Research Summary
One in 18 U.S. Women is a Business Owner
Washington, DC – Over one in 18 adult women in the U.S. – 5.7% – is a business owner. Alaska boasts the highest rate of female entrepreneurship, with 9.4% of the adult women in the state owning businesses. Mississippi is the lowest with only 1 in 25 or 4.0% of the women in the state acting as business owners, according to a new analysis from Center for Women’s Business Research. The research brief, “Women’s Business Ownership by State,” is based on analysis of both business and household Census data and draws from the December 2001 report by the Center, “Women-Owned Businesses in 2002: Trends in the U.S. and 50 States.”
The variance in the rates of women’s business ownership from state to state is consistent with overall trends of business ownership by all adults – those states with the highest rates of overall business ownership were also highest for women’s entrepreneurship and those with the lowest rates were lowest for women’s entrepreneurship. Rates of business ownership among all adults range from a high of 15.1% in Montana to a low of 8.0% in West Virginia. Though men are currently more likely than women to be business owners, (10.4% of all adults compared to 5.7% of women), female entrepreneurship has been growing at twice the national average since 1997.
“Our research shows that women’s entrepreneurship is flourishing throughout the U.S. Nearly 6% of all adult women now own and run businesses and contribute substantially to the nation’s economy,” said Myra M. Hart, Chair, Center for Women’s Business Research. “The analysis of this data enables us to compare business participation rates among women and all adults in every state and creates a baseline for measuring changes and progress in the future.”
States with the highest rates of business ownership, both among women and overall, are clustered in the Mountain and Northeast regions of the U.S. Among women, states with the highest rates of business ownership are: Alaska; Colorado; Montana; Vermont; Wyoming; Oregon; Utah; Idaho; Maine; and New Mexico.
The lowest rates of business ownership are found primarily in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Among women, the states with the lowest rates of business ownership are: Mississippi; Pennsylvania; Alabama; Louisiana; Arkansas; West Virginia; South Carolina; Kentucky; Wisconsin; and Ohio.
Methodology This analysis uses Center for Women’s Business Research’s 2002 estimates of women-owned and all firms, which were derived by using the Census Bureau’s “1997 Survey of Women-Owned Business Enterprises” and growth rates provided by the Bureau. Since the agency is now counting only privately-held firms among women-owned firms, in this analysis calculations among all firms also include only privately-held firms.
Ownership rates among women were calculated by dividing the number of women-owned firms by the number of adult women in each state. For comparative purposes, similar calculations were done comparing all privately-held businesses to the adult population in each state. Population estimates are based on Census 2000 data published by the U.S. Census Bureau and include adults 18 years of age and older.
Center for Women’s Business Research, founded as the National Foundation for Women Business Owners, is the premier source of knowledge about women business owners and their enterprises worldwide. The Center provides original, groundbreaking research to document the economic and social contributions of women-owned firms. To maximize the benefits of this knowledge, the Center has a comprehensive strategy to distribute its research through the media, publications, seminars and consulting. Corporations, government policy makers, educators, organizations, the media, and individuals rely on the Center’s leading-edge knowledge to strengthen their support of women business owners.
One Chart and One Table Follow.
| Number of Women-Owned Businessesi | Number of Adult Women (000s)ii | Rate of Women’s Business Ownership | Rank: Rate of Women’s Business Ownership | Number of All Businesses iii | Number of All Adults (000s)iv | Rate of Business Ownership | Rank: Rate of Business Ownership | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 6,190,387 | 108,134 | 5.7 | 21,836,405 | 209,128 | 10.4 | ||
| Alaska | 19,843 | 210 | 9.4 | 1 | 62,172 | 436 | 14.3 | 3 |
| Colorado | 138,518 | 1,600 | 8.7 | 2 | 453,309 | 3,200 | 14.2 | 4 |
| Montana | 27,387 | 341 | 8.0 | 3 | 101,765 | 672 | 15.1 | 1 |
| Vermont | 18,902 | 239 | 7.9 | 4 | 67,044 | 461 | 14.5 | 2 |
| Wyoming | 14,305 | 183 | 7.8 | 5 | 51,592 | 365 | 14.1 | 5 |
| Oregon | 99,492 | 1,312 | 7.6 | 6 | 309,441 | 2,575 | 12.0 | 11 |
| Utah | 53,406 | 765 | 7.0 | 7 | 194,592 | 1,514 | 12.9 | 8 |
| Idaho | 32,480 | 466 | 7.0 | 8 | 121,542 | 925 | 13.1 | 7 |
| Maine | 35,081 | 508 | 6.9 | 9 | 131,589 | 974 | 13.5 | 6 |
| New Mexico | 46,030 | 675 | 6.8 | 10 | 141,091 | 1,310 | 10.8 | 22 |
| Washington | 146,528 | 2,223 | 6.6 | 11 | 465,838 | 4,380 | 10.6 | 25 |
| Minnesota | 121,431 | 1,857 | 6.5 | 12 | 412,772 | 3,633 | 11.4 | 15 |
| Florida | 414,490 | 6,409 | 6.5 | 13 | 1,438,209 | 12,336 | 11.7 | 12 |
| Nevada | 45,935 | 732 | 6.3 | 14 | 156,300 | 1,486 | 10.5 | 27 |
| Maryland | 128,797 | 2,076 | 6.2 | 15 | 410,578 | 3,940 | 10.4 | 28 |
| Massachusetts | 158,339 | 2,559 | 6.2 | 16 | 554,199 | 4,849 | 11.4 | 14 |
| New Hampshire | 28,888 | 477 | 6.1 | 17 | 116,984 | 926 | 12.6 | 9 |
| New York | 452,325 | 7,542 | 6.0 | 18 | 1,638,664 | 14,286 | 11.5 | 13 |
| Kansas | 60,681 | 1,013 | 6.0 | 19 | 205,337 | 1,975 | 10.4 | 29 |
| California | 745,749 | 12,491 | 6.0 | 20 | 2,558,116 | 24,622 | 10.4 | 30 |
| Illinois | 277,574 | 4,756 | 5.8 | 21 | 903,407 | 9,174 | 9.8 | 36 |
| South Dakota | 16,432 | 282 | 5.8 | 22 | 67,112 | 552 | 12.2 | 10 |
| Connecticut | 78,366 | 1,346 | 5.8 | 23 | 285,956 | 2,564 | 11.2 | 17 |
| Arizona | 110,372 | 1,904 | 5.8 | 24 | 371,806 | 3,764 | 9.9 | 35 |
| Georgia | 179,524 | 3,102 | 5.8 | 25 | 652,169 | 6,017 | 10.8 | 20 |
| Michigan | 217,132 | 3,801 | 5.7 | 26 | 701,444 | 7,343 | 9.6 | 42 |
| Texas | 433,973 | 7,627 | 5.7 | 27 | 1,619,271 | 14,965 | 10.8 | 21 |
| District of Columbia | 13,979 | 246 | 5.7 | 28 | 41,869 | 457 | 9.2 | 48 |
| Hawaii | 25,807 | 459 | 5.6 | 29 | 89,445 | 916 | 9.8 | 39 |
| Oklahoma | 73,792 | 1,320 | 5.6 | 30 | 280,511 | 2,558 | 11.0 | 19 |
| North Dakota | 13,485 | 243 | 5.5 | 31 | 54,452 | 481 | 11.3 | 16 |
| Missouri | 119,961 | 2,179 | 5.5 | 32 | 416,972 | 4,168 | 10.0 | 33 |
| Iowa | 61,811 | 1,134 | 5.5 | 33 | 216,882 | 2,193 | 9.9 | 34 |
| North Carolina | 170,736 | 3,149 | 5.4 | 34 | 645,754 | 6,085 | 10.6 | 26 |
| Virginia | 148,893 | 2,757 | 5.4 | 35 | 499,999 | 5,340 | 9.4 | 46 |
| Tennessee | 120,394 | 2,239 | 5.4 | 36 | 471,020 | 4,291 | 11.0 | 18 |
| Indiana | 123,658 | 2,331 | 5.3 | 37 | 422,094 | 4,506 | 9.4 | 45 |
| New Jersey | 174,616 | 3,313 | 5.3 | 38 | 678,471 | 6,327 | 10.7 | 23 |
| Rhode Island | 22,035 | 424 | 5.2 | 39 | 80,900 | 800 | 10.1 | 32 |
| Nebraska | 33,469 | 648 | 5.2 | 40 | 134,719 | 1,261 | 10.7 | 24 |
| Delaware | 15,879 | 308 | 5.2 | 41 | 56,523 | 589 | 9.6 | 40 |
| Ohio | 223,435 | 4,430 | 5.0 | 42 | 791,187 | 8,465 | 9.3 | 47 |
| Wisconsin | 103,231 | 2,048 | 5.0 | 43 | 377,919 | 3,995 | 9.5 | 43 |
| Kentucky | 78,364 | 1,583 | 5.0 | 44 | 297,725 | 3,047 | 9.8 | 38 |
| South Carolina | 76,872 | 1,570 | 4.9 | 45 | 295,439 | 3,002 | 9.8 | 37 |
| West Virginia | 35,007 | 734 | 4.8 | 46 | 111,975 | 1,406 | 8.0 | 51 |
| Arkansas | 49,313 | 1,038 | 4.8 | 47 | 205,340 | 1,993 | 10.3 | 31 |
| Louisiana | 80,981 | 1,709 | 4.7 | 48 | 310,730 | 3,249 | 9.6 | 41 |
| Alabama | 83,032 | 1,753 | 4.7 | 49 | 313,449 | 3,324 | 9.4 | 44 |
| Pennsylvania | 217,822 | 4,929 | 4.4 | 50 | 849,732 | 9,359 | 9.1 | 49 |
| Mississippi | 43,901 | 1,092 | 4.0 | 51 | 180,433 | 2,069 | 8.7 | 50 |
i Majority-owned, privately-held women-owned businesses as of 2002. Estimates from Center for Women’s Business Research, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau
ii 2000 data, U.S. Census Bureau
iii Privately-held businesses as of 2002. Estimates from Center for Women’s Business Research, with data from the U.S. Census Bureau
iv 2000 data, U.S. Census Bureau
Citation
Center for Women’s Business Research. “One in 18 U.S. Women is a Business Owner.” Research Summary. July 16, 2002. Washington, DC.