Research · Updated October 18, 2026

Women-owned business statistics

How many businesses are owned by women in the U.S. and in each state, how that differs between businesses with and without employees, which industries they work in and how much they take in. The figures are from the Census Bureau's Annual Business Survey for 2023. Census did not publish Kentucky's total or employer counts of women-owned firms.

Of classifiable firms40.3%Women-owned

How many businesses are owned by women

Women owned 14,236,990 U.S. businesses in 2023, which is 40.3% of the 35,367,068 firms the Census Bureau could classify by the sex of their owners.

Women owned 23.8% of employer firms but 43.4% of firms without employees, and women-owned firms took in 13.7% of the receipts of classifiable firms.

Women-owned firms14,236,99039.2% of all 36,364,950 firms
Share of classifiable employer firms23.8%
Share of classifiable firms without employees43.4%
Share of classifiable firms' receipts13.7%

Firms of all sizes, 50 states and D.C. A firm is women-owned when women own 51% or more of it. Source: Census Bureau, Annual Business Survey and Nonemployer Statistics by Demographics, data year 2023.

Firms with and without employees

Women owned 14,236,990 of the 36,364,950 U.S. firms in 2023, or 39.2%. The Census Bureau could classify 35,367,068 firms by the sex of their owners: 14,236,990 were women-owned, 19,658,693 were men-owned and 1,471,385 were equally owned. Women's share of the classifiable firms is 40.3%. This page uses that share, because the other 997,882 firms (publicly held, foreign-owned, nonprofit and other firms that Census cannot classify) have no owner sex to classify and would otherwise count against women.

Most women-owned firms have no employees. 12,880,000 of the 14,236,990 are nonemployer firms, which are 43.4% of classifiable nonemployer firms. The 1,356,990 women-owned employer firms are 23.8% of classifiable employer firms, and they employed 11,686,613 people.

Figure 1

U.S. firms by sex of owners, 2023

Women-owned 14,236,990
Men-owned 19,658,693
Equally owned 1,471,385
Not classifiable by owner sex 997,882

Source: Census Bureau, ABS/NES-D 2023 (AB2300NESD01). The count not classifiable is the total minus the classifiable count. Census rounds counts of firms without employees.

Table 1

Women-owned firms, U.S., 2023

Group	Women-owned firms	Share of all firms	Share of classifiable firms
All firms	14,236,990	39.2%	40.3%
Employer firms	1,356,990	22.9%	23.8%
Firms without employees	12,880,000	42.3%	43.4%

Receipts

Women-owned firms had receipts of $2.77 trillion in 2023, which is 13.7% of the receipts of classifiable firms. Against all firms, including those not classifiable by owner sex, the share is 5.5%, because the firms that cannot be classified hold a large share of all receipts. This page gives the classifiable share.

Among employer firms, women-owned firms averaged $1,729,183 in receipts and men-owned firms averaged $4,057,734. The data does not say why the averages differ. Industry mix, firm age and firm size may play a part, and the tables here do not separate them.

Figure 2

Average receipts per employer firm, 2023

Women-owned$1,729,183
Men-owned$4,057,734

Source: Census Bureau, ABS/NES-D 2023. Average of receipts across women-owned and men-owned employer firms in the U.S.

Industries

Women own a larger share of employer firms in services and a smaller share in construction, mining and transportation. Among the 19 sectors, women's share of classifiable employer firms is highest in educational services (42.1%), health care and social assistance (40.7%) and other services (32.8%). It is lowest in construction (8.8%), mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction (12.8%) and transportation and warehousing (12.9%). By number of firms, health care and social assistance has the most women-owned employer firms (249,546), followed by professional, scientific and technical services (224,886).

In detailed industries with at least 5,000 women-owned employer firms, women hold 72.4% of child care services (36,558 firms), 62.3% of personal care services (84,882), 59.7% of florists (6,576), 58.7% of individual and family services (22,215) and 52.9% of home health care services (14,182).

Figure 3

Women's share of classifiable employer firms, by sector, 2023

All sectors 23.8%

Educational services42.1%
Health care and social assistance40.7%
Other services (except public administration)32.8%
Real estate and rental and leasing28.8%
Professional, scientific, and technical services26.8%
Arts, entertainment, and recreation25.2%
Retail trade24.1%
Accommodation and food services23.7%
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services22.1%
Finance and insurance20.1%
Information18.8%
Management of companies and enterprises16.9%
Manufacturing16.9%
Wholesale trade15.4%
Utilities14.6%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting13.5%
Transportation and warehousing12.9%
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction12.8%
Construction8.8%

Source: Census Bureau, Annual Business Survey company summary, data year 2023. Bars run from 0 to 50%.

Table 2

Detailed industries with at least 5,000 women-owned employer firms, 2023


Child care services	6244	60,837	36,558	72.4%	19,910	361,151
Personal care services	8121	136,707	84,882	62.3%	33,877	413,224
Florists	4593	11,034	6,576	59.7%	3,267	32,339
Individual and family services	6241	64,938	22,215	58.7%	24,381	435,234
Home health care services	6216	28,625	14,182	52.9%	27,116	459,714
Other personal services	8129	48,238	24,598	52.7%	10,505	138,359
Office supplies, stationery, and gift retailers	4594	16,913	8,216	49.6%	6,047	42,381
Clothing and clothing accessories retailers	4581	39,232	19,118	49.2%	20,878	115,012
Specialized design services	5414	33,459	16,267	48.8%	10,882	38,378
Offices of other health practitioners	6213	170,949	80,055	47.7%	40,420	352,275
Other schools and instruction	6116	54,438	19,505	41.4%	10,172	182,942
Continuing care retirement communities and assisted living facilities for the elderly	6233	18,838	6,725	41.4%	6,713	94,054
Offices of real estate agents and brokers	5312	145,902	57,822	40.0%	26,833	100,786
Business support services	5614	19,406	7,208	39.4%	6,346	46,206
Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services	5412	116,074	44,702	38.9%	17,789	174,108
Outpatient care centers	6214	26,715	7,662	37.4%	8,424	58,429
Other professional, scientific, and technical services	5419	69,462	24,673	36.3%	22,974	165,601
Other support services	5619	17,801	5,428	35.9%	8,515	57,846
Special food services	7223	24,706	8,546	35.0%	5,173	53,445
Employment services	5613	29,957	10,049	34.7%	44,449	748,798
Independent artists, writers, and performers	7115	39,086	12,586	32.5%	7,747	21,325
Health and personal care retailers	4561	44,141	13,605	31.3%	32,336	88,312
Advertising, public relations, and related services	5418	34,312	10,530	31.3%	13,334	53,584
Specialty food retailers	4452	18,638	5,182	28.4%	5,478	38,310
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services	5416	205,470	56,093	27.9%	44,677	207,824
Furniture and home furnishings retailers	4491	31,226	8,601	27.7%	18,092	59,843
Offices of physicians	6211	141,137	37,371	27.1%	38,852	215,037
Offices of dentists	6212	120,052	32,066	26.9%	30,120	212,941
Office administrative services	5611	32,263	7,508	25.0%	6,508	41,180
Restaurants and other eating places	7225	443,043	104,811	24.0%	117,977	1,528,459
Agencies, brokerages, and other insurance related activities	5242	123,480	28,183	23.2%	16,077	100,630
Other miscellaneous retailers	4599	58,363	13,313	23.1%	14,314	51,872
Drycleaning and laundry services	8123	23,007	5,247	23.0%	2,816	28,549
Legal services	5411	164,658	36,708	22.7%	27,929	123,756
Drinking places (alcoholic beverages)	7224	38,930	8,635	22.6%	5,293	68,972
Beer, wine, and liquor retailers	4453	31,791	7,118	22.5%	12,377	38,484
Activities related to real estate	5313	85,092	18,527	22.4%	12,811	94,538
Sporting goods, hobby, and musical instrument retailers	4591	29,633	6,475	22.0%	9,223	49,831
Other amusement and recreation industries	7139	68,373	12,200	21.7%	8,392	127,820
Grocery and convenience retailers	4451	72,756	14,674	20.3%	45,428	177,357
Lessors of real estate	5311	95,198	17,280	19.7%	26,172	81,464
Services to buildings and dwellings	5617	213,158	39,018	18.4%	34,361	368,891
Building material and supplies dealers	4441	31,626	5,510	17.7%	19,820	54,913
Computer systems design and related services	5415	125,542	20,868	17.0%	41,815	166,626
Traveler accommodation	7211	48,536	7,412	15.8%	15,207	109,845
Other financial investment activities	5239	57,854	8,230	14.7%	12,199	29,875
Gasoline stations	4571	59,515	8,228	14.0%	46,648	74,905
Architectural, engineering, and related services	5413	93,178	12,060	13.2%	25,762	111,702
Specialized freight trucking	4842	45,996	5,906	13.0%	6,713	32,857
Other specialty trade contractors	2389	81,243	9,716	12.0%	35,959	112,205
General freight trucking	4841	97,988	10,828	11.1%	13,495	56,823
Building finishing contractors	2383	120,715	10,823	9.0%	23,641	85,319
Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors	2381	104,099	9,100	8.8%	29,872	89,536
Building equipment contractors	2382	195,747	15,879	8.2%	45,992	179,429
Automotive repair and maintenance	8111	140,867	10,512	7.5%	10,955	61,472
Residential building construction	2361	200,536	13,517	6.8%	17,514	41,833

Sectors and industries use the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Share is of employer firms classifiable by owner sex. Source: Census Bureau, Annual Business Survey company summary, data year 2023.

Women-owned firms in each state

Table 3

Women-owned firms, by state, 2023


United States	14,236,990	40.3%	23.8%	43.4%	13.7%	$1,729,183	n/a
Alabama	190,219	42.3%	20.0%	46.1%	11.3%	$2,056,139	10
Alaska	29,906	39.7%	29.9%	42.1%	12.0%	$1,362,189	22
Arizona	287,447	41.0%	24.3%	44.3%	11.5%	$1,340,150	17
Arkansas	114,605	40.0%	21.1%	43.6%	14.7%	$2,169,273	21
California	1,655,543	39.4%	24.8%	42.7%	14.3%	$1,775,611	25
Colorado	295,397	40.5%	26.5%	43.7%	15.2%	$1,341,084	19
Connecticut	148,939	39.2%	21.3%	42.6%	12.0%	$1,707,053	28
Delaware	37,989	37.6%	19.8%	42.1%	16.0%	$1,999,080	35
District of Columbia	35,403	47.5%	29.1%	51.0%	14.0%	$1,727,455	1
Florida	1,453,751	41.9%	24.9%	44.6%	13.8%	$1,065,951	12
Georgia	605,374	45.6%	25.8%	48.7%	13.6%	$1,573,444	2
Hawaii	60,007	43.0%	26.0%	46.1%	16.3%	$1,335,918	6
Idaho	77,088	37.5%	19.8%	42.2%	9.4%	$1,013,193	36
Illinois	520,815	39.6%	23.3%	43.0%	16.4%	$2,554,521	23
Indiana	225,054	39.1%	21.8%	42.6%	11.9%	$1,871,477	30
Iowa	102,700	37.0%	20.3%	40.9%	8.3%	$1,445,235	39
Kansas	100,499	38.1%	21.9%	41.7%	14.2%	$1,919,297	33
Kentucky	n/a	n/a	n/a	40.7%	n/a	n/a	n/a
Louisiana	212,973	44.0%	22.0%	47.9%	13.9%	$2,132,053	3
Maine	57,595	36.9%	21.7%	40.6%	16.8%	$1,809,908	42
Maryland	294,129	42.9%	25.6%	45.7%	13.5%	$1,387,514	7
Massachusetts	283,190	37.9%	22.0%	41.3%	11.4%	$1,654,340	34
Michigan	390,872	40.8%	21.9%	44.5%	11.8%	$1,808,674	18
Minnesota	203,346	37.0%	22.7%	40.3%	12.4%	$1,594,351	39
Mississippi	126,756	43.9%	22.6%	47.2%	13.9%	$1,913,097	4
Missouri	223,632	39.0%	23.5%	42.2%	14.3%	$1,886,514	31
Montana	51,749	37.0%	22.8%	41.1%	18.6%	$1,394,022	39
Nebraska	70,354	36.8%	20.3%	41.0%	8.1%	$1,292,782	44
Nevada	143,541	41.6%	24.3%	45.0%	11.8%	$1,500,094	14
New Hampshire	50,943	36.2%	18.5%	40.3%	13.6%	$1,952,519	46
New Jersey	377,402	36.4%	21.7%	39.4%	14.2%	$1,955,308	45
New Mexico	72,260	43.2%	26.3%	46.8%	20.0%	$1,886,627	5
New York	852,051	37.5%	24.0%	40.4%	14.1%	$1,520,971	36
North Carolina	456,704	42.4%	25.4%	45.6%	14.1%	$1,331,657	9
North Dakota	26,832	35.5%	20.2%	39.8%	9.6%	$1,366,375	47
Ohio	418,005	39.6%	22.0%	42.8%	14.3%	$2,362,058	23
Oklahoma	151,501	39.2%	22.5%	42.5%	13.1%	$1,651,173	28
Oregon	171,907	42.0%	25.6%	46.3%	15.3%	$1,451,613	11
Pennsylvania	419,278	36.9%	21.7%	40.1%	13.9%	$1,959,950	42
Rhode Island	45,076	39.3%	21.7%	43.3%	13.0%	$1,352,160	26
South Carolina	223,720	42.9%	24.2%	46.4%	14.2%	$1,494,765	7
South Dakota	32,586	34.4%	17.5%	39.0%	7.3%	$1,106,459	50
Tennessee	304,693	41.7%	20.9%	44.6%	12.7%	$1,904,954	13
Texas	1,445,124	41.5%	23.8%	44.1%	14.3%	$2,321,355	15
Utah	129,705	35.1%	18.9%	39.1%	11.1%	$1,565,573	49
Vermont	30,325	38.6%	22.7%	42.3%	16.0%	$1,358,476	32
Virginia	359,471	41.5%	26.8%	44.3%	16.4%	$1,577,067	15
Washington	275,227	40.3%	25.0%	44.5%	12.4%	$1,283,531	20
West Virginia	44,664	39.3%	20.4%	43.5%	9.0%	$1,066,240	26
Wisconsin	181,796	37.5%	21.0%	41.5%	12.0%	$1,983,427	36
Wyoming	27,533	35.4%	23.0%	39.0%	13.5%	$1,170,197	48

Kentucky's total and employer women-owned figures were suppressed by the Census Bureau ("n/a") and Kentucky is not ranked; its count of women-owned firms without employees was published. Ranks are out of the 50 jurisdictions with data; ties share a rank. Census rounds counts of firms without employees. A firm with locations in several states is counted in each, so state counts add up to more than the U.S. total.

Highest and lowest shares

California (1,655,543), Florida (1,453,751), Texas (1,445,124), New York (852,051) and Georgia (605,374) have the most women-owned firms. North Dakota (26,832), Wyoming (27,533), Alaska (29,906), Vermont (30,325) and South Dakota (32,586) have the fewest.

As a share of classifiable firms, women's share is highest in the District of Columbia (47.5%), Georgia (45.6%), Louisiana (44.0%), Mississippi (43.9%) and New Mexico (43.2%), and lowest in South Dakota (34.4%), Utah (35.1%), Wyoming (35.4%), North Dakota (35.5%) and New Hampshire (36.2%). For employer firms alone, the highest are Alaska (29.9%), the District of Columbia (29.1%), Virginia (26.8%), Colorado (26.5%) and New Mexico (26.3%), and the lowest South Dakota (17.5%), New Hampshire (18.5%), Utah (18.9%), Delaware (19.8%) and Idaho (19.8%).

Women-owned firms' share of receipts is highest in New Mexico (20.0%), Montana (18.6%) and Maine (16.8%) and lowest in South Dakota (7.3%), Nebraska (8.1%) and Iowa (8.3%).

Figure 4

Women-owned share of classifiable firms, 2023

Select a state on the map. Kentucky is hatched because the Census Bureau did not publish its total count of women-owned firms.

Under 38%
38% to 40%
40% to 42%
42% to 44%
44% or more
Hatched: Kentucky, not published

United States

40.3%

of classifiable firms · 14,236,990 women-owned firms

Source: Census Bureau, ABS/NES-D 2023. U.S. share 40.3%.

Women owners and men owners

The Annual Business Survey also asks owners of employer businesses about themselves. These figures are for women and men who own employer firms, whether or not the firm is women-owned.

Women owners were more likely than men to be on their first business (53.7% against 46.4%). Women were more likely to rate balancing work and family (60.1% against 53.8%) and flexible hours (56.7% against 50.4%) as very important reasons for starting, and less likely to rate being their own boss (53.9% against 65.1%), greater income (56.8% against 64.6%) and the best avenue for their ideas (47.6% against 54.9%). 21.1% of women owners were 65 or older, against 24.0% of men. For 69.3% of women owners the business was their main source of personal income, against 73.2% of men.

Table 4

Owners of employer businesses, women and men, 2023

Characteristic	Women owners	Men owners
First business the owner has owned	53.7%	46.4%
Best avenue for ideas, very important	47.6%	54.9%
Wanted to be my own boss, very important	53.9%	65.1%
Balance work and family, very important	60.1%	53.8%
Flexible hours, very important	56.7%	50.4%
Greater income, very important	56.8%	64.6%
Aged 65 or older	21.1%	24.0%
Business is the main source of personal income	69.3%	73.2%
Born outside the U.S.	20.6%	19.0%

Shares are of owners who answered each question. Up to four owners per firm are counted. Source: Census Bureau, Annual Business Survey, data year 2023 (AB2300CSCBO).

Women-owned employer firms over time

The Census Bureau reported 1,134,549 women-owned employer firms in 2017 and 1,309,282 in 2022, in a May 2025 article on small business. The 2023 count in the Annual Business Survey tables is 1,356,990.

Table 5

Women-owned employer firms

Year	Women-owned employer firms	Source
2017	1,134,549	Census Bureau article, May 2025
2022	1,309,282	Census Bureau article, May 2025 (2023 Annual Business Survey)
2023	1,356,990	Annual Business Survey, data year 2023

The 2017 and 2022 counts are quoted from the Census Bureau, not recalculated, and come from earlier survey releases. This page does not compute a growth rate across releases.

What these numbers count

Women-owned.

A firm in which women own 51% or more of the equity. A firm owned 50/50 by a woman and a man is counted as equally owned.

Classifiable.

Firms the Census Bureau could classify by the sex of their owners: women-owned, men-owned or equally owned. Shares on this page use that count as the base.

Employer and nonemployer.

An employer firm has paid employees. A nonemployer firm has none and at least $1,000 in receipts ($1 in construction).

Years differ.

The firm counts and shares are for 2023. The 2017 and 2022 counts are from earlier releases. The SBA's Office of Advocacy quotes 2022 figures (14.0 million firms, 40.4%), and this page does not mix them with 2023.

Kentucky.

The Census Bureau suppressed Kentucky's total and employer counts of women-owned firms, so those show "n/a" and Kentucky is not ranked. Its count of women-owned firms without employees was published.

Methodology

Source

Counts come from the Census Bureau's Annual Business Survey and Nonemployer Statistics by Demographics combined table (AB2300NESD01, data year 2023), and from the ABS company summary (AB2300CSA01) for industry detail. A firm is women-owned when women own 51% or more of its equity. Shares are calculated over firms classifiable by owner sex (women-owned, men-owned and equally owned). The all-firms share is shown in the tables for reference. Owner characteristics come from the ABS Characteristics of Business Owners table (AB2300CSCBO). The 2017 and 2022 employer counts are quoted from a Census Bureau article of May 2025. Data downloaded October 18, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

How many women-owned businesses are there in the U.S.?

The Census Bureau counted 14,236,990 in 2023, which is 39.2% of all firms and 40.3% of firms classifiable by owner sex.

What percentage of businesses are owned by women?

40.3% of the firms the Census Bureau could classify by owner sex in 2023. Counted against all firms, including those it could not classify, it is 39.2%.

What percentage of employer businesses are women-owned?

23.8% of classifiable employer firms, or 22.9% of all employer firms, in 2023.

Which state has the highest share of women-owned businesses?

The District of Columbia, at 47.5%. Among states, Georgia, at 45.6%.

What industries do women-owned businesses work in?

By number of employer firms, health care and social assistance (249,546) and professional, scientific and technical services (224,886). By women's share, educational services (42.1%) and health care and social assistance (40.7%).

Why do women start businesses?

Among women who own employer firms, 60.1% rated balancing work and family very important, 56.8% greater income and 56.7% flexible hours.

How much do women-owned businesses take in?

$2.77 trillion in receipts in 2023, which is 13.7% of the receipts of classifiable firms. Women-owned employer firms averaged $1,729,183 against $4,057,734 for men-owned ones.

Why are Kentucky's numbers missing?

The Census Bureau did not publish the total or employer count of women-owned firms for Kentucky in 2023 because the estimates did not meet its publication standards. It did publish the count of women-owned firms without employees, 135,000.

Cite this page

You are welcome to use these figures with a link to this page. For a single state, link to this page with the state's postal code at the end, for example #tx.

Suggested citation

Mainstay Filing, "Women-Owned Business Statistics," updated October 18, 2026, using U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Business Survey and Nonemployer Statistics by Demographics 2023. https://mainstayfiling.com/research/women-owned-business-statistics/

Last updated:October 18, 2026
Data year:2023
Next update:when the Census Bureau releases the next Annual Business Survey

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Business Survey and Nonemployer Statistics by Demographics 2023, table AB2300NESD01. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/abs/data/2023/. Downloaded October 18, 2026.
U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Business Survey, company summary (AB2300CSA01) and characteristics of business owners (AB2300CSCBO), data year 2023. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/abs/data/2023/. Downloaded October 18, 2026.
U.S. Census Bureau, small business article of May 2025 (counts of women-owned employer firms in 2017 and 2022). https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2025/05/small-business-week.html.
U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business, February 2026 (2022 figures, cited in the definitions only). https://advocacy.sba.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/FINAL_FAQsAboutSmallBusiness_2026_012826.pdf.

Mainstay Filing is a business filing service, not a law firm or tax advisor. This page reports public government statistics and is not legal, tax or financial advice.