Photo by Violette79

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.

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.

Please note that some of these numbers are easier to find than others, so some of these are based on news reports and independent studies. All stats are linked to their source unless it was sent to me directly from the company. In other words: This is the best I can find, but I don’t guarantee anything.

Small Business Statistics

Percentage of all US employers that are small businesses:

99.7%

Last updated 2/4/16

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:

80%

Last updated 2/5/16

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