s total number of employees.
The state with the second-highest number of employees in a small business is Texas. At 4.9 million, they represent 44.9% of the state’s total number of employees. New York has the third most small business employees with 3.7 million, while Florida comes in fourth with 3.6 million. Pennsylvania is in fifth place with 2.4 million.
At the bottom of the list, Wyoming is the state with the fewest small business employees. Here are the five states with the fewest employees in a small business:
- Wyoming: 129,426
- Alaska: 133,542
- Vermont: 147,457
- North Dakota: 189,834
- Delaware: 201,082