Entrepreneur Statistics

Starting a business is one of the most common dreams in America. And the numbers show that more people are doing it than ever.

New business formation hit a post-pandemic record in 2024, and the rise of AI tools is making it easier than ever to launch with less money and fewer barriers. The data also shows who is most likely to succeed — and why.

Want to understand what entrepreneurs earn? See our full breakdown at Average College Graduate Salaries.

What Percentage of Entrepreneurs are Successful?

Being an entrepreneur has many risks, and unfortunately, the majority of businesses do fail.

• About 20.4% of businesses fail within their first year, according to updated data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• 49.4% of businesses fail within their first five years.
• Within their first 10 years, 65.3% of businesses fail.
• So about 34.7% of businesses are still running after 10 years.
• According to the same source, just 25% of businesses survive 15 or more years.
• In order to succeed, 38% of entrepreneurs state that being self-disciplined is the most important factor.
• Another 37% identified communication skills as a key factor for being successful as an entrepreneur.

Survival rates vary significantly by industry. Agriculture businesses have the strongest 10-year survival rate at about 50.5%. The information sector is the most likely to fail, with only 29.1% surviving a decade.

Research on founder age also points to a clear pattern. Founders around age 45 tend to have the highest success rates. The average age of a U.S. entrepreneur is 36.4 years old.

What Percentage of Millionaires are Entrepreneurs?

• An oft-quoted report by a 2017 Fidelity Investment Research study reported that 88% of millionaires considered their wealth to be “self-made.”
• The 2018 version of the study shows that 81% of millionaires considered themselves to be “self-made.”

What Percentage of the Population are Entrepreneurs?

• Entrepreneurs make up about 19% of the adult workforce in the United States — a historic high as of 2025.
• Worldwide, there are estimated to be around 665 million entrepreneurs as of the end of 2024, up from 582 million in prior years.
• Approximately 55% of adults in the United States have started their own business at some time.
• About 26% of adults in the United States have started at least two businesses.
• Small businesses make up 99.9% of all U.S. businesses, with about 36.2 million small businesses as of 2025.

Top Industries for Entrepreneurship

• In the United States, Food and Restaurant is the top industry for entrepreneurship, with 12% of new small businesses.
• Retail and Business Services are tied for 2nd, each with 11%.
• Health, Beauty, and Fitness ranks 3rd with 9%, while Residential and Commercial Services rank 4th with 7% of new businesses.

What Challenges do Entrepreneurs Face?

Business owners face a variety of challenges, including financial, managerial, economical, and even political or public-health related.

• Not enough demand is cited as the Number 1 cause for a business to fail.
• In fact, 42% of entrepreneurs cited “no market for their products or services” as the primary reason a business fails.
• The 2nd most common reason (29%) for a business to fail is because of problems with cash flow or capital.
• Poor teamwork ranked as the 3rd most likely reason for a business to fail, cited by 23% of entrepreneurs.

Additional Challenges Faced by Modern Entrepreneurs

• Approximately 1 in 4 women agree that they have faced gender-based discrimination and bias as entrepreneurs.
• According to Freshbooks’ 2021 Report, 60% of entrepreneurs found adopting new technologies in response to COVID was “at least somewhat challenging.”
• Access to healthcare and benefits was cited as a challenge by 39% of prospective entrepreneurs over the age of 55.
• It was also cited as a challenge by 21% of prospective entrepreneurs younger than 55.
• Overall, 28% of women and 20% of men said that access to benefits was a barrier to entrepreneurship.
• Concerns about irregular income and cash flow was a challenge identified by 32% of respondents.
• A significant percentage (28%) of prospective business owners also reported worrying about lower income as a challenge.
• Absence of a business plan was a challenge identified by a quarter of prospective business owners in the study.
• Paying down debt was identified as a barrier to entrepreneurship more often by people who identify as a visible minority (30%).
• About 24% of aspiring entrepreneurs say lack of time is the biggest barrier to starting, and 22% cite lack of business knowledge.

For more on how gender shapes career and income outcomes, see our Women Workforce Statistics page.

Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Entrepreneurship

• Amazingly, the pandemic did not deter the vast majority of currently self-employed people, with 95% stating they intend to stay self-employed.
• There was actually a 29% increase in interest in self-employment during the pandemic.
• This equaled 40% of traditionally-employed people asserting that self-employment within two years is “at least somewhat likely.”
• Of these people, 84% said that the COVID-19 pandemic is at least partly responsible for their decision.
• Career satisfaction among entrepreneurs is surprisingly high even during the pandemic, with 70% stating they are satisfied with their career.
• A large majority (63%) of entrepreneurs who started their business during the pandemic era still agree that self-employment is the best career choice in uncertain times.

Motivation for Becoming an Entrepreneur

Many factors motivate people toward becoming entrepreneurs, including overcoming discrimination in their traditional work environment, work-life balance, and opportunity.

• Consistently, the Number 1 reason that people cite as their motivation for becoming an entrepreneur is to be their own boss, cited by 28% of entrepreneurs.
• Being dissatisfied with their traditional, corporate job was the 2nd most cited reason for becoming an entrepreneur, at 22%.
• The third most common motivation for becoming a business owner was described as “passion,” cited by about 13-16% of entrepreneurs.
• People who identify as visible minorities (36%) said that self-employment was their primary life goal.
• This is compared to 28% of respondents who were white who stated self-employment as their primary life goal.
• Women who are visible minorities (42%) were more likely than white women (33%) to see entrepreneurship as a path to advance their career.
• Nearly half of entrepreneurs say financial independence was their main reason for starting a business, and 79% report having achieved it.

Entrepreneur Demographics

Education

• Entrepreneurs are extremely likely to have earned at least a bachelor’s degree, with 95.1% having done so.
• Nearly half of entrepreneurs (47%) have also earned graduate degrees.
• They tended to have done well in high school, with 75% stating that they graduated in the top 30% of their class.
• A surprising 52% of entrepreneurs claim to have graduated in the top 10% of their high school class.
• In college, 67% of entrepreneurs surveyed said they graduated in the top 30% of their cohort.
• An impressive 37% of entrepreneurs stated that they were in the top 10% of their college cohort, as well.

Gender, Age, and Race/Ethnicity

• Women make up 22% of majority-owned U.S. businesses as of 2024, and 43% of nonemployer (solo) businesses.
• Rates of female entrepreneurship across the United States grew an average of 10%, versus 5% for males.
• Men make up approximately 61% of majority-owned small businesses in the United States.
• Black-Americans own 7% of all U.S. businesses.
• Hispanic-Americans own 10.6% of U.S. businesses.
• Asian-Americans represent 4.3% of U.S. business ownership.
• Millennial business owners have grown by 27% since 2023. Gen X owns 49% of U.S. small businesses, Baby Boomers 30%, and Millennials 21%.

Gen Z is entering entrepreneurship at record rates. About 43% of Gen Z say they plan to start a business, the highest entrepreneurial intent of any generation. Millennials come in at 39% and Gen X at 21%.

AI is a major driver of this trend. Entrepreneurs report saving an average of six hours per week by using AI tools. About 75% of Millennial entrepreneurs plan to use AI in their businesses, compared to 65% of Gen Z and 61% of Gen X. Solopreneurs use AI 17% more often than small business owners.

To understand how earnings compare between employed workers and business owners, check out our page on Is 80K a Year Good.

Entrepreneur Statistics by State

There are many ways to evaluate the health of businesses or the entrepreneurial environment.

One measure is the number of business applications. Another is the percent of new businesses that successfully make payroll within their first eight quarters.

Best States for Entrepreneurs

• Florida had the most business applications as of March 2022, with 46,832.
• California had the 2nd most business applications for that time period, with 38,690.
• They are closely followed by Texas with 38,317 business applications, ranking 3rd highest.
• New York ranked 4th highest, with 25,364.
• Georgia had the 5th most business applications in the country in March 2022, with 21,797.
• Maine had the highest percentage of new businesses make their first payroll within their first 8 quarters, with 16.4% doing so.
• With 14.7% of its new businesses making their first payroll within 8 quarters, South Dakota ranked 2nd for this measure.
• Idaho ranked 3rd for new businesses making their first payroll within this period, with 14% of its new businesses.
• The 4th best state by this measure was Washington, with 13.9% of new businesses doing so.
• Nebraska, with 13.6% of its new businesses making their first payroll within 8 quarters, was the 5th best state.

Worst States for Entrepreneurs

• The state with the least business applications for March 2022 was Vermont, with 605 applications.
• The 2nd least business applications (700) were filed in the State of North Dakota.
• Alaska, the state with the 3rd lowest number of business applications, was close behind with only 702 applications filed.
• South Dakota, with 862 applications, was the 4th lowest by number of business applications.
• Finally, Rhode Island had the 5th least business applications, with 914.
• The District of Columbia had the lowest percentage of new businesses that made their first payroll within 8 quarters.
• Louisiana was the second lowest by this measure, with only 5.8% of its new businesses achieving this milestone.
• The 3rd lowest ranking state was Mississippi, with 6.1% doing so.
• Georgia ranked 4th lowest with only 6.3% of new businesses making payroll within 8 quarters.
• Delaware was the 5th lowest ranking for this measure, with only 6.5% of its new businesses making payroll within 8 quarters.

 

Entrepreneurship Statistics by State (Table)

State

Business Applications (March 2022)

Rank by # of Business Applications

Change Year-over-Year (%)

Percent of New Busines What Percentage of Entrepreneurs are Successful? What Percentage of Millionaires are Entrepreneurs? What Percentage of the Population are Entrepreneurs? Top Industries for Entrepreneurship What Challenges do Entrepreneurs Face? Additional Challenges Faced by Modern Entrepreneurs Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Entrepreneurship Motivation for Becoming an Entrepreneur Entrepreneur Demographics Education Gender, Age, and Race/Ethnicity Entrepreneur Statistics by State Best States for Entrepreneurs Worst States for Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurship Statistics by State (Table) Home > Entrepreneur Statistics