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Census Bureau Releases New Data About Characteristics of Employer and Nonemployer Business Owners

December 24, 2025

The U.S. Census Bureau today released new data about the sex, race, ethnicity, veteran status and other characteristics of U.S. business owners. For the first time, the release also includes estimates of employer firms by owner characteristics, industry sector and congressional district.

The data come from two sources: the Annual Business Survey (ABS), which covers employer businesses (those with paid employees), and the Nonemployer Statistics by Demographics (NES-D), which covers nonemployer businesses (those without paid employees). Together, they provide the most complete picture yet of U.S. business owner demographics.

Highlights (2024 ABS, covering reference year 2023, and 2023 NES-D)

In 2023, there were 36.4 million U.S. employer and nonemployer businesses, with $50.0 trillion in receipts.
Women owned 14.2 million of all U.S. businesses, with $2.8 trillion in receipts.
Veterans owned 1.6 million of all U.S businesses, with $1.0 trillion in receipts.

Employer Businesses (2024 ABS)

According to the 2024 ABS, which covers reference year 2023, there were approximately 5.9 million U.S. employer firms — 1.4 million (22.9%) were owned by women and 261,000 (4.4%) by veterans.

This release also includes demographic data by urban and rural classification, employment size, receipt size, and each firm’s number of years in business:

White-owned firms made up 80.6% (4.8 million) of employer businesses, with receipts of $17.0 trillion.
Asian-owned firms accounted for 11.5% (685,000) of employer businesses, with receipts of $1.2 trillion.
Hispanic-owned firms accounted for 8.4% (496,000) of employer businesses and had $730.3 billion in receipts.
Black or African American-owned firms accounted for 3.4% (201,000) of employer businesses, with receipts of $249.0 billion.
American Indian or Alaska Native-owned firms accounted for 0.9% (55,000) of employer businesses, with $70.8 billion in receipts.
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms accounted for 0.2% (9,000) of employer businesses, with $13.1 billion in receipts.

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. It measures research and development for microbusinesses, innovation and technology, and provides annual data on select economic and demographic characteristics of businesses and business owners by sex, ethnicity, race and veteran status. The NCSES is set to release more data on research and development and innovation in the coming months.

Nonemployer Businesses (2023 NES-D)

According to the new 2023 NES-D there were 30.4 million U.S. nonemployer businesses, with $1.8 trillion in receipts. Women owned 12.9 million (42.3%) of them and had $423.1 billion in receipts, and veteran-owned firms made up about 1.4 million (4.5%) of nonemployer businesses, with $65.7 billion in receipts.

Other highlights:

In 2023, White-owned firms made up 73.6% (22.4 million) of nonemployer businesses, with receipts of $1.3 trillion.
Hispanic-owned firms accounted for 17.5% (5.3 million) of nonemployer businesses and had $244.2 billion in receipts.
Black or African American-owned firms accounted for 14.4% (4.4 million) of nonemployer businesses, with receipts of $128.7 billion.
Asian-owned firms accounted for 9.2% (2.8 million) of nonemployer businesses, with receipts of $163.6 billion.
American Indian or Alaska Native-owned firms accounted for 1.2% (378,000) of nonemployer businesses, with $15.5 billion in receipts.
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms accounted for 0.3% (102,000) of nonemployer businesses, with $4.4 billion in receipts.

This release also includes business owners’ urban and rural classification, receipt size of firm, and legal form of organization (e.g., sole proprietorships and partnerships).

The NES-D is an annual series that uses existing administrative records and decennial census data to link business owners’ demographic characteristics to the universe of nonemployer businesses.

The nonemployer universe is comprised of businesses with annual receipts of at least $1,000 that file federal income tax. For more information on the methods used to assign demographic characteristics to nonemployer businesses, refer to the NES-D methodology.

Chef Sunflower Cooks Up Success with SBDC Support

December 10, 2025

Temple University SBDC – Chef Shon Emanuel, affectionately known as Chef Sunflower, is a self-taught vegan chef with a passion for creating plant-based proteins that are simple, nutritious, and delicious. Operating from her family’s restaurant in West Philadelphia, she developed “Thaw-Heat-and-Eat” vegan offerings to make healthy eating more accessible.

Shondia’s entrepreneurial journey began when her family restaurant saw increased demand for health options during the pandemic, but she noticed their food suppliers only offered vegan burgers and nuggets. Determined to meet their customer’s demand at her family’s high standards, Chef Sunflower decided to focus on plant-based food innovation.

At one point, structural issues with their building forced the family to close their restaurant, leaving Shondia searching for a way to keep her culinary dreams alive. While the restaurant was closed, she dove into a completely new venture: consumer packaged goods. Without prior business experience, she faced obstacles in creating a business plan, getting her production processed properly licensed, securing funding, and crafting a compelling pitch to attract investment.

In May 2024, Shon reached out to the Temple University Small Business Development Center (SBDC) for help. She worked closely with consultant Isabel Krome to refine her vision. Over the summer, the SBDC guided her in completing a business plan and preparing for Drexel University’s B Smart program, where participants develop financial projections and pitches. Shondia practiced her pitch with SBDC consultants and gained critical insights into presenting her business idea confidently and effectively.

“Working with the Temple SBDC has been an incredible experience. I was perfectly matched with my advisor, who has been instrumental in guiding me through the challenges of launching a new food business venture.”

Chef Sunflower, Founder, BTW, It’s Vegan

With SBDC support, Chef Sunflower achieved key milestones, including completing her business plan and perfecting her pitch. Her hard work paid off at the B Smart pitch day, where she secured a $5,000 grant from Citizens Bank. This funding has positioned her to officially launch her business in January 2025, turning her dream into reality.

Chef Sunflower’s resilience and determination, combined with the Temple University SBDC’s resources and expertise, have set heron a path to success. Her story is an inspiring example of overcoming adversity, leveraging community resources, and building abusiness that not only supports her but promotes healthy eating in her community.

Learn more about BTW, It’s Vegan on their website and Instagram.

To learn more about Pennsylvania SBDC, visit: https://www.pasbdc.org/

Hand In Hand Secures Nearly $3M Grant to Expand Childcare Access Across Lewis County

December 3, 2025

Jenniffer Bleakley and her Hand In Hand Early Childhood Center applied for a NYS Office of Children and Family Services state grant, which was awarded to expand her childcare center. After receiving the grant award, it was rescinded and taken back after a technicality. At this time, she and her team had already started planning her business expansion and were working towards offering more childcare to Lewis County residents.

SBDCs Team Up with PREDICTif Solutions to Bring AI Funding Directly to Entrepreneurs

November 19, 2025

PREDICTif Solutions and Peak SBDC Host Successful Pitch Competition at Goat Patch Brewery

Colorado Springs, CO – November 7, 2025 – Through an outstanding partnership with Brandon Eldridge and Nichole Rotte of the Peak Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in Colorado Springs, PREDICTif Solutions hosted an exciting Pitch Competition on November 6 at Goat Patch Brewery, a proud veteran-owned establishment.

The event featured a highly competitive lineup of innovative companies, each showcasing exceptional ideas and entrepreneurial spirit. The judges’ scores were so close that the competition came within a single point of a four-way tie—ultimately resulting in a tie for first place.

AnywhereCam Inc. From Pitch to Growth: A Success Story

November 12, 2025

Mike Blecha grew up and lives in a small rural area in northeastern Colorado. Most of his family, friends, customers and neighbors are hard-working people, many with property and belongings spread around the region. During the pandemic, theft and robbery exponentially increased, and Mike, known in his local community as the ‘tech guy’, was the go-to person for a surveillance solution.

After unsuccessfully trying to implement almost every option currently on the market, Mike decided to build a surveillance camera that anyone could use anywhere, regardless of their access to high-speed internet or power. He created AnywhereCam as a reliable and durable solution to help the people of rural communities have a sense of security regardless of circumstances.

When Mike Blecha launched AnywhereCam, he faced the classic startup dilemma: limited funds and limited reach. Marketing efforts generated brief spikes in sales, but without a steady budget, the momentum quickly faded. At the same time, raising a seed round proved equally difficult—few investors resonated with the vision or the scalability of AnywhereCam’s technology.