By Aijaz Alam
What percentage of small businesses are profitable?
47.3% of US small employer firms (1 to 499 employees) operated at a profit at the end of 2024, in the Federal Reserve Banks' Small Business Credit Survey, fielded September to November 2025. 19% broke even and 34% ran at a loss. 51% had their funding needs met, while 34% applied but got less financing than they sought.
- 47.3%US small employer firms operating at a profit, end of 2024Fed Small Business Credit Survey, plus or minus 1.9 points
- 51%Firms whose funding needs were metFed SBCS, Sep-Nov 2025
- 34%Firms that applied but got less financing than they soughtFed SBCS, Sep-Nov 2025
- 25%Firms up to 2 years old operating at a profitFed SBCS, end of 2024; 60% for firms over 20 years
- 73%Firms with 50 to 499 employees operating at a profitFed SBCS, end of 2024; 43% for 1 to 4 employees
The numbers
The full breakdown
Profit or loss at the end of 2024, US small employer firms
| Result | Share of firms |
|---|---|
| Operating at a profit | 47.3% |
| Break-even | 19% |
| Operating at a loss | 34% |
6,280 firms answered. The 95% confidence interval for the profit share is plus or minus 1.9 points. The report rounds the profit share to 47%.
Small employer firms operating at a profit at the end of 2024, by number of employees
| Firm size | Operating at a profit | 95% confidence interval | Firms answering |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 employees | 43% | 40.9% to 45.8% | 2,430 |
| 5 to 9 | 43% | 39.0% to 46.2% | 1,505 |
| 10 to 19 | 52% | 47.1% to 56.8% | 1,071 |
| 20 to 49 | 59% | 54.6% to 63.1% | 852 |
| 50 to 499 | 73% | 66.8% to 79.2% | 422 |
Fed SBCS data appendix, sheet 'Firm size (employees)'.
Small employer firms operating at a profit at the end of 2024, by age of firm
| Age of firm | Operating at a profit | 95% confidence interval | Firms answering |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 25% | 19.6% to 31.2% | 312 |
| 3 to 5 years | 42% | 36.5% to 48.5% | 563 |
| 6 to 10 years | 48% | 46.8% to 50.0% | 1,195 |
| 11 to 15 years | 52% | 49.2% to 54.4% | 856 |
| 16 to 20 years | 53% | 48.9% to 57.5% | 759 |
| 21 years or more | 60% | 57.0% to 62.1% | 2,595 |
Fed SBCS data appendix, sheet 'Age of firm'.
Small employer firms operating at a profit at the end of 2024, by industry
| Industry (Fed SBCS grouping) | Operating at a profit | 95% confidence interval | Firms answering |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finance and insurance | 70% | 59.7% to 79.3% | 161 |
| Professional services and real estate | 59% | 54.6% to 62.6% | 1,224 |
| Non-manufacturing goods production and associated services | 48% | 43.9% to 52.9% | 973 |
| Manufacturing | 45% | 41.3% to 49.2% | 844 |
| Business support and consumer services | 45% | 39.2% to 50.9% | 812 |
| Healthcare and education | 41% | 35.6% to 45.6% | 684 |
| Retail | 38% | 33.8% to 42.4% | 735 |
| Leisure and hospitality | 33% | 29.0% to 38.2% | 847 |
Fed SBCS data appendix, sheet 'Industry'. Non-manufacturing goods production includes construction, agriculture and similar industries.
Funding needs and financing outcomes, prior 12 months (Sep-Nov 2025)
| Outcome | Share of small employer firms |
|---|---|
| Funding needs met (got all financing sought, or did not need it) | 51% |
| Financing shortfall (applied, did not get the full amount) | 34% |
| Unmet funding needs (needed financing, did not apply) | 15% |
| Applied for financing | 60% |
| Applied and received all financing sought | 25% |
| Applied and received none | 13% |
| Applied for a loan, line of credit or merchant cash advance | 38.3% |
| Loan, line of credit and cash advance approval rate (share of those applicants) | 80.8% |
6,525 firms. Firms that applied but did not get the full amount count as a shortfall even if they got most of it (9% of firms received most, 13% some). The last row is a share of applicants, not of all firms.
How US employer firms rate their current performance, by size (Census, 5-18 Oct 2026)
| Firm size | Excellent | Above average | Average | Below average | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 employees | 14.1% | 18.2% | 46.1% | 16.8% | 4.7% |
| 5 to 9 | 14.2% | 21.9% | 44.7% | 15.1% | 4.1% |
| 10 to 19 | 14.6% | 25.0% | 44.3% | 13.1% | 2.9% |
| 20 to 49 | 16.2% | 27.7% | 42.2% | 11.3% | 2.6% |
| All US employer firms | 14.6% | 20.7% | 45.2% | 15.4% | 4.1% |
Census Business Trends and Outlook Survey, question 'Overall, how would you describe this business's current performance?'. A self-rating, not a profit measure. Rows may not sum to 100 because of rounding.
Over time
Share of US small employer firms operating at a profit, by survey year
| Profit measured at | Survey | Operating at a profit |
|---|---|---|
| End of 2020 | 2021 SBCS | 35% |
| End of 2021 | 2022 SBCS | 45% |
| End of 2022 | 2023 SBCS | 47% |
| End of 2023 | 2024 SBCS | 46.3% |
| End of 2024 | 2025 SBCS | 47.3% |
Each Report on Employer Firms, published the year after the survey. Whole numbers where the report gives only a rounded share; the 2024 and 2025 surveys have a decimal figure in the report's confidence-interval table. The survey is a convenience sample, so small year-to-year moves may be noise.
Why sources differ
Same question, different answers
| Number | When | Who measured | Why it differs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 47.3% | End of 2024 | Federal Reserve Banks, Small Business Credit Survey | Small employer firms (1-499 staff) operating at a profit; convenience sample of 6,525 firms. |
| 35% | End of 2020 | Federal Reserve Banks, Small Business Credit Survey | Same question in the pandemic year; the low point of the series shown here. |
| 16.8% + 4.7% | 5-18 Oct 2026 | US Census Bureau, Business Trends and Outlook Survey | Firms with 1-4 employees rating current performance below average or poor; a self-rating, not profit. |
| 80.8% | Sep-Nov 2025 | Federal Reserve Banks, Small Business Credit Survey | Approval rate for loan, line of credit and cash advance applicants; not the share of firms whose needs were met (51%). |
No official statistic gives the share of US small businesses that make a profit, so the Federal Reserve Banks' Small Business Credit Survey is the usual source. It asks employer firms with 1 to 499 employees whether they were operating at a profit, at break-even or at a loss at the end of the previous year, and because it is a convenience sample, not a probability sample, the Fed says its 95% confidence interval of plus or minus 1.9 points should be read as a measure of deviation from national population estimates rather than a sampling margin of error. It also leaves out the self-employed with no staff, most of America's small businesses. The Census Bureau's Business Trends and Outlook Survey asks a different question, how firms rate their current performance, and about one firm in five with 1 to 4 employees says below average or poor. Funding figures differ the same way: an 80.8% approval rate counts applicants approved, while 51% counts all firms whose funding needs were fully met.
What it means
How to use these numbers
Fewer than half of US small employer firms make a profit in a typical recent year: 47.3% at the end of 2024, about the same as the two years before and well above the pandemic low of 35% at the end of 2020. A third ran at a loss.
Age and size matter most. Only 25% of firms up to two years old were profitable, against 60% of firms over 20 years old, and 43% of firms with 1 to 4 employees against 73% of those with 50 or more. A new business that loses money in its first two years is the norm in this data, not the exception, which is why cash reserves and access to credit decide who survives.
Credit is the other half of the story. 60% of firms applied for financing, but only 25% of all firms got the full amount they wanted, and 34% ended up short. Lenders look at the same profit and loss numbers, so firms in retail and leisure, where only 38% and 33% made money, face the hardest questions. Planning for slow months before you need a loan is cheaper than borrowing in a bad one.
Method and sources
How it was measured
Method
- Publisher
- Federal Reserve Banks, Small Business Credit Survey (SBCS), 2026 Report on Employer Firms and its data appendix; US Census Bureau, Business Trends and Outlook Survey, for self-rated performance
- Sample
- SBCS: 6,525 responses from a nationwide convenience sample of small employer firms with 1 to 499 full- or part-time employees in all 50 states and DC, fielded 3 September to 14 November 2025
- Definition
- Profitability is self-reported for the end of 2024. Funding needs met: applicants that received the full amount sought plus non-applicants that did not need financing. Shortfall: applicants that did not get the full amount.
- Released
- 2026 Report on Employer Firms, March 2026
- Checked at source
- 31 October 2026: the 2026 report PDF and data appendix xlsx on fedsmallbusiness.org, the 2023, 2024 and 2025 employer reports, and Census BTOS National.xlsx and Employment Size Class.xlsx
- Next release
- The Fed runs the SBCS once a year; the next employer firm report is expected in 2027
- Last changed
- 31 Oct 2026
- Data files
- CSV · JSON (stable links)
Sources
- Small Business Credit Survey, Federal Reserve Banks Survey
- Business Trends and Outlook Survey, US Census Bureau Official data
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FAQ
More questions people ask
Are older small businesses more profitable?
Yes. At the end of 2024, 25% of firms up to two years old operated at a profit, against 42% of firms aged 3 to 5 and 60% of firms over 20 years old (Fed SBCS).
Which small businesses are most and least profitable by industry?
Finance and insurance firms (70%) and professional services and real estate (59%) were most often profitable at the end of 2024; leisure and hospitality (33%) and retail (38%) least often.
Does revenue size matter for profit?
A lot. Only 10% of firms with annual revenue of $25,000 or less operated at a profit at the end of 2024, against 64% of firms with $1 million to $5 million and 79% of those above $10 million.
How many small businesses get the financing they apply for?
60% of small employer firms applied for financing in the year to late 2025. 25% of all firms received the full amount, 22% received some or most of it, and 13% received none (Fed SBCS).
Every number on this page was checked at its original source (Federal Reserve Banks, US Census Bureau). Free to cite with a link to this page.