Entrepreneur Statistics and Trends You Need to Know in 2025

The fact that 65% of entrepreneurs say their businesses are doing well today speaks volumes about how prosperous the entrepreneurship path can be.

When asked about their motivations for starting a business, 28% of entrepreneurs say they want to be the ones calling the shots. However, a slightly smaller percentage of entrepreneurs — 23% — want to embark on this journey out of pure disappointment in corporate America.

And both men and women are eager to be their own boss. Sadly, research shows men still dominate entrepreneurship, as only 26% of small business owners are women.

Eager to learn more? In this article, we’ll guide you through many other interesting entrepreneur statistics that further explain the state of entrepreneurship in the US and other parts of the globe.

Entrepreneur statistics: 10 most important stats

Before we delve deeper, take a look at the top 10 most fascinating — and somewhat shocking — statistics about entrepreneurs we could find:

• 47% of small business owners are Gen X.
• 77.9% of US entrepreneurs are white.
• 43% of small business owners are Republicans.
• A great majority of US entrepreneurs (86%) have a university degree.
• 65.8% of entrepreneurs say their top motivation to start a business was the fact that they wanted to make a difference in the world.
• A whopping 72% of entrepreneurs say they’re somewhat or very happy with their business ventures.
• 45.8% of entrepreneurs want to work on their stress levels and reduce or eliminate stress and other mental health concerns. 
• North Dakota is the best state to start a business in the US. 
• 77% of entrepreneurs expect their businesses to survive in today’s economy.

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General US entrepreneurship statistics 

Entrepreneurship is a huge deal in the US, with more and more people choosing to start a business rather than continue to work for someone else. So, how many entrepreneurs are there in the US?

According to SBA’s data from 2024, there are around 34.8 million small businesses in the United States, and they make up a whopping 99.9% of all businesses in the US.

For further insight, we turned to the 2024/2025 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report. According to the data found there, there are 2 key indicators to consider when trying to learn how many people are actually entrepreneurs:

• Total early-stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) — the proportion of the adult population (aged 18 to 64) who are owners or managers of a new business and 
• Established Business Ownership (EBO) — the percentage of adults in the same age group that currently own or manage an established business.

This report’s latest data for the US shows: 

• The TEA for the United States is 19.3%, which is high, as this means that almost 1 in 5 adults is starting or running a new business.
• The EBO rate in the US is just under 7%. This rate has declined for the second year in a row. In comparison, in 2023, EBO was 9.2%.

The public attitude toward entrepreneurship in the US

The 2024/2025 GEM Report investigated whether starting a business was viewed as negative or positive in a particular country.

To learn more about the public perception of entrepreneurship in the US, the researchers behind the report asked adults aged 18 to 64 to consider the following statements:

Data source: 2024/2025 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report

Most entrepreneurs decided to start a new independent business

As stated in Guidant Financial’s 2024 Small Business Trends report, in the previous year, small business owners in the US opted to:

• Start a new franchise — 32% of entrepreneurs,
• Buy an independent business — 31%, 
• Start new independent businesses — 27%, and
• Buy an existing franchise — only 10% of respondents.

The retail industry is still the most popular among US entrepreneurs

Market changes dictate which small business industries will be the most popular among entrepreneurs — and in 2024, there were some major shifts at play.

The top 5 industries in Guidant Financial’s 2023 Small Business Trends report were:

• Retail — 18%,
• Food and restaurants — 12%,
• Health, beauty, and fitness — 10%,
• Construction and contracting — 8%, and
• Residential and commercial services/Business services — 7%.

But consumers’ needs and wants have changed, so, in 2024, Guidant Financial’s top 5 list looks like this:

• Retail — 16%,
• Food and restaurants — 13%,
• Health, beauty, and fitness — 12%
• Residential services — 9%, and
• Construction and contracting — 8%.

The cost of starting a business in the US

But how much does starting a business actually cost, you may ask?

As stated in Guidant Financial’s 2024 Small Business Trends report:

• 13% paid over $1MM.
• 16%, however, had to set aside anywhere from $500K to $1MM for their startups.  
• 27% of the surveyed small business owners needed to invest between $250K and $500K. 
• 15% of respondents needed $175K–$250K to establish their business.
• 27% of the respondents had to pay $50K–$175K to launch their business.
• 4% of entrepreneurs managed to establish a business for less than $50K.

How much do US entrepreneurs earn?

According to Indeed.com’s entrepreneur salary statistics: 

• The average base salary for a US entrepreneur at the time of writing is $95,837 per year. However, keep in mind this data is based on a small number of salaries reported through the website. 
• Entrepreneurs earn the highest salary in Austin, Texas — $197,715 per year — which is 107% above the reported national average.
• In comparison, entrepreneurs in Fort Worth, Texas earn only $50,800 per year. That is 47% below the reported national average. 

The profitability of small businesses has decreased 

According to the latest data provided in Guidant Financial’s 2024 Small Business Trends report, 65% of the surveyed business owners said their businesses were currently profitable, indicating that despite the economic downturn, they’ve found a way to stay afloat. 

Taking into account Guidant Financial’s 2023 Small Business Trends report, the profitability of small businesses has slightly decreased in comparison to the previous year, when it was 66%. 

What are the best and worst states to start a business in the US?

With 50 states to choose from, expect that starting a business in each one could be difficult and nerve-racking. 

Luckily, Forbes Advisor recently published its latest ranking of the best states to start a business. When comparing the states, Forbes relied on 18 different metrics across 5 categories to determine the best and the worst states for starting a business:

• Business costs,
• Business climate,
• Financial accessibility,
• Economy, and
• Workforce. 

Currently, the top 10 states ideal for starting a business are:

Data source: Forbes Advisor — The Best States to Start a Business

According to the same research, the 10 worst states for starting a business are:

Vermont is a US state that creates the most opportunities for their residents

Essentially, opportunity rankings indicate which states embody the US “land of opportunity” narrative. These rankings show us which states help their citizens harness their potential to accomplish their goals and rank the highest in terms of:

• Equality, 
• Economic opportunity, and 
• Affordability.

Per the U.S. News’ Best States opportunity rankings, the top 10 US states according to the level of opportunity they provide are:

Florida is a US state with the best economy

Taking into account the overall business environment, labor market, and economic growth, the U.S. News has also provided a top 10 list of states with the best economic conditions:

How are entrepreneurs handling today’s economy?

According to Guidant Financial’s 2024 Small Business Trends report: 

• 47% of entrepreneurs said they were somewhat unconfident or very unconfident in their small businesses in today’s economy.
• Only 33% of the surveyed business owners were somewhat or very confident in their small businesses amidst these economic conditions.
• A neutral stance was held by 20%.

Aside from that, inflation has been felt across the board and has affected not only the profitability but also the expenses. Respondents in Guidant Financial’s report said the main ways the current economy had affected their businesses were:

• Increased prices — 29%,
• Revenue loss — 17%, 
• Increased wages — 11%, and
• Reduced budget — 6%.

Ultimately, when asked if they expected their businesses to survive in today’s economy: 

• 77% answered positively, 
• 18% were unsure about it, and
• 5% gave a negative answer. 

US entrepreneurs’ plans for the upcoming year

Guidant Financial’s 2024 Small Business Trends report shows the following year is going to be a big one for most entrepreneurs, given that:

• 24% plan to hire more people,
• 18% want to put more funds into digital marketing,
• 17% plan to expand or remodel their business, and
• 10% are eager to invest in traditional marketing. 

According to the latest data from the US Chamber of Commerce, almost half of small business owners are optimistic about the US economy in the next year, whereas 32% of them believe that the economy will worsen. In line with this:

• 46% of the respondents plan on expanding their workforce.
• 8% are looking to decrease the number of employees. 

As the US president has announced a new tariff policy — which could amount to the largest tax increase since 1993 — there are bound to be some repercussions. The above-mentioned report from the US Chamber of Commerce shows:

• Only 11% of small businesses believe across-the-board tariffs will positively impact their business, whereas 54% of them think these tariffs will have a negative effect. 
• Although more than half of the small business owners (54%) aren’t planning on taking any actions in response to tariff policies, almost a third of them (30%) are planning on raising prices or have already done that. 
• More than half of small business owners (56%) believe tax policies that are being considered by Congress and the White House will help their business, whereas 13% of them expect they will have a negative impact.

Key demographics statistics on entrepreneurship in the US

Do older generations still reign supreme in entrepreneurship or are younger generations slowly but surely catching up with them? What about men and women — is the gender gap still as large and discouraging as before?

Well, research shows a large percentage of entrepreneurs belong to Generation X, which includes people born anywhere from 1965 to 1981. To be precise, the 2024 Small Business Trends report by Guidant Financial shows:

• 47% of surveyed small business owners were Gen X. 
• Baby Boomers — those born between 1946 and 1964 — accounted for 37% of them.
• Only 16% of the surveyed small business owners in 2024 were Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996).

As far as gender goes, it seems men are still more likely to dabble in entrepreneurship. Guidant Financial’s 2024 Small Business Trends report showed: 

• 74% of the surveyed small business owners were male. 
• 26% were female.

The majority of entrepreneurs in the US are white

According to the 2024 Small Business Profile report, a great majority of entrepreneurs were white (77.9%). 

When it comes to surveyed business owners of color, which make up 22.1% of entrepreneurs in the US: 

• 36% of them were Black or African-American, 
• 31% were of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin,
• 21% were Asian or Asian-American, 
• 6% were Middle Eastern or North African,
• 4% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and
• 2% were Indigenous American. 

A great deal of entrepreneurs are well educated 

Guidant Financial’s 2024 Small Business Trends report showed that out of all the surveyed entrepreneurs:

• 44% had a Bachelor’s degree,
• 27% had a Master’s degree,
• 15% had a High School diploma, 
• 11% had an associate degree, and
• 4% had a doctorate.

The political affiliation of US entrepreneurs 

The previously mentioned report by Guidant Financial showed:

• 43% of the surveyed small business owners belonged to the Republican party.
• 33% maintained they were unaffiliated with any of the US political parties.
• 19% of the surveyed entrepreneurs said they were Democrats.
• Libertarians were a clear minority in this report, as only 5% of the respondents said they were affiliated with them.

Statistics on entrepreneur motivations and challenges

According to Guidant Financial’s 2024 Small Business Trends report, small business owners usually decide to start their own ventures because they:

• Want to be their own boss — 28%,
• Have lost faith in corporate America — 23%, 
• Want to pursue their own passions — 14%,
• Stumbled upon the opportunity to do so — 11%, and
• Were not ready to retire — 9%.

The main motivations of US entrepreneurs

The 2024/2025 GEM Report gives us further insight into the motivation of US entrepreneurs — in particular, of those who fall into the TEA category. When asked to agree with 4 defined motivations behind entrepreneurship, this is how they responded:

Data source: 2024/2025 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report

Challenges entrepreneurs face when running their businesses

The participants in Guidant Financial’s 2024 Small Business Trends report gave us some insight into the top struggles entrepreneurs face today:

• Inflation and price increases — 23%,
• Recruiting and keeping employees — 19%,
• Lack of cash flow and capital — 16%,
• Business promotion (marketing and advertising) — 9%,
• Administrative work — 8%, and
• Difficulties with supply chain — 7%.

The biggest hiring obstacles for entrepreneurs 

Hiring quality labor doesn’t only come down to offering the right compensation or having an extremely dedicated HR team. 

Guidant Financial’s 2024 Small Business Trends report shed some light on several issues small business owners face when trying to fill positions at their companies.

The report showed some of the biggest hiring hurdles for entrepreneurs were:

• Lack of candidates with the necessary work experience — 20%,
• Lack of interest in their businesses and few job applicants — 19%,
• Lack of required soft skills among the candidates — 15%,
• Too much competition — 14%,
• Difficulty finding candidates with the right technical skills — 13%, and
• Concerns about competitive salaries and benefits — 11%. 

The talent gap is also a major headache for small business owners. When it comes to attracting top talent, Guidant Financial’s 2024 Small Business Trends report showed the following positions were the most challenging to fill:

• Sales — 28%,
• Construction and maintenance — 17%,
• Food service — 15%,
• Management — 12%, 
• Healthcare and childcare — 7%, and
• Business and financial operations — 6%.

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The majority of entrepreneurs are happy

As per the latest data from Guidant Financial’s 2024 Small Business Trends report, optimism continues to run deep among entrepreneurs: 

• Small business owners reported higher happiness levels, with 72% saying they were somewhat or very happy with their ventures.
• Only 12% of entrepreneurs were somewhat or very unhappy. 
• The rest — 15% — maintained a more neutral perspective.

Still, this doesn’t mean stress isn’t a huge part of an entrepreneur’s life. 

According to Incfile’s 2023 Small Business Challenges report, 47% of entrepreneurs would like to reduce or otherwise eliminate stress and other mental health concerns. 

Similarly, a newer Founder Reports’ Entrepreneur Mental Health Statistics (2024) showed that 45.8% of entrepreneurs struggle with high stress. 

Based on that, it’s possible to conclude that though there are many benefits of entrepreneurship — this life path also includes a fair amount of stress.

Entrepreneur survival rate statistics

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, slightly more than a third of businesses (34.7%) established in 2013 were still operating 10 years later. The businesses with the highest survival rate were: 

• The agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting industry — 50.5%,
• Utilities — 45.7%, and
• Manufacturing — 43.6%. 

The lowest survival rate was in: 

• Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction — 24.5%, 
• Information — 29.1%, and
• Wholesale trade — 32.1%

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Statistics on global entrepreneurship

Is entrepreneurship as well accepted globally as it is in the US? The latest GEM report offers all the answers.

As mentioned previously, TEA (adults who are nascent entrepreneurs or new business owners or managers) and EBO (adults who are owners or managers of established businesses) show us the percentage of individuals in each country who are actively starting or running a new or established business.

The 2024/2025 GEM Report provided the TEA and EBO percentages for 51 participating economies. Here are the top 10 countries (TEA): 

Data source: 2024/2025 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report

Here are the top 10 countries when EBO is concerned:

Data source: 2024/2025 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report

The best countries for entrepreneurship overall

GEM researchers define the entrepreneurial context of the participating economies through Entrepreneurship Framework Conditions (EFCs). 

The 2024/2025 report outlined the following conditions that were examined to determine the state of entrepreneurship in each economy:

• Entrepreneurial finance,
• Ease of access to entrepreneurial finance,
• Government policy —  support and relevance,
• Government policy — taxes and bureaucracy,
• Government entrepreneurial programs,
• Entrepreneurial education at school,
• Entrepreneurial education post-school,
• Research and development transfers,
• Commercial and professional infrastructure,
• Ease of entry — market dynamics,
• Ease of entry — burdens and regulations,
• Physical infrastructure, and
• Social and cultural norms. 

To determine how healthy the entrepreneurship environment is across participating countries, the 2024/2025 GEM Report referred to a key indicator known as the National Entrepreneurship Context Index (NECI). NECI is calculated by averaging each economy’s EFC scores.

Here are the NECI scores of the 51 countries that took part in the survey:

Data source: 2024/2025 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report

The age of entrepreneurs around the world

According to the 2024/2025 GEM Report, younger people are more likely to delve into the world of entrepreneurship. The data covered individuals looking to start or run a business in 2 age groups: adults aged 18 to 34 and 35 to 64.

The table shows the ranking for the younger group, with the highest TEA.

Data source: 2024/2025 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report

Here are the countries with the lowest TEA for the younger group: 

Data source: 2024/2025 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report

Here’s the ranking of the older group, starting with the highest TEA.

Data source: 2024/2025 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report

Let’s look at the countries with the lowest TEA for the older group.

Data source: 2024/2025 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report

Men and women as entrepreneurs

The 2022/2023 GEM Report showed that in most countries, the male TEA rate was higher than the female TEA rate, indicating a gender gap on a global level. 

In Morocco, female and male TEA are equal. Moreover, there were 3 economies where the female TEA rate surpassed the male one:

Data source: 2024/2025 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report

These rates confirmed entrepreneurship was still male-dominated around the world. The EBO rates confirmed this too, as female EBO rates surpassed male EBO rates in only 1 country — Thailand, where female EBO was 12.0% and male EBO was 11.5%.

In comparison, 2 years before, according to the 2022/2023 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report, there were 5 economies where female EBO surpassed male EBO:

Data source: 2022/2023 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report

The 2022/2023 GEM report also indicated the EBO relative gender gap was often smaller than the TEA relative gender gap. According to the researchers, this suggested 2 conclusions:

• Gender equality between new entrepreneurs is somewhat of a recent phenomenon, and/or
• Women have a harder time transitioning their ventures into established businesses than men.

Education level of entrepreneurs around the world

The 2024/2025 GEM Report also inquired about the highest level of education entrepreneurs from around the world managed to attain. The results showed that even though you don’t need a degree to be an entrepreneur — it’s definitely going to help. 

GEM calculated the TEA rate for both graduates and non-graduates across the 51 participating economies. The data showed the TEA rate for graduates exceeded that of non-graduates in 47 countries — the only exceptions were:

• Brazil, 
• Egypt, 
• Greece, and 
• Lithuania.

The highest TEA rate for graduates was reported in Argentina at 39.7%, while the lowest was found in Poland at 2.9%. 

On the other hand, the highest TEA rate for non-graduates was in Ecuador at 33.3%, whereas the lowest was reported in Romania at 1.8%. 

The reasons entrepreneurs start their businesses

The 2024/2025 GEM Report also investigated the reasons someone might start a business, asking survey respondents to somewhat or strongly agree with 4 predefined motivations.

Here’s which motivations were the most prevalent according to GEM’s findings:

Data source: 2024/2025 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report

As for which sectors were dominant across the globe, GEM didn’t go into too much detail. The research covered 2 very broad categories:

• Business-related and 
• Consumer-oriented services as percentages of TEA. 

Per the latest findings, the highest percentages of TEA for consumer-oriented services in 2024 were noticed in Mexico (83.6%). Meanwhile, the highest percentage of TEA for business-related services was found in Slovenia (over 43.9%).

The reasons entrepreneurs exit their businesses

The GEM Adult Population Survey tried to learn how many entrepreneurs had exited their businesses in the past 12 months. Using that data, the 2024/2025 GEM Report showed the highest percentages of business exits were noticed in these 5 countries:

• Ecuador — 9.5%,
• Jordan — 9.1%,
• Brazil — 7.4%,
• Lithuania — 7.1%, and
• Qatar — 6.7%.

The same survey inquired about the reasons for these exits and categorized them into:

• Positive (e.g., another business opportunity or a chance to sell the business) and 
• Negative (e.g., unprofitability, high taxes, bureaucracy, etc.). 

Entrepreneurs’ concerns about their social impact

According to the 2024/2025 GEM Report, strong social and environmental concerns could be noticed among both new and established businesses. 

The report examined how important social implications were to those starting or running new or established businesses. The top 5 countries with the highest percentages in this category were:

Data source: 2024/2025 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report

Early-stage entrepreneurs prioritize environmental sustainability 

As for environmental implications, the previously mentioned 2024/2025 GEM Report shows an impressive percentage of early-stage entrepreneurs who always consider the environmental implications of their decisions. These are the top 5 countries with the highest scores in this category:

Data source: 2024/2025 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report

The same report shows that most early-stage entrepreneurs prioritize environmental sustainability over profits in 40 out of 51 economies.

Here are the top 5 countries with the highest percentage of early-stage entrepreneurs who prioritize environmental sustainability over profit: 

Data source: 2024/2025 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Report

How Plaky helps you start and manage your business successfully

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