Small Business Week 2025: 70 top small business stats

Just in time for National Small Business Week (NSBW), these small business statistics reveal some interesting trends for smaller companies, showing that the week is more than a social media hashtag.

More small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) launch each year, and in many countries, these startups stay in operation for the long term. (They’re known as small and medium-sized enterprises, or SMEs, in the United Kingdom and Europe).

Read the 70 small business stats below to get some motivation and ideas for developing your business plans and increasing competitiveness in 2025.

Small business demographics

1. As of July 2024, there were almost 35 million small businesses (defined by the Office of Advocacy as businesses with 500 employees or fewer) registered in the US. They made up 99.9% of all firms. (US SBA)

2. At the start of 2024, there were 5.45 million small businesses in the UK (between 1 and 49 employees), 99.2% of the total business population (FSB).

3. Small businesses are big employers. From 1995 to 2023, small businesses created almost 61% of new jobs. (US SBA)

4. European SMEs are also essential. As of 2022, there were almost 32 million on the continent, accounting for 99% of all businesses. (European Commission)

5. About 53% of small employer firms are S-corporations, which can pass income onto shareholders without paying corporate tax. (US SBA)

6. Diversity in business ownership is growing. There were an estimated 194,585 US firms with a majority Black or African American ownership in 2022, up from 124,004 in 2017. (Pew Research)

7. In 2023, people from ethnic minority backgrounds were in charge of 7% of small businesses in the UK. (UK Parliament)

8. Women-owned small businesses are also employing more people. As of 2022, women-owned companies had an estimated 1.4 million employees and $508.5 billion in annual payroll. (Census Bureau)

9. There was also a positive shift in the UK. Women were leading 20.5% of companies in 2022, an increase from 16.7% in 2018. (NatWest Group)

10. If you started a small business in 2007, there’s a 22% chance it’s still operating. The survival rate for a company to last five years is over one-half (51.6%). (US Bureau of Labor Statistics)

11. What are the chances of a small business surviving for more than a year? Of the one million establishments that opened in March 2023, around 824,000 were still open in March 2024. The success rate for first-year companies is approximately 79%. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics)

12. In the UK, first-year business survival rates were higher. Enterprises established in 2022 had a 92% chance of survival the following year. (Statista.com)

13. Findings on the percentage of small businesses are similar in the UK. Small or medium-sized businesses employing 0 to 249 people contribute a lot to the economy, comprising over 99% of all companies (approximately 5.5 million). (GOV.UK BEIS 2024)

14. The number of employees for the average small business was around 11 in the US. In contrast, large firms averaged 3,302 employees. (US SBA)

15. In the UK, SMEs were responsible for 60% of employment. (GOV.UK BEIS 2024)

16. In 2022, European SMEs provided almost half of the jobs (48%), which represented around 78 million people at work. (European Commission)

Small business technology statistics

1. Small businesses with up to 100 employees are more likely to adopt customer relationship management (CRM) software than companies with more than 100 employees (87% compared to 83%), showing how much SMBs value CRM. (Pipedrive State of Sales and Marketing 2024)

2. Almost three-quarters of respondents are either satisfied or very satisfied with the tools and tech they use to complete their daily tasks. (Pipedrive State of Sales and Marketing 2024)

3. About 95% of US small businesses use at least one technology platform to run daily activities. (US Chamber of Commerce)

4. In 2023, 70% of the UK’s small businesses had modernized processes and developed new or improved products in the previous three years. (FSB)

5. SMBs outspend larger businesses in three out of four technology categories. (McKinsey & Company)

6. Software spending by SMBs will grow at a 13.3% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the next five years. Enterprise application software for midsize businesses will grow at a 14.5% CAGR. (Gartner)

Small business AI statistics

One of the big stories from 2024’s Pipedrive State of Sales and Marketing was that small businesses are leading the way in AI adoption.

1. In fact, 42% of respondents in businesses with between one and 10 employees use AI tools, as do 37% of respondents from companies with 11–100 employees. Less than a quarter of respondents from larger businesses (23%) are using AI. (Pipedrive State of Sales and Marketing 2024)

2. Over one-third of respondents (38%) said adopting AI tools would positively impact their work. (Pipedrive State of Sales and Marketing 2024)

3. More than half of the respondents (54%) said AI will significantly impact sales strategies soon. (Pipedrive State of Sales and Marketing 2024)

4. Respondents view AI as a supportive force rather than a destructive one: 76% think AI will support teams in their work, while only 8% think it will reduce the size of their teams. (Pipedrive State of Sales and Marketing 2024)

5. ChatGPT is the preferred tool for small businesses using AI, with 86% integrating it into their operations. Siri is second, with 24%. (Pipedrive State of AI in Business 2024)

6. There are still significant barriers to AI adoption: 48% of respondents reported a lack of knowledge about the technology, while 40% cited a lack of trust. (Pipedrive State of AI in Business 2024)

7. Over three-quarters of respondents (79%) said increased productivity was the main driver behind AI adoption. (Pipedrive State of AI in Business 2024)

8. The most common use cases for AI in small business are content creation (75%), content summarization (52%), transcription (29% and research (24%). (Pipedrive State of AI in Business 2024)

Small business sales and marketing statistics

1. Automation is a popular solution, with 81% of marketers using automation tools or technology. (Pipedrive State of Sales and Marketing)

2. About 82% of C-suite B2B business and technology professionals say their product, sales and marketing teams are aligned (41% say highly aligned). However, 65% of sales and marketing professionals believe there is a lack of alignment with the leaders in their organizations. (Forrester)

3. Nearly 90% of midsize businesses adopt digital strategies to optimize business and operations. (Bank of America)

4. Social media is here to stay: 48% of UK SMEs state that it is essential for their business, while 50% plan to spend more on it. (GetApp)

5. The effect is smaller but still noticeable for US small businesses; one-quarter of those surveyed said video content like webinars was most engaging on social media. (Statista)

6. The European Innovation Council (EIC) is putting €262 million toward business innovation in 2025. (European Innovation Council)

Small business revenue statistics

1. As of 2024, US small businesses account for 43.5% of gross domestic product, an essential part of a healthy economy. (US SBA)

2. Small businesses generate a lot of cash flow within the nation’s economy. They comprise 39% of private sector payroll, a total of $3.2 trillion and were responsible for 38.9% of private sector receipts, a total of $14.6 trillion. (US SBA)

3. UK SMEs also made a significant impact. At the start of 2024, they contributed over half (52%) or £2.8 trillion to private sector revenue. (FSB)

4. SMEs in Europe performed similarly in 2024. They contributed £5.4 trillion to the region’s economy. (Statista)

5. Small businesses have a global impact. As of March 2023, small businesses made up 34.9% of known exports, a total of $541.6 billion. (US SBA)

6. Black or African American-owned firms brought in an estimated $211.8 billion in gross revenue in 2022. (Census Bureau)

7. Women-owned businesses brought in over $2.1 trillion in receipts in 2022. (Census Bureau)

8. Veteran employers brought in $884.5 billion in 2022, up from $854 billion in 2017. (Census Bureau)

Small business financing statistics

1. Most banks (94%) make loans to small businesses. (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)

2. In 2024, 71% of small business owners and 93% of medium-sized business owners planned to get funding in the next 12 months. (Bank of America)

3. Over half of medium-sized businesses (54%) planned to apply for a bank loan in the next 12 months, but only 16% of small businesses planned to do the same. (Bank of America)

4. In 2023, UK SMEs were also more likely to apply for financial help (73%). (GOV.UK BEIS 2023)

5. Over 30% of UK SMEs preferred credit cards, the most popular form of external finance. Bank overdrafts and leasing or hire purchases were next (28% and 24%, respectively). (GOV.UK BEIS 2023)

6. Not every company can borrow what it needs. Today, more than one-third (37%) of small businesses in the US can’t get adequate financing. (National Small Business Association)

Is your business able to obtain adequate financing?

7. The main reason for requesting financing was to meet operating expenses (56%). (Fed Small Business Credit Survey)

8. In a sign of growth, 46% of firms sought monetary help from a lender to fund business expansion. (Fed Small Business Credit Survey)

9. Small businesses are getting a growing share of government contracts; 26.5% of contracting dollars went to small businesses in fiscal year 2022 (US SBA)

Small business challenges

1. Over 1.2 million small businesses closed in 2022. (US SBA)

2. While conditions have improved since 2020, revenue remains below pre-pandemic levels for 41% of firms, and employment is lower for 23%. (SBCS)

3. Money continued to be an issue in 2024; three-quarters of businesses cited the rising costs of goods, services and wages as the primary financial challenge. (Fed Small Business Credit Survey)

4. Most companies were affected; 94% of employer firms experienced financial challenges in the prior 12 months. (Fed Small Business Credit Survey)

5. In 2023, small business owners are still concerned about the economy. Only 27% believe that the US economy will improve. (US Chamber of Commerce)

6. Over half of small business owners (58%) rank inflation as a top concern, making it the most significant current challenge. (US Chamber of Commerce )

7. About 56% of small business owners are raising prices to offset inflation. (JPMorgan Chase)

8. Over half of small business owners (58%) have experienced a decline in net profit because of inflation. (NSBA)

9. Bankruptcy declarations for European small businesses reached their highest level since 2018 in Q3 2024. (European Commission)

10. The good news is that things are on the mend. At the end of 2024, 70% of small business leaders expected revenues to grow over the next year, the most since the disaster recovery brought on by the pandemic. (US Treasury Department)

11. Almost two-thirds (65%) of small businesses have a positive outlook and see their revenue increasing in 2025. (Bank of America)

12. Over half of small business owners (56%) are concerned about a recession. (Bank of America)

13. One of the pandemic’s influences was the rise in remote work. 35% of employees who can work remotely now do so full-time, down from 55% in October 2020 but well above pre-pandemic levels of 7%. (Pew Research Center)

14. Over three-quarters of respondents (77%) said remote or flexible work models supported their performance (Pipedrive State of Sales and Marketing)

15. More than half of respondents (54%) work up to 10 additional hours per week, while 16% work up to 20 extra hours (Pipedrive State of Sales and Marketing)

16. The right toolkits and techniques can help tackle increased workloads. Over three-quarters (77%) of small businesses plan to grow their tech adoption in the coming years. (US Chamber of Commerce)

17. Over 80% of small business owners say technology platforms help their business operate more efficiently. (US Chamber of Commerce)

18. Small businesses rely on a productive and well-trained workforce; 77% offer onsite training for specific positions, with 55% investing over 20 hours of on-the-job training. (NSBA)

Final thoughts

Despite their size, the critical contributions of America’s small businesses impact the economy.

When it comes to entrepreneurship, there is still plenty to contend with; new concerns over the economy and inflation arise daily for the small business community in areas far beyond Washington, D.C. They’ll likely be topics of conversation at the National Small Business Week Virtual Summit.

Small business owners and entrepreneurs are maintaining a positive outlook despite these issues. Putting in the right safeguards and adopting new technologies will help them continue to grow and remain confident about the future.