Small businesses play a pivotal role in the American economy. Making up over 99% of all American employers, the success and failures of small business may impact you more directly than you think.

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I recently sat down to see what I could dig up for small business statistics. Here are the more interesting stats I was able to find. As always, I will be adding to and updating this list fairly regularly as I come across new stats. Be sure to check back often for the latest numbers.

Small Business Statistics

Percentage of all US employers that are small businesses:

99.7%

Last updated 4/30/18

Percentage of US jobs that are at a small business:

67%

Last updated 4/30/18

Percentage of US small business owners that feel there is too much government regulation:

51%

Last updated 9/2/18

Percentage of small/mid-sized businesses that view lead generation as the most significant challenge in 2016:

35%

Last updated 1/8/16

Percentage of small/mid-sized businesses that expect their revenue to increase 10% from 2015-2016:

72%

Last updated 1/8/16

Percentage of small/mid-sized businesses that expect their business to perform substantially better in 2016 than 2015:

34%

Last updated 1/8/16

Percentage of US small businesses that plan to hire employees in 2016:

50%

Last updated 2/5/16

Percentage of US small businesses that invest 4% or more of revenue in marketing:

62%

Last updated 2/5/16

Percentage of US small businesses that use a mix of digital and traditional marketing:

56%

Last updated 2/5/16

Percentage of US small businesses that use social media:

77%

Last updated 8/30/18

Percentage of small businesses that turn to internet searches for advice:

52%

Last updated 1/19/16

Percentage of US small business owners that believe it is important that businesses provide retirement benefits:

63%

Last updated 2/4/16

Percentage of US small businesses that provide retirement benefits:

34%

Last updated 2/4/16

Percentage of US internet users that discover small businesses from online research:

36.7%

Last updated 5/4/16

Percentage of US internet users that discover small businesses from just waling into a store:

8.4%

Last updated 5/4/16

Percentage of US internet users that discover small businesses from social media:

13%

Last updated 5/4/16

Percentage of US internet users that discover small businesses from word-of-mouth:

35%

Last updated 5/4/16

Percentage of small businesses that have mobile-optimized websites:

52%

Last updated 5/4/16

Percentage of small businesses that do not have a marketing plan:

50%

Last updated 5/20/19

Percentage of small business owners that have a college degree:

56%

Last updated 6/20/19

Number of Americans that want to be self-employed by 2021:

24 million