This post was originally published on On Deck
The U.S. Small Business Administration defines a family business as one that is majority-owned by at least two members of a family. Around 27.3% of businesses are family-owned — most of these are small businesses (fewer than 500 employees), and indeed 72.8% have fewer than 10 employees.
Family businesses are a crucial part of the U.S. economy, generating over half of the country’s GDP and employing between 26.70% and 46.74% of a state’s workforce, according to Census Bureau data. They are also a critical part of American culture, reinforcing the country’s entrepreneurial ethos and binding communities together. Family-owned businesses face many challenges — from competition with corporate chains to securing small business loans and business lines of credit. Yet they remain the backbone of the American economy and pillars of local communities.
To celebrate family-owned businesses, OnDeck analyzed the latest available Census Bureau data on family business prevalence, employment and wages to uncover the facts behind family-owned businesses in America. Wethen compared our findings to the previous year’s data to help reveal the trends facing family businesses in today’s economy.
What we did
We sourced data from the latest edition of the U.S. Census’ Annual Business Survey, which covers the
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