22 Black Business Statistics 2023

Are you interested in the state of the Black business?

Then have a look at our most recent statistics on African American Business Owners.

You will find all the valuable data on the state of Black businesses as well as the latest development and the challenges they face.

General Black Owned Business Statistics

More than 4 in 10 Black-owned businesses are in the health care and social assistance or professional, scientific, and technical services industries. 41.4% of Black-owned businesses are in one of these two industries, with health care and social assistance making up the majority at 27.5%

Just under half of the consumers in the U.S. in 2021 believed that companies should support Black-owned brands. Generation Z believed the most strongly in this statement, with 56 percent agreeing. Gen X offered the least support, at only 39 percent

In 2020, of all U.S. companies whose ownership is classified by gender, 63% were majority-owned by men, 22% by women, and 15% had equal male-female ownership

According to The Black Report, the top 5 areas of Black owned businesses include eCommerce and retail (18.3%), services (18.3%), technology (16.67%), data (8.3%), publishing and software (6.67%), and services and data

In 2021, the rate of new entrepreneurs among Black U.S. residents was 0.28% or 280 new entrepreneurs for every 100,000 adults each month

Atlanta has the highest rate of Black-owned businesses in the U.S. Behind Atlanta are Washington, D.C. (7.0%), and Virginia Beach, Va. (6.8%)

In 2019 and 2020, 2.4% of U.S. businesses had Black owners. The Black population remained steady in this period, from 12.8% in 2019 to 12.6% in 2020

In the UK, Black-owned businesses account for just 0.5% of total small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), according to a report by the Runnymede Trust

Consumer awareness of the need of supporting Black-owned businesses has increased with the Black Lives Matter movement’s resurgence in 2020. According to a Yelp data analysis, the number of searches for Black-owned companies increased by 3,085% in February 2021 compared to February 2020

Portland, Ore., has the lowest rate of african American businesses among the 50 metros with the most Black-owned businesses. 0.9% of businesses in the metro are Black-owned, relative to a Black population of 2.8%. Also, the lowest among the 50 metros

According to the Federal Reserve, in 2021, the median net worth of white families was $77,999—7.8 times that of their Black peers, at $17,600

There were 2.6 million Black-owned businesses in the United States in 2017, representing 9.4% of all businesses according to the data from the US Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners

Black-owned businesses generated $150 billion in revenue in 2017 according to the US Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners

In 2017, Black-owned businesses employed 1.1 million people, which was an increase of 38% from 2012

According to the 2019 State of Women-Owned Businesses report, the number of Black women-owned businesses grew by 50% between 2014 and 2019, making them the fastest-growing group of women entrepreneurs in the United States

In 2019, there were 134,567 Black-owned employer businesses (businesses with more than one employee) in all sectors of the U.S. economy, an 8% hike from the 124,551 Black-owned employer businesses in 2018

In 2018, there were about 3,115,000 nonemployer businesses with Black owners, up 5.6% from 2,951,000 in 2017, according to the Census Bureau’s 2018 Nonemployer Statistics by Demographics (NES-D)

Across the 50 metros in the U.S. with the most-Black owned businesses in 2020, Atlanta had the highest percentage of Black-owned businesses at 7.4%

Black-owned businesses in the United States increased by 34.5% between 2007 and 2012 totaling 2.6 million Black firms. More than 95% of these businesses are mostly sole proprietorships or partnerships which have no paid employees.

Top 10 Black Business Statistics in the USA

The Census Bureau’s Business Formation Statistics showed that Americans applied for a record 5.4 million business ID numbers in 2021 and the number of U.S. Black-owned businesses grew from 2017 to 2019 in all sectors of the U.S. economy, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Business Survey (ABS).

1: Number of Black-owned businesses

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Business Survey, there were approximately 124,551 Black-owned employer businesses and 2.6 million Black-owned non-employer businesses in 2018. These numbers represent a significant increase from previous years, indicating growth in Black entrepreneurship in the United States.

According to recent census data, there are 3.12 million Black-owned businesses in the United States.

2: Revenue generated by Black-owned businesses

In 2017, Black-owned employer firms in the US generated a total of $36.7 billion in revenue, according to the US Census Bureau’s Annual Business Survey.

Recent census data, Black-owned businesses in the United States, generate $206 billion in annual revenue and support 3.56 million US employment.

3: Employment by Black-owned businesses

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2018 Annual Business Survey (ABS), there were 124,004 Black-owned businesses in the United States with paid employees, representing 2.2% of all U.S. businesses with paid employees. These businesses employed a total of 1,117,745 people and generated $58.4 billion in annual payroll.

The majority of Black- or African-American-owned firms provided income for more than 1.3 million workers in 2020, with overall annual payrolls at these businesses totaling an estimated $42.2 billion that year.

4: Growth of Black women-owned businesses

The growth of Black women-owned businesses in the USA has been increasing in recent years. According to the 2021 State of Black Women-Owned Businesses report by American Express, the number of Black women-owned businesses increased by 21% between 2019 and 2021, which is significantly higher than the overall national average growth rate of 9%.

Additionally, the report found that Black women-owned businesses are growing in revenue as well, with an average revenue growth rate of 18% between 2019 and 2021. This is a positive trend because it shows that these companies are becoming more financially stable and contributing to the overall economy.

5: Where Black-owned businesses are the most prominent

Atlanta had the highest percentage of Black-owned businesses among the 50 metros in the United States in 2020, at 7.4%. This is an improvement from the previous year’s report, when 6.7% of businesses were Black-owned, matching for third place in 2019.

6: Industries with the highest number of Black-owned businesses

The health care and social support sectors have the highest number and share of Black- or African-American-owned businesses. In 2020, this sector accounted for more than 38,000 of the almost 141,000 American enterprises having a majority of Black or African American ownership, or 28% of the total.

7: Economic impact of Black-owned businesses

Black business owners reported a 23 percent increase in annual sales growth in a recent SCORE statistics analysis. This is twice as quickly as all American employers combined. The pace of employment growth for Black-owned small businesses was also twice that of all other American businesses.

8: What percentage of businesses are Black men-owned?

Black or African American has 6.3% while White has a percentage of 67.0%, Hispanic or Latino has 15.5%, and Asian has 6.4%.

9: What percentage of businesses in the US are Black women-owned?

The Guidant report shows, “There are more female African-American small business owners than the general population of business owners. In the American small business universe, 27% of small businesses are women, and among African-American-owned businesses, 35% are women.

10: Challenges faced by Black-owned businesses

When seeking partnerships, contracts, and other business opportunities, Black-owned businesses may confront discrimination and bias. This can hinder their growth and profitability, especially in fields dominated by non-Black businesses.

Compared to their white colleagues, Black entrepreneurs have a lower likelihood of receiving loans and investments. Despite representing 13% of the population, Black business owners only obtain 2% of all small business loans, according to research by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.

Black-owned businesses tend to have lower revenues than businesses owned by white entrepreneurs. The median revenue for Black-owned enterprises in 2012 was only $58,000, compared to $342,000 for white-owned businesses, according to a Brookings Institution analysis.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionately negative effect on Black-owned businesses. The National Bureau of Economic Research found that between February and April 2020, the number of active Black-owned firms decreased by 41%, compared to a 22% decline for all businesses.

According to eMarketer, Black-owned businesses experience more difficulties than other businesses in a challenging retail environment. The business owners themselves say “they lack the social capital and networks needed to invest in technology, research and development, and innovation.”

Conclusion

These statistics show that black small business owners as a whole has been increasing and Black-owned businesses play an important role in the economy. However, Black businesses need to be given the needed support for overall growth and success.

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