The US has 36.2 million small businesses, which account for almost 46% of private-sector employment
Verified Confidence: high
Primary source found; it says the same thing, the scope matches, and it is reasonably current.
- Commonly cited as
- "There are over 36 million small businesses in the US"
- True origin
- U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy — 2025 Small Business Profiles (press release, June 30, 2025)
- Type
- Reference fact: A frequently needed number or rule taken directly from a primary source (e.g. Pew, Census, IAB/PwC, FTC), with its as-of date.
- Year
- 2025
- Data as of
- 2025 profiles (latest federal data available in 2025)
- Last checked
- What the source says
the U.S. contains 36.2 million small businesses, which account for almost 46 percent of private sector employment.
- Method & sample
- Office of Advocacy compilation of Census and BLS data. 'Small' means fewer than 500 employees; most are non-employer firms (sole proprietors).
- Drift between quote and source
- Most of the 36.2 million have no employees
- Small = under 500 employees, which includes fairly large firms
- Interest
- n/a (federal statistical agency).
Safe rephrasing
The SBA Office of Advocacy counted 36.2 million US small businesses (under 500 employees, including non-employers) in 2025, accounting for almost 46% of private-sector employment.
Sources we opened
Machine-readable: /api/claims/sba-36-2-million-small-businesses-2025.json · Last checked 2026-10-16