For the first time on record, more than 200,000 Black-owned businesses in the United States have at least one paid employee. Census Bureau data puts the count at about 201,000 firms with $249 billion in receipts. These companies employ more than 1.8 million people and are growing far faster than U.S. employer businesses as a whole.
Key Takeaways
- Black-owned firms make up about 3.4% of all U.S. employer businesses, roughly 201,000 companies, with $249.0 billion in receipts, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Business Survey.
- From 2017 to 2023, the number of Black-owned employer businesses grew 62%, adding nearly 77,000 firms. Over the same period, U.S. employer businesses overall grew 3.3%.
- These businesses supplied more than 1.8 million jobs and paid out $69.8 billion in salaries in 2023, according to Brookings Institution analysis of the Census data.
- Black woman-owned employer firms grew from fewer than 45,000 in 2017 to 79,000 in 2023, a 78% increase.
- The largest metro-area gains from 2017 to 2023 were in Atlanta, Miami, New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.
- Black Americans make up 14.4% of the U.S. population but own 3.4% of employer businesses, a gap that Brookings estimates represents about 757,000 missing firms.
Why The 200,000 Mark Matters
The difference between a business and an employer business is one of the most important lines in the economy. A sole proprietor builds a livelihood. A company with paid staff builds payroll, benefits, and jobs in its neighborhood. Crossing 200,000 employer firms means Black entrepreneurship is increasingly creating jobs for others, not only for the founder.
The milestone also caps a long run of growth. Brookings researchers note that the 2023 figure marks at least six straight years of increases in Black-owned employer businesses. That is steady progress, not a single strong year.
The wealth impact extends beyond the firms themselves. Brookings research on racial wealth gaps found that business equity was the second-largest contributor to increases in Black household wealth from 1989 to 2022. The researchers also point to a link between higher rates of Black business ownership in a community and longer life expectancy for Black residents there.
Black Women Are Driving The Fastest Growth
Black women are leading the growth among Black business owners. Black woman-owned employer firms reached 79,000 in 2023, up from fewer than 45,000 in 2017. That 78% increase outpaced the 62% growth for Black-owned employer firms overall and the 60% growth for Black man-owned employers.
Black women now own 1.3% of all U.S. employer businesses. That is still small in absolute terms, but it has grown quickly over six years and shows Black women moving from founding small ventures to running companies with employees.
Where Black-Owned Employers Are Concentrated
Half of all Black-owned employer businesses are concentrated in five industry groups, led by health care and social assistance and by professional, scientific, and technical services. The single industry with the highest share of Black business ownership is transit and ground passenger transportation, at 13.7%.
At the other end, Black employers are least represented in capital-intensive sectors such as machinery manufacturing, fabricated metal manufacturing, mining support, and textiles. Those industries usually require large upfront investment in equipment and facilities. Their low share shows how access to capital still shapes which industries Black entrepreneurs enter.
Metro Areas Leading The Gains
Growth has been strongest in a group of major metros. From 2017 to 2023, Atlanta, Miami, New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles recorded the largest gains in Black-owned employer businesses. Many of these cities have large Black professional classes, active business networks, and customer bases that support new companies as they grow.
State-level data shows the same pattern. An analysis of Census data by the Health Policy Institute of Ohio found that the state’s more than 5,600 Black-owned businesses employed more than 64,000 workers in 2023. Their annual payroll rose from $1.3 billion in 2017 to $2 billion in 2023, an 82% increase. Cincinnati stood out, posting 18% growth from 2022 to 2023 while several other Ohio metros declined.
The Parity Gap Shows How Much Room Remains
The milestone is real, and so is the distance still to go. In 2023, Black Americans made up 14.4% of the U.S. population but only 3.4% of employer business owners. Brookings uses a Black Business Parity Dashboard to estimate what closing that gap would mean.
If Black ownership of employer businesses matched the Black share of the population, the United States would have about 757,000 more Black-owned employer firms. Brookings estimates those businesses would add roughly 6.3 million jobs and $824 billion in annual revenue. Those figures show the economic value of expanding Black entrepreneurship, both for Black communities and for the national economy.
Brookings also found that growth has slowed recently. The country added about 6,300 Black-owned employer firms from 2022 to 2023, which created an estimated 238,000 jobs, $37 billion in added revenue, and $8.6 billion in additional wages. That is still meaningful growth, but it is slower than the surge right after the pandemic. It suggests the next phase will depend more on helping existing firms grow than on counting new ones.
What Comes Next For Black Business Ownership
The central question has shifted from how many Black-owned businesses exist to how large they can become. Key factors will include access to growth capital, contracts with large corporations and public agencies, and entry into higher-revenue industries where Black ownership is still rare. The 200,000 milestone shows that Black entrepreneurs are already building. Whether that base grows into the scale the parity data suggests will depend on how those barriers change.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is based on publicly available data and analysis from sources including the U.S. Census Bureau and Brookings Institution. Figures and estimates reflect the periods and methodologies used by those sources and may change as additional data becomes available. References to economic impacts, business growth, and parity estimates are presented as reported by the cited organizations and should not be interpreted as predictions or guarantees of future outcomes.
FAQs
How Many Black-Owned Employer Businesses Are There In The United States?
There are about 201,000 Black-owned employer businesses in the United States, according to the Census Bureau. Together they had $249.0 billion in receipts, about 3.4% of all U.S. employer businesses.
What Is An Employer Business?
An employer business has at least one paid employee besides the owner. Census data tracks these firms separately from nonemployer businesses, such as sole proprietors who work alone.
How Fast Are Black-Owned Businesses Growing?
Black-owned employer businesses grew 62% from 2017 to 2023, adding nearly 77,000 firms. U.S. employer businesses overall grew 3.3% in that period.
Which Cities Have Seen The Most Growth In Black-Owned Businesses?
From 2017 to 2023, the largest gains in Black-owned employer businesses were in Atlanta, Miami, New York, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.
How Many Jobs Do Black-Owned Businesses Provide?
Black-owned employer businesses supplied more than 1.8 million jobs and paid $69.8 billion in salaries in 2023, according to Brookings Institution analysis of Census data.
