Description
Within this detail, in regard to the 2014 state of women owned businesses report.
THE 2014 STATE OF
WOMEN-OWNED
BUSINESSES REPORT
commissioned by American Express OPEN
LALA PRESS
MABLE LEE
MEMBER SINCE 00
A SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT TRENDS
1997–2014
T
his report was commissioned by American Express OPEN and published in
March of 2014. The information contained in this report was prepared from
sources and data that we believe to be reliable, but we make no representation
as to its accuracy or completeness and we assume neither responsibility nor liability
for any damages of any type resulting from any errors or omissions. The report is
provided solely for informational purposes and is not to be construed as providing
advice, recommendations, endorsements, representations or warranties of any
kind whatsoever. Opinions and analysis contained in this report represent the
opinions and analysis of Womenable, a research, program and policy development
consultancy, and do not necessarily represent the opinions or analysis of American
Express Company or any of its afliates, subsidiaries or divisions (including, without
limitation, American Express OPEN).
Our sincere thanks are extended to the Economic Census Branch of the Company
Statistics Division of the U.S. Census Bureau, which provided invaluable insights
during the preparation of this analysis.
Visit openforum.com/womensbusinessreport
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
National Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Geographic Trends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Industry Trends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Firms Owned by Women of Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
The Issue of Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Women-Owned Businesses in the United States in 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
The Business Census Over Time:
Data Improvements, De?nitional Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
State Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Metropolitan Area Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Industry Trends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
In the Spotlight: Firms Owned by Women of Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
African American Women-Owned Firms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Asian American Women-Owned Firms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Latina-Owned Firms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Native American/Alaska Native Women-Owned Firms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Native Hawaiian/Paci?c Islander Women-Owned Firms. . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Fostering Growth: A Focus on the Size Continuum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Growth Along the Employment Size Spectrum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Growth Along the Revenue Size Spectrum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Observations: On Moving From Measurement to Action. . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Study Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Summary Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
INTRODUCTION
T
his publication marks our fourth annual
investigation into the state of women-owned
businesses in the United States. It provides
stakeholders in the women’s enterprise development
community—policy makers, entrepreneurial support
organizations, suppliers and customers, and women
business owners themselves—with information and
intelligence that can inform their eforts. American
Express OPEN is proud to build upon the growing interest
and commentary generated by our previous reports.
This current publication reinforces trends we have been
seeing in this and other research—that the number
of women-owned ?rms continues to increase at rates
exceeding the national average, yet they remain smaller
than the average ?rm. And since the ?rst annual report
published in 2011, we have expanded our analysis
to include an investigation into growth trends at the
metropolitan area level, new insights on the size of ?rms
within industries, an exploration of growth along the
business size spectrum, and—last year—the addition of
an analysis of the tremendous growth seen among ?rms
owned by women of color. New this year: a look at daily
business creation rates, comparing rates before and
after the recent recession.
AMONG THE MOST IMPORTANT
FINDINGS IN THIS REPORT:
• The current numbers: it is estimated that, as of 2014,
there are nearly 9.1 million women-owned enterprises,
employing nearly 7.9 million workers and generating
over $1.4 trillion in revenues.
• Between 1997 and 2014, the number of women-owned
?rms grew at 1½ times the national average. And
revenue and employment growth among women-
owned ?rms tops that of all other ?rms—except the
largest, publicly traded corporations.
On average over the 1997–2014 period, there has been
a net increase of 591 women-owned ?rms each day—
including 714 per day in the years (2002–07) leading up
to the recession, 506 per day over the past seven years
(2007–14), and fully 1,288 per day over the past year.
• Since 1997, the growth in the number and economic
contributions of ?rms owned by women of color is
nothing short of remarkable. Comprising just 17%
of women-owned ?rms 17 years ago, ?rms owned by
women of color now account for one in three (32%)
women-owned ?rms in the U.S.
• The states with the fastest growth in the number,
employment and revenues of women-owned ?rms
since 1997 are: North Dakota, the District of Columbia,
Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, Wyoming, Virginia,
Maryland, Texas, and Utah.
• The metropolitan areas with the greatest growth in
the number, employment and revenues of women-
owned ?rms since 2002 are: San Antonio, TX; Atlanta,
GA; Baltimore, MD; Houston, TX; Portland, OR;
Washington, DC; Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL; Seattle,
WA; Dallas, TX and Riverside, CA.
It is our hope that these up-to-date insights, based upon
published information from the U.S. Census Bureau,
will spark debate and discussion. Further, we expect it
will draw particular attention to the growing diversity in
women-owned enterprises, both in terms of the sectors
in which they operate AND with respect to the ethnic
diversity of women business owners.
Finally, it is our goal to add to the body of knowledge of
where growth leads and where it lags, thereby pointing
the way to areas where policy and programmatic support
can help even more women-owned ?rms to reach their
full potential.
2
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
NATIONAL TRENDS
• As of 2014, it is estimated that there are nearly 9.1
million women-owned businesses in the United States,
generating over $1.4 trillion in revenues and employing
nearly 7.9 million people.
• Between 1997 and 2014, when the number of
businesses in the United States increased by 47%, the
number of women-owned ?rms increased by 68%—a
rate 1½ times the national average. Indeed, the growth
in the number (up 68%), employment (up 11%) and
revenues (up 72%) of women-owned ?rms over the past
17 years exceeds the growth rates of all but the largest
publicly traded ?rms, topping growth rates among all
other privately held businesses over this period.
• Business creation activity typically waxes and wanes
depending on overall economic vitality.
1
Over the
entire 17-year period from 1997 to 2014, there were
an average of 591 new women-owned businesses
started each day. In the years leading up to the recent
recession, the net daily number of new women-owned
businesses rose to 714, but in the years since—from
2007–2014—that daily number is a lower 506 new
women-owned ?rms. Start-up activity is on the rise,
however. The net daily rate of new women-owned ?rms
was 602 in 2011–12, 744 in 2012–13, and this year is
up to an all-time high: an estimated 1,288 new women-
owned ?rms have started each day over the past year.
• Private sector employment has started to pick up,
but at a rate half that of pre-recession levels. Where
are new jobs coming from? Overwhelmingly from
publicly traded companies. Over the past seven years,
the overall increase of 8.3 million (net) new jobs is
comprised of a 9.2 million increase in employment in
large, publicly traded corporations, combined with
a 893,000 decline in employment among smaller,
privately held companies.
• The only bright spot in recent years with respect to
privately held company job growth has been among
women-owned ?rms. They have added an estimated
274,000 jobs since 2007. Among men-owned and
equally owned ?rms, employment has declined over
the past seven years.
• Women-owned ?rms now account for 30% of all
enterprises, and are growing faster in number and
employment than most other ?rms. Despite this fact,
women-owned ?rms employ only 6% of the country’s
workforce and contribute just under 4% of business
revenues—roughly the same share they contributed in
1997. When large, publicly traded ?rms are excluded,
women-owned ?rms comprise 31% of of all privately
held ?rms and contribute 14% of employment and 11%
of revenues.
• Combining equally owned ?rms with women-owned
enterprises ?nds that these ?rms number 14.2 million
as of 2014, generate nearly $2.9 trillion in revenues,
and employ just over 15.9 million people. Women-
owned and equally owned ?rms together represent
47% of U.S. ?rms and contribute 13% of total
employment and 8% of ?rm revenues.
2
1
Typically, start-up activity increases in a recession, and declines as
larger ?rms start hiring again. However, the recession of 2007-08
was diferent—new ?rm formation declined and is only now picking
back up. See the Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://www.bls.gov/
bdm/entrepreneurship/entrepreneurship.htm), a recent report,
“The Return of Business Creation,” from the Kaufman Foundation,
and a recent article in Forbes (http://www.forbes.com/sites/
joelkotkin/2013/03/13/wall-streets-hollow-boom-with-small-
business-and-startups-lagging-employment-wont-pick-up/) for a
discussion of this issue.
2
Changes in the way that equally owned ?rms have been de?ned
over time guard against an accurate reporting of trends in the
growth of women-owned and equally owned ?rms over time.
3
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
GEOGRAPHIC TRENDS
• Nationally, the number of women-owned ?rms has
increased by 68% since 1997. The states with the
fastest growth in the number of women-owned ?rms
over the past 17 years are Georgia (up 118%), Texas
(98%), North Carolina (91%), Nevada (91%) and
Mississippi (81%). The states with the lowest growth
in the number of women-owned ?rms between 1997
and 2014 are Alaska (11%), West Virginia (23%), Iowa
(23%), Kansas (30%) and Vermont (30%).
• In terms of growth in combined economic clout,
however—meaning averaging together the rankings in
growth in the number, revenues and employment of
women-owned ?rms—the states in which all of these
measures combined place women-owned ?rms in a
much-better-than-average position over the 1997 to
2014 period are North Dakota, the District of Columbia,
Nevada, Arizona and Georgia. The ?ve states at the
bottom of the combined economic clout ranking are
Iowa, Vermont, Rhode Island, Ohio and Maine.
• Looking at the top 25 most populous metropolitan
areas ?nds the greatest number of women-owned
businesses to be located in New York, NY/NJ with
665,700 women-owned ?rms as of 2014; Los Angeles,
CA with 427,800; Chicago, IL with 308,700; Miami,
FL with 242,600; and Washington, DC/MD/VA with
206,400.
• Averaging together the 12-year growth rankings
3
in
the number, revenue and employment of women-
owned ?rms in the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the
country—to look at combined economic clout—?nds
that San Antonio, TX; Atlanta, GA; Baltimore, MD;
Houston, TX; and Portland, OR are the top-ranked
metro areas in terms of the growth in the economic
strength of women-owned businesses.
INDUSTRY TRENDS
• Women-owned ?rms continue to diversify into
all industries. The industries with the highest
concentration of women-owned ?rms are health care
and social assistance (53% of ?rms in this sector are
women-owned, compared to a 30% share overall),
educational services (45%), other services (42%), and
administrative support and waste management services
(37%). The industries with the lowest concentration
of women-owned ?rms (in industries contributing 2%
or more of the business population) are construction
(where just 7% of ?rms are women-owned),
transportation and warehousing (11%), wholesale
trade (19%) and ?nance and insurance (20%). All other
industries are close to the 30% share in all industries,
again illustrating that women-owned ?rms are staking a
claim in all sectors of the U.S. economy.
• Looking at the distribution of women-owned ?rms
by industry sector ?nds that the greatest number of
women-owned ?rms is found in health care and social
assistance, including doctors and dentists, residential
care facilities and child care providers. Seventeen
percent of women-owned ?rms own businesses in this
sector. Other top sectors for women-owned ?rms include
other services, with 16% of women-owned ?rms in that
grouping; professional/scienti?c/technical services
(including attorneys, accountants, public relations
and human resources/organizational development
consulting), 13%; retail trade, 10%; and administrative
support and waste management services, 10%.
Together, these ?ve sectors account for two-thirds of all
of the women-owned ?rms in the country.
• The fastest growth in the number of women-owned
?rms over the past 12 years
4
has been in education
services (up 128%), administration and waste services
(up 60%), arts/entertainment/recreation (up 47%),
and health care and social assistance (up 44%).
Comparing the growth in the number of women-owned
?rms to that of all ?rms in each industry sector since
3
The boundaries of metropolitan areas were changed after the 2000
Census, thus metropolitan area trends can only be analyzed back
as far as the 2002 Economic Census.
4
Unlike the other national- and state-level trends reported in this
publication, which go back to 1997, industry trends can only be
reported as far back as the 2002 Census due to changes in industry
classi?cation between 1997 and 2002 (from SIC Codes to
NAICS codes).
4
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
2002 ?nds that women-owned ?rms are exceeding
overall sector growth rates in eight of the 13 most
populous industries, and match sector growth in three
others—meaning that the growth in the number of
women-owned ?rms lags sector averages only in retail
trade and educational services.
5
In order from widest to narrowest growth gap, the
industries in which growth in the number of women-
owned ?rms leads that of their sector peers are
other services (up 43% among women-owned ?rms
compared to 30% growth overall in the sector, for a
13-point gap), real estate (11-point gap), wholesale
trade (10-point gap), and ?nance and insurance
(6-point gap).
• How are women-owned ?rms doing with respect to
economic clout across industries? This year’s analysis
continues the investigation into the share of women-
owned and all ?rms in each industry that are “high
economic impact,” meaning that they are generating
$500,000 or more in annual revenues. Overall, just
9% of all ?rms in the country meet that criterion, as
do just 4% of women-owned ?rms. Relative to the
overall 4% of women-owned ?rms surpassing the
$500,000 revenue mark, women-owned ?rms in three
industries—wholesale trade (19%), construction (12%),
and accommodation and food services (11%) are those
most likely to be making a high economic impact.
• Compared to their peers, a look at the share of
women-owned and all ?rms with the highest economic
impact ?nds that women-owned ?rms are standing
toe-to-toe with their industry peers in two industries:
construction, where 12% of women-owned ?rms and
11% of all construction ?rms are pulling in $500,000+
per year; and in transportation and warehousing,
where 6% of each are generating $500,000 or more
in revenues.
FIRMS OWNED BY WOMEN OF COLOR
• In 1997, there were just under 1 million (929,445)
?rms owned by women of color, accounting for one
in six (17%) women-owned ?rms. That number has
skyrocketed to an estimated 2,934,500 as of 2014, now
comprising one in three (32%) women-owned ?rms.
• Firms owned by African American women number
an estimated 1,237,900 as of 2014. These 1.2 million
?rms employ 287,100 workers in addition to the
owner and generate an estimated $49.5 billion in
revenue. African American women own fully 49% of
all African American-owned ?rms, employ 28% of
the workers employed by African American-owned
?rms, and contribute 29% of the revenue generated
by African American-owned businesses. While African
American women comprise 14% of all women-owned
?rms nationally, African American women comprise a
greater than average share of all women-owned ?rms
in Georgia (34%), Maryland (32%), and Illinois (22%).
• Firms owned by Latinas number an estimated
1,033,100 as of 2014. These ?rms employ 433,600
workers in addition to the owner and generate an
estimated $71.1 billion in revenue. Latina women
own 36% of all Latino-owned ?rms, employ 20% of
the workers employed by Latino-owned ?rms, and
contribute 16% of the revenue generated by Latino-
owned businesses. While 11% of women-owned ?rms
are owned by Latinas nationally, Latinas comprise
the greatest share of all women-owned ?rms in
New Mexico (29%), Texas (25%), Florida (24%) and
California (20%).
• Firms owned by Asian American women number an
estimated 675,900 as of 2014. These ?rms employ
699,200 workers in addition to the owner and
generate an estimated $115 billion in revenue. Asian
American women own 35% of all Asian American-
owned ?rms, employ 22% of the workers employed
by Asian American-owned ?rms, and contribute 19%
of the revenue generated by Asian American-owned
businesses. While Asian American women own 7%
5
Six industry groups, comprising 2% or less of the business
population, are excluded from this analysis, but are included in the
Summary Tables at the back of this report.
5
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
of women-owned ?rms nationally, a greater than
average share of Asian American women-owned ?rms
(compared to all women-owned ?rms in the state) can
be found in Hawaii (55%), California (18%), New Jersey
(11%) and New York (10%).
• Firms owned by Native American or Alaska Native
women number an estimated 119,900 as of 2014.
These ?rms employ 40,600 workers in addition to
the owner and generate an estimated $10 billion in
revenue. Native American/Alaska Native women own
47% of all Native American/Alaska Native-owned
?rms, employ 33% of the workers, and contribute 29%
of the revenue generated by Native American/Alaska
Native-owned businesses. While Native American/
Alaska Native women comprise just 1% of women-
owned ?rms nationally, that share rises to 10% in
Oklahoma, 9% in New Mexico and 3% in Arizona.
• Firms owned by Native Hawaiian or Paci?c Islander
women number an estimated 20,000 as of 2014.
These ?rms employ 15,200 workers in addition to
the owner and generate an estimated $1.9 billion in
revenue. Native Hawaiian/Paci?c Islander women own
42% of all Native Hawaiian/Paci?c Islander-owned
?rms, employ 38% of the workers, and contribute 26%
of the revenue generated by Native Hawaiian/Paci?c
Islander owned businesses. Native Hawaiian/Paci?c
Islander women-owned ?rms comprise less than 1%
of the women-owned business population nationally.
In Hawaii, however, 12% of women-owned ?rms are
majority-owned by Native Hawaiians or natives of other
Paci?c Islands.
• While ?rms owned by women of color are smaller than
non-minority women-owned businesses both in terms
of average employment and revenues, their growth in
number and economic clout is generally far outpacing
that of all women-owned ?rms. Indeed, the growth in
the number of African American (up 296% from 1997 to
2014), Asian American (+179%), Latina (+206%), Native
American/Alaska Native (124%), and Native Hawaiian/
Paci?c Islander (+247%) women-owned ?rms all top
the growth in the number of non-minority women-
owned ?rms (+37%) over the past 17 years. Growth in
employment (except among Native American/Alaska
Native women-owned ?rms) and revenue growth are
also stronger among ?rms owned by women of color
than among non-minority women-owned ?rms. While
this is, in part, due to growth from a smaller base
number, it does indicate that business ownership is an
increasing career path for women of color.
THE ISSUE OF GROWTH
• The tale of women’s business ownership and growth
has two storylines. First, we see faster than average
growth over time. Yet, we also see a signi?cant
disparity in ?rm size. Likewise, business growth
in general shows two sides of a coin: despite the
frequently heralded claim that small businesses are the
backbone of the U.S. economy, they have been taking a
back seat to the largest publicly traded companies for
the past decade or more in terms of contributions to
economic growth.
• When comparing the growth in number, employment
and revenues of women-owned ?rms with those of
their peers along the full spectrum of business size,
women-owned ?rms matched or exceeded growth
rates up until the 100-employee threshold or the
million-dollar revenue mark.
• Employment and revenue growth patterns are similar
between women-owned and all ?rms of similar sizes.
There were distinct dips in ?rm growth—growth pains if
you will—among businesses that employ between ?ve
and nine workers, as well as among those generating
between $250,000 and $499,999 in revenues.
• This year, we examine employment and revenue
growth by ?rm size among women-owned businesses,
comparing the patterns seen in two distinct time
periods: the high-?ying decade leading up to the recent
2007–08 recession (1997–2007), and the seven years
since (2007–2014). With respect to employment
6
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
growth, the 1997–2007 period saw a 7% increase
in employment among women-owned ?rms overall,
compared to just under 4% growth in the seven years
since the recession (2007–2014). Employment growth
patterns are similar in both time periods; the greatest
job creation occurs among women-owned ?rms
employing between 20 and 99 employees.
• With respect to revenue growth, the 1997–2007 period
saw a 47% growth in revenues among women-owned
?rms, which is over twice the 17% growth seen over
the 2007–2014 period. In contrast to the similarity
seen across time periods in employment growth by
?rm size, revenue growth patterns difer between the
1997–2007 and the 2007–2014 periods. First, in the
earlier boom period, revenue growth was particularly
high compared to the overall average among ?rms
with $10,000 to $49,000 in annual revenues and
among ?rms with $1 million or more in revenues. That
pattern is not in evidence in the more recent period—
there is much less divergence from the average. This
is perhaps to the detriment of the very smallest and
largest of women-owned ?rms, but it also means that
the previously seen dip in revenue growth among the
$250,000–$499,999 revenue ?rms has been all but
erased. Revenue growth is now much closer to the 17%
7-year average among ?rms, regardless of size.
7
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES IN
THE UNITED STATES IN 2014
A
fter analyzing growth trends in the number and
size of women-owned ?rms in the 1997, 2002
and 2007 Economic Census, and extrapolating
those trends forward (taking economic conditions into
account),
6
we estimate that—as of 2014—there are just
under 9.1 million women-owned businesses in the United
States: 9,087,200 to be precise. As of this year, women-
owned ?rms are generating $1,410,940,800,000 (over
$1.4 trillion) in revenues and employing over 7.8 million
(7,854,200) people.
Between 1997 and 2014, when the number of businesses
in the United States increased by 47%, the number of
women-owned ?rms increased by 68%—a rate 1½ times
the national average.
5.4
819
7.1
6.5
7.1
7.8
7.6
9.1
7.9
941
1,202
1,411
1997 2002 2007 2014
# Firms
#
F
i
r
m
s
,
E
m
p
l
o
y
e
e
s
(
M
i
l
l
i
o
n
s
)
F
i
r
m
R
e
v
e
n
u
e
s
(
B
i
l
l
i
o
n
s
)
Sources: 1997–2007, US Census Bureau. 2014 estimates,
American Express OPEN/Womenable.
Employment
Revenues ($B)
NUMBER & ECONOMIC CLOUT OF WOMEN-OWNED
FIRMS CONTINUE TO GROW
Despite the fact that the number of women-owned ?rms
continues to grow at a rate exceeding the national
average, and now accounts for 30% of all enterprises,
women-owned ?rms still employ just 6% of the country’s
workforce and contribute just under 4% of business
revenues—roughly the same share they contributed in
1997. When large, publicly traded ?rms are excluded,
women-owned ?rms comprise 31% of the privately held
?rm population and contribute 14% of employment and
11% of revenues.
NUMBER OF WOMEN-OWNED FIRMS GROWING AT
1½ TIMES THE NATIONAL AVERAGE
Employment/Revenue Growth Tops All But Largest Companies
46.6
34.4
67.8
44.3
NUMBER OF FIRMS
22.8
11.0
-4.3
-6.5
EMPLOYMENT
47.6
96.8
45.1
72.3
REVENUES
American Express OPEN/Womenable estimates as of 2014, based on
1997–2007 data from US Census Bureau.
All Firms
%
C
h
a
n
g
e
,
1
9
9
7
–
2
0
1
4
All privately held ?rms
Men-owned
Women-owned
Combining equally owned ?rms
7
with women-owned
enterprises ?nds that women-owned and equally owned
?rms number 14,214,300 as of 2014. These ?rms
generate $2,879,244,900,000 (nearly $2.9 trillion) in
revenues, and employ 15.9 million people. Women-owned
and equally owned ?rms together represent 47% of U.S.
?rms and contribute 13% of total employment and 8% of
?rm revenues.
8
New this year is a more detailed look at new ?rm
formation. Comparing the number of businesses in a
given year with the number some years later, one
6
Refer to Study Methodology on page 33 for more details.
7
Equally owned ?rms are multi-owner ?rms that are 50% owned by a
woman or women and 50% owned by a man or men.
8
Changes in the way that equally owned ?rms have been de?ned, guard
against inaccurate reporting of trends in the growth of women-owned
and equally owned ?rms over time.
8
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
WOMEN ARE MAJORITY OWNERS OF NEARLY
1 IN 3 U.S. FIRMS
Provide 1 in 7 Jobs in Privately Held Firms, 1 in 16 Overall
29.8
6.2
3.9
30.8
13.9
11.4
ALL FIRMS PRIVATELY HELD FIRMS
American Express OPEN/Womenable estimates as of 2014, based on
1997–2007 data from US Census Bureau.
Number of ?rms
%
W
o
m
e
n
-
O
w
n
e
d
F
i
r
m
s
a
s
S
h
a
r
e
o
f
.
.
.
Employment
Revenues
can calculate the number of net new ?rms (taking into
account the number of ?rm start-ups minus closings and
changes in ownership) over any given period. Looking
over the entire 17-year period of our analysis—when the
number of women-owned ?rms has increased from 5.4
million to 9.1 million—we can then calculate that, on
average, there have been 591 (net) new women-owned
?rms started per day.
WOMEN STARTING NEARLY 4 IN 10 NEW FIRMS
A Net Average of 506 Per Day Since 2007
588
49.8
714
1997–2002
31.5
2002–2007
506
37.8
2007–2014
# of New WOBs per Day
% of New Firms that are Women-Owned
Sources: 1997–2007, US Census Bureau. 2014 estimates, American Express OPEN/Womenable.
During the 1997–2002 period, there were a net average
of 588 new women-owned ?rms per day, with women-
owned ?rms accounting for nearly half (49.8%) of new
?rms. Just before the recession, the daily net rate for new
women-owned ?rms increased to 714 per day, yet the
net share of new ?rms that were women-owned declined
to 31.5%. More recently, between 2007 and 2014, there
have been a net average of 506 new women-owned ?rms
launched per day, accounting for nearly four in ten of the
new ?rms started in the past seven years.
1,288
591 588
2013–
2014
2012–
2013
2011–
2012
2007–
2014
2002–
2007
1997–
2002
1997–
2014
714
506
602
744
Sources: 1997–2007, US Census Bureau. 2011–2014 estimates, American Express OPEN/Womenable.
#
o
f
N
e
w
W
o
m
e
n
-
O
w
n
e
d
F
i
r
m
s
p
e
r
D
a
y
START-UP ACTIVITY PICKING UP SIGNIFICANTLY
# of Net New WOBs/Day Has Doubled in Past 3 Years
Looking more recently at the net average number of new
women-owned ?rms started on an annual basis since the
publication of the annual State of Women-Owned
Businesses reports ?nds that start-up activity has
increased signi?cantly. While there have been a net
average of 506 new women-owned ?rms started per day
since 2007, the daily average was 602 per day from
2011–12, 744 per day from 2012–13, and fully 1,288 per
day over the past year—showing that the number of new
women-owned ?rms launched each day has doubled
over the past three years.
9
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
2007–2014
Sources: 1997–2007, US Census Bureau. 2014 estimates, American Express OPEN/Womenable.
2002–2007 1997–2002
1.2
1997–2014
46.6
67.8
10.3
19.8
12.6
16.6
18.0
20.1
NUMBER OF WOMEN-OWNED FIRMS GROWING
AT 1½ TIMES NATIONAL AVERAGE
Recent Rate Up, But Doesn’t Match Heyday of 1997–2002 Period
%
C
h
a
n
g
e
i
n
#
o
f
F
i
r
m
s
O
v
e
r
T
i
m
e
P
e
r
i
o
d
(1.5:1) (1.9:1) (1.1:1) (1.3:1)
All Firms
Women Owned Firms
While the number of new women-owned ?rms starting
each day is impressive, and picking up signi?cantly in
recent years as just described, the relative growth in the
number of women-owned ?rms is not keeping up the
pace witnessed in earlier years. Back in the 1997–2002
period, the number of women-owned ?rms increased at a
rate twice the national average—which is the sound bite
still often used to describe the growth of women-owned
?rms. During the 2002–2007 period, when new
businesses were being launched at a faster pace overall,
the ratio was even—the number of women-owned ?rms
grew by 20%, while the number of all ?rms increased by
18%. During the most recent period, from 2007–2014,
the number of women-owned ?rms increased by 17%
compared to an overall increase of 13%—a ratio of 1.3:1.
As mentioned earlier, over the entire 1997–2014 period,
the number of women-owned ?rms has increased at a
rate 1½ times the national average.
As in the 2013 State of Women-Owned Businesses report,
this year’s analysis takes a look at the all-important
issue of job creation. According to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, between January 1997 and January 2014, total
non-farm employment increased by 13%, from 121.4
million to 137.5 million. There’s a signi?cant diference in
the pre-recession and post-recession trends, however.
Between 1997 and 2007, employment grew by 13%, while
it has remained essentially ?at since 2007.
9
Looking more narrowly at private sector jobs, contributed
by the businesses included in the U.S. Census’ Survey
of Business Owners, there were 103 million people
employed in non-farm private sector jobs as of March
1997, 118.6 million in March 2007, and we estimate that
there are now 126.9 million persons employed in the
private sector as of March 2014. This represents a 23%
increase over the entire 17-year period, including a 15%
increase from 1997 to 2007 and a rate less than half that
(7%) over the last seven years.
10
All Firms Publicly
Traded
Men-
Owned
Women-
Owned
Equally
Owned
All Privately
Held
American Express OPEN/Womenable estimates as of 2014,
based on 1997–2007 data from US Census Bureau.
+8.3M
+9.2M
-893K -997K
+274K
-72K
N
e
w
E
m
p
l
o
y
m
e
n
t
C
h
a
n
g
e
,
2
0
0
7
–
2
0
1
4
RECENT EMPLOYMENT GROWTH HAS COME
FROM PUBLICLY TRADED CORPORATIONS…
AND WOMEN-OWNED FIRMS
9
See bls.gov for more information. The “employed persons” data
focuses on civilian non-farm employment. It does not include
the military, but it does include public sector employees such as
government and university workers.
10
Note: this is a subset of total employed persons, as it excludes public
sector employees as well as self-employed persons. Firm employment
as delineated in the U.S. Census generally counts employees other
than the business owner.
10
STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES REPORT
This 7% increase translates into an estimated net
8.3 million new jobs in the private sector over the
past seven years. Where have these jobs come from?
Overwhelmingly, from publicly traded companies. The
overall increase of 8.3 million net new private sector jobs
is accounted for by a 9.2 million increase in employment
in large, publicly traded corporations, combined with a
893,000 decline in employment among smaller, privately
held companies. The only bright spot in recent years
with respect to privately held company job growth has
been among women-owned ?rms. They have added an
estimated 274,000 jobs since 2007. Among men-owned
and equally owned ?rms, employment has declined over
the past seven years.
So, indeed, while women-owned ?rms remain smaller
than their peers in terms of average employment and
revenues, they are not only showing higher percent
growth in numbers but also higher absolute growth in
terms of job creation.
For more detailed data on national trends, see Tables 1
and 2 in the Summary Tables section.
11
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
THE BUSINESS CENSUS OVER
TIME: DATA IMPROVEMENTS,
DEFINITIONAL CHANGES
A
s we move into an analysis of trends by state,
metropolitan area, industry, race and business
size, it is important to note why this report only
includes data from the three most recent Business
Census surveys, when the U.S. Census Bureau ?rst
provided sex-disaggregated business counts in the
1977 Census. The reason lies in the progress made over
time by the Census Bureau in industry inclusion and in
the changes that have been made in how the gender of
business ownership is determined.
As summarized in Table 2 in the Summary Tables
section, there have been a variety of de?nitional changes
that have afected the number, share and economic clout
of women-owned businesses. The ?rst Census to include
an accounting of women-owned ?rms, in 1977, was
experimental and included only some industries. In fact,
only with the 1992 Survey of Women-Owned Business
Enterprises
11
were all women-owned ?rms—including
C corporations—included in the count. That Census also
marked the only time that publicly traded women-owned
?rms were tabulated. The difculty of determining the
gender of ownership of publicly traded ?rms led to their
being put into a separate category thereafter.
The threshold of ownership has also changed over time.
Prior to 1997, ?rms with 50% or more ownership by
a woman or women were counted as women-owned.
Starting with the 1997 Census, that threshold was raised
to 51% or more, to match government procurement
de?nitions. Thus, the separate equally owned category
was born.
While Table 1 in the Summary Tables section of this report
does ofer an estimate of the number and economic
contributions of “women-owned and equally owned
?rms,” this report will not focus on that population—
because the method for determining equal ownership
(which has, in our view, improved accuracy) has difered
in each of the past three Censuses. In 1997, equal
ownership was determined at the company level through
administrative records. Starting in 2002, ownership was
determined at the personal rather than at the company
level, by asking the gender of the top three owners of the
?rm (virtually all ?rms have three or fewer owners). This
methodological improvement resulted in a drop in the
count of equally owned ?rms from 1997 to 2002. Then, in
2007, the gender of the top four owners of the ?rm was
used to determine gender status of ownership, resulting in
an increase in equally owned ?rms. Therefore, while it may
interest some to know the number and size of women-
owned and equally owned ?rms in each of these Census
years—and in our 2014 estimates—care should be taken
not to ascribe changes over time in the women-owned
and equally owned ?rm population to anything other than
de?nitional diferences.
It is also important to note that, due to changes in
industry de?nitions and metropolitan area boundaries
after the 1997 SBO, the analysis of trends at the industry
and metropolitan area level can only go back as far as the
2002 Census survey.
11
Formerly referred to as SWOBE, now referred to as the Survey of
Business Owners (SBO).
12
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
STATE TRENDS
N
ationally, we estimate that—as of 2014—there
are 9.1 million women-owned businesses. The
states with the greatest number of women-
owned ?rms are, naturally, the most populous states.
California is home to the greatest number of women-
owned ?rms in the country, and is the only state in which
there are 1 million or more women-owned ?rms (see
Table below). California is followed by Texas, New York,
Florida and Illinois. Rounding out the top ten are Georgia,
Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina and Michigan.
Demographic and economic trends have brought some
changes to the top ten in recent years. Texas now edges
out New York as home to the second highest number
of women-owned ?rms. Georgia, ranked 10th in 1997
and 7th in 2012, is now the 6th most populous state for
women-owned businesses. North Carolina joined the top
ten in 2011 in 10th place, and now has risen to #8.
TOP TEN STATES: NUMBER OF
WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
State
Number of
Women-Owned
Firms
2013
Rank
1997
Rank
California 1,114,900 1 1
Texas 756,700 2 3
New York 682,200 3 2
Florida 596,400 4 4
Illinois 388,700 5 5
Georgia 317,200 6 10
Pennsylvania 297,700 7 7
Ohio 268,700 8 6
North Carolina 267,800 9 12
Michigan 261,400 10 8
New Jersey, which was the 9th most populous state for
women-owned ?rms in 1997, has since fallen from the
top ten and now stands at #11. Also falling in ranking over
the past 17 years—following overall demographic and
economic conditions—are Ohio, slipping from #6 to #8,
and Michigan, dropping from #8 in 1997 to #10 in 2014.
For additional information on the number and size
of women-owned ?rms at the state level—including
estimates of number of ?rms, employment and
revenues, and growth rates over the 1997–2014 period
for all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, refer to
Table 3 in the Summary Tables section.
What is more interesting than looking at the states with
the greatest number of women-owned ?rms, however, is
to look at the growth in women-owned ?rms at the state
level: not only growth in terms of number of ?rms but
in the employment and revenues that these ?rms are
contributing to the economy.
Nationally, the number of women-owned businesses has
grown by 68% since 1997. The states with the fastest
growth in the number of women-owned ?rms over the
past 17 years are Georgia (up 118%), Texas (98%), North
Carolina (just over 91%), Nevada (just under 91%),
Mississippi (81%), South Carolina (78%), Florida (77%),
Alabama (76%), Maryland (75%) and Utah (73%).
The states with the lowest growth in the number of
women-owned ?rms between 1997 and 2014 are Alaska
(11%), West Virginia (23%), Iowa (23%), Kansas (30%)
and Vermont (30%).
In terms of growth in combined economic clout,
however—averaging together the rankings of growth
in the number, revenues and employment of women-
owned ?rms—the states in which all of these measures
combined place women-owned ?rms in a much better
13
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
TOP TEN STATES FOR WOMEN-OWNED FIRMS:
A RANKING OF GROWTH IN NUMBER & ECONOMIC CLOUT
State Number Revenue Employment
Combined Rank
2014
Combined Rank
2012
North Dakota 13 2 2 1 5
District of Columbia 18 1 1 2 1
Nevada 4 8 9 3 1
Arizona 19 10 3 4 4
Georgia 1 19 12 4 8
Wyoming 24 3 8 6 1
Virginia 15 9 15 7 6
Maryland 9 21 10 8 7
Texas 2 18 24 9 15
Utah 10 4 30 9 11
than average position over the 1997–2014 period, in
descending order, are North Dakota, the District of
Columbia, Nevada, Arizona and Georgia (tied for 4th),
Wyoming, Virginia, Maryland, and Texas and Utah
(tied for 9th).
Comparing the ranking of the top ten today with last
year’s ranking ?nds that the economic clout of women-
owned ?rms in Georgia, North Dakota, Texas and Utah
is on the rise, while the economic clout of women-owned
?rms in Nevada and Wyoming has slipped a bit over the
past year.
At the other end of the spectrum, the states in which
the combined growth in the number, revenues and
employment of women-owned ?rms lag the national
average to the greatest extent are Iowa, Vermont, Rhode
Island, Ohio and Maine.
The full ranking of the states in terms of growth in number
of ?rms, revenues and employment—as well as combined
economic clout—may be seen in the Table that follows,
and additional summary information may be found in
Table 3 in the Summary Tables section of this report.
14
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
RANK OF STATES BY GROWTH IN NUMBER & ECONOMIC CLOUT
OF WOMEN-OWNED FIRMS, 1997–2014
State
Growth in
Number of
Firms Rank
Growth
in Firm
Revenues Rank
Growth in
Employment Rank
Combined
Economic
Clout Rank
Alabama 76.1% 8 64.1% 30 3.9% 38 22
Alaska 11.2% 51 77.9% 23 18.0% 21 37
Arizona 60.2% 19 100.5% 10 48.8% 3 4
Arkansas 54.5% 23 72.9% 27 -5.1% 44 36
California 59.2% 20 64.3% 29 5.5% 36 29
Colorado 55.3% 22 90.2% 13 6.5% 33 20
Connecticut 33.2% 44 62.9% 32 16.4% 22 38
Delaware 57.4% 21 87.6% 14 -5.7% 45 26
District of Columbia 61.0% 18 176.0% 1 80.1% 1 2
Florida 76.5% 7 63.0% 31 28.3% 11 12
Georgia 117.9% 1 80.4% 19 26.0% 12 4
Hawaii 64.7% 16 76.2% 24 36.4% 5 11
Idaho 46.3% 29 85.7% 16 33.0% 7 13
Illinois 62.1% 17 30.8% 48 -19.5% 49 44
Indiana 32.5% 45 80.3% 20 21.9% 16 27
Iowa 22.7% 49 -3.8% 51 -21.8% 50 51
Kansas 29.8% 48 51.8% 38 25.3% 13 39
Kentucky 52.2% 25 42.7% 46 -11.3% 47 46
Louisiana 70.9% 12 143.8% 5 -7.3% 46 18
Maine 34.6% 43 13.8% 50 6.5% 31 47
Maryland 74.7% 9 80.2% 21 28.4% 10 8
Massachusetts 38.7% 36 81.3% 17 12.8% 26 24
Michigan 41.6% 33 20.1% 49 8.5% 29 43
Minnesota 36.2% 41 60.8% 33 20.2% 18 35
Mississippi 81.4% 5 59.5% 34 6.5% 32 21
Missouri 38.8% 35 51.5% 39 6.5% 34 42
Montana 37.5% 38 97.0% 11 41.6% 4 14
Nebraska 40.1% 34 74.3% 25 19.6% 19 23
Nevada 90.6% 4 111.5% 8 31.2% 9 3
New Hampshire 44.1% 30 139.7% 6 12.9% 25 17
Note: Combined economic clout rank is an averaging of the ranks in
the number, revenue and employment growth of women-owned ?rms
between 1997 and 2014.
15
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
RANK OF STATES BY GROWTH IN NUMBER & ECONOMIC CLOUT
OF WOMEN-OWNED FIRMS, 1997–2014 (CONT’D)
State
Growth in
Number of
Firms Rank
Growth
in Firm
Revenues Rank
Growth in
Employment Rank
Combined
Economic
Clout Rank
New Jersey 48.6% 26 48.5% 42 4.9% 37 41
New Mexico 38.2% 37 70.5% 28 3.2% 39 40
New York 73.1% 11 59.3% 35 1.7% 40 30
North Carolina 91.4% 3 48.6% 41 20.9% 17 17
North Dakota 66.7% 13 175.2% 2 58.0% 2 1
Ohio 31.0% 46 49.0% 40 -0.8% 42 48
Oklahoma 36.8% 39 95.6% 12 25.2% 14 19
Oregon 46.6% 28 58.4% 36 10.2% 28 35
Pennsylvania 46.7% 27 53.9% 37 18.1% 20 28
Rhode Island 41.8% 32 31.0% 47 -27.8% 51 49
South Carolina 78.3% 6 47.2% 45 0.0% 41 35
South Dakota 35.3% 42 119.8% 7 33.4% 6 15
Tennessee 66.3% 14 73.0% 26 -17.4% 48 32
Texas 98.4% 2 80.8% 18 13.0% 24 9
Utah 73.8% 10 157.7% 4 7.7% 30 9
Vermont 30.4% 47 47.4% 44 -1.7% 43 50
Virginia 65.3% 15 105.4% 9 22.6% 15 7
Washington 42.8% 31 79.8% 22 10.9% 27 26
West Virginia 22.7% 50 86.0% 15 13.6% 23 32
Wisconsin 36.6% 40 47.7% 43 6.2% 35 46
Wyoming 53.4% 24 163.2% 3 31.9% 8 6
Note: Combined economic clout rank is an averaging of the ranks in
the number, revenue and employment growth of women-owned ?rms
between 1997 and 2014.
16
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
METROPOLITAN
AREA TRENDS
A
s in our 2012 report, we began by exploring
trends in the growth of women-owned ?rms in
the 25 most populous metropolitan areas in the
country. As of 2014, the metropolitan areas that are
home to the greatest number of women-owned ?rms
are New York, NY/NJ, with 665,700 women-owned
?rms; Los Angeles, CA with 427,800; Chicago, IL with
308,700; Miami, FL with 242,600 and Dallas, TX with
207,900. Rounding out the top ten are the Washington,
DC metropolitan area, Atlanta, GA; Houston, TX; San
Francisco, CA and Philadelphia, PA. Just missing the cut
were Boston, MA and Detroit, MI.
The metropolitan areas that have seen the greatest
growth in the number of women-owned ?rms between
2002 and 2014 are San Antonio and Dallas, TX; Atlanta,
GA; Baltimore, MD and Houston, TX. Comparing these
metropolitan area growth rankings with those of their
parent states reveals that economic conditions in top
cities can difer from overall state trends. For example,
Baltimore, ranked #4, outpaces Maryland’s #9 ranking
with respect to the growth in the number of women-
owned ?rms. Conversely, Atlanta’s #3 ranking lags
behind Georgia’s #1 ranking in the growth in the number
of women-owned ?rms.
Averaging together 2002–2014 growth rankings in
the number, revenue and employment of women-
owned ?rms in the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the
country—to look at combined economic clout—reveals
a diferent top ?ve list, however: San Antonio, TX tops
the list this year, making it the metro area with the most
robust growth in number and economic contributions of
women-owned ?rms. San Antonio is followed by a four-
way tie for second place among (in alphabetical order):
Atlanta, GA; Baltimore, MD; Houston, TX; and Portland,
OR. Washington, DC/MD/VA ranks 6th this year (down
from a #1 ranking two years ago), while Tampa/St.
Petersburg, FL—breaking into the top ten for the ?rst
time—ranks 7th. Rounding out the top ten are Seattle,
WA; Dallas, TX; and Riverside, CA.
TEN TOP METRO AREAS: NUMBER OF
WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
Metropolitan Area
Number of
Women-Owned
Firms
2014
Rank
2002
Rank
New York, NY/NJ 665,700 1 1
Los Angeles, CA 427,800 2 2
Chicago, IL 308,700 3 3
Miami, FL 242,600 4 4
Dallas, TX 207,900 5 6
Washington, DC/MD/VA 206,400 6 5
Atlanta, GA 202,400 7 8
Houston, TX 178,500 8 10
San Francisco, CA 154,000 9 7
Philadelphia, PA/DE/NJ 153,100 10 11
12
The boundaries of metropolitan areas were changed after the 2000
Census, thus metropolitan area trends can only be analyzed back as
far as the 2002 Economic Census.
17
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
TOP TEN METRO AREAS FOR WOMEN-OWNED FIRMS:
A RANKING OF GROWTH IN NUMBER & ECONOMIC CLOUT
Metropolitan Area Number Revenue Employment
Combined
Rank, 2014
Combined
Rank, 2012
San Antonio, TX 1 12 1 1 2
Atlanta, GA 3 10 6 2 9
Baltimore, MD 4 8 7 2 4
Houston, TX 5 1 13 2 3
Portland, OR 13 2 4 2 10
Washington, DC/MD/VA 7 6 8 6 1
Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL 6 13 3 7 7
Seattle, WA 16 5 2 8 11
Dallas, TX 2 4 21 9 8
Riverside, CA 10 11 11 10 4
The metro areas with the lowest level of combined
economic clout among the 25 most populous cities are
St. Louis, MO; San Francisco, CA; Pittsburgh, PA; Boston,
MA; and Miami, FL—all driven to the bottom of the list
by recent declines in employment. Detroit has climbed
out of the bottom ?ve listing due to an uptick in
employment growth.
A listing of combined economic clout rankings follows.
For more detailed data on metropolitan area trends, see
Table 4 in the Summary Tables section.
18
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
RANK OF METROPOLITAN AREAS BY GROWTH IN NUMBER & ECONOMIC CLOUT
OF WOMEN-OWNED FIRMS, 2002–2014
State
Growth in
Number of
Firms Rank
Growth in
Firm $ Rank
Growth in
Employment Rank
Combined
Economic
Clout Rank
Atlanta, GA 63.1% 3 54.8% 10 32.3% 6 2
Baltimore, MD 58.4% 4 55.7% 8 31.7% 7 2
Boston, MA 24.1% 18 31.9% 18 -12.3% 23 22
Chicago, IL 43.5% 8 30.1% 20 -1.8% 19 15
Dallas, TX 63.3% 2 77.8% 4 -6.4% 21 9
Denver, CO 32.0% 12 66.8% 7 7.7% 14 11
Detroit, MI 27.9% 15 5.3% 25 30.4% 9 16
Houston, TX 51.9% 5 112.2% 1 13.1% 13 2
Los Angeles, CA 23.8% 19 43.1% 15 6.0% 16 19
Miami, FL 34.2% 11 27.8% 21 -10.1% 22 21
Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN 22.2% 21 41.1% 16 34.3% 5 14
New York, NY/NJ 30.4% 14 30.5% 19 -4.2% 20 20
Philadelphia, PA/NJ/DE 41.3% 9 55.4% 9 3.9% 17 13
Phoenix, AZ 20.2% 23 43.8% 14 16.7% 12 16
Pittsburgh, PA 19.2% 24 18.4% 23 -0.8% 18 23
Portland, OR 31.4% 13 95.5% 2 37.6% 4 2
Riverside, CA 35.6% 10 49.8% 11 23.7% 11 10
Sacramento, CA 22.6% 20 81.4% 3 28.4% 10 11
St. Louis, MO 9.8% 25 21.2% 22 -18.9% 24 24
San Antonio, TX 86.4% 1 46.9% 12 54.2% 1 1
San Diego, CA 25.2% 17 32.8% 17 7.2% 15 16
San Francisco, CA 20.9% 22 17.2% 24 -19.7% 25 24
Seattle, WA 25.5% 16 70.3% 5 42.9% 2 8
Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL 50.0% 6 45.6% 13 38.1% 3 7
Washington, DC 46.8% 7 69.0% 6 30.7% 8 6
Note: Combined economic clout rank is an averaging of the ranks in
the number, revenue and employment growth of women-owned ?rms
between 2002 and 2014.
19
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
INDUSTRY TRENDS
W
omen-owned ?rms are starting and growing
businesses in all industries, diversifying into
sectors previously described as “non-traditional”
for women. Over the past 14 years
13
there has been an
evening-out in the concentration of women-owned ?rms,
meaning that an increasing number of women-owned ?rms
can be found in all industries. And while there are below
average shares of women-owned ?rms in construction
(7%), transportation and warehousing (11%), and ?nance
and insurance (20%), in most other industries, women-
owned ?rms are close to or exceeding their overall 30%
share of the business population.
This Table summarizes both the concentration of
women-owned ?rms within each major industry sector
(the share of ?rms in each sector that are women-
owned) and the distribution of the current population of
women-owned ?rms across industries (the percentage
of all women-owned ?rms that are in that industry).
The industries with the highest concentration of
women-owned ?rms are health care and social
assistance (53% of ?rms in this sector are women-
owned, compared to a 30% share overall), educational
services (45% – e.g., private schools, cosmetology,
language or ?ight training, or any other education or
training provider), other services (42% – e.g., auto and
appliance repair, beauty salons and pet sitting services),
and administrative and waste management services
(37% – e.g., ofce administration and temp services,
landscaping and janitorial services). The industries
with the lowest concentration of women-owned ?rms
(in industries contributing 2% or more of the business
population) are construction (where just 7% of ?rms are
women-owned), transportation and warehousing (11%),
wholesale trade (19%) and ?nance and insurance (20%).
All other industries are close to a 30% share—again
illustrating that women-owned ?rms are staking a claim
in all sectors of the U.S. economy.
CONCENTRATION AND DISTRIBUTION
OF WOMEN-OWNED FIRMS BY INDUSTRY SECTOR
Industry Sector
(with 2%+ women-owned ?rms)
Concentration
Within
Industry
Distribution
Across
Industries
Construction 7.2% 2.2%
Wholesale Trade 18.8 1.5
Retail Trade 32.8 9.9
Transportation & Warehousing 11.4 1.7
Finance & Insurance 19.5 2.2
Real Estate 25.6 7.8
Professional/Scienti?c/
Technical Services
29.2 13.3
Administrative, Support & Waste
Management Services
37.3 10.0
Educational Services 45.0 4.8
Health Care & Social Assistance 52.6 16.5
Arts, Entertainment, Recreation 30.7 4.7
Accommodation & Food Service 24.7 2.3
Other Services 41.5 15.9
All Other Industries (with
Within this detail, in regard to the 2014 state of women owned businesses report.
THE 2014 STATE OF
WOMEN-OWNED
BUSINESSES REPORT
commissioned by American Express OPEN
LALA PRESS
MABLE LEE
MEMBER SINCE 00
A SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT TRENDS
1997–2014
T
his report was commissioned by American Express OPEN and published in
March of 2014. The information contained in this report was prepared from
sources and data that we believe to be reliable, but we make no representation
as to its accuracy or completeness and we assume neither responsibility nor liability
for any damages of any type resulting from any errors or omissions. The report is
provided solely for informational purposes and is not to be construed as providing
advice, recommendations, endorsements, representations or warranties of any
kind whatsoever. Opinions and analysis contained in this report represent the
opinions and analysis of Womenable, a research, program and policy development
consultancy, and do not necessarily represent the opinions or analysis of American
Express Company or any of its afliates, subsidiaries or divisions (including, without
limitation, American Express OPEN).
Our sincere thanks are extended to the Economic Census Branch of the Company
Statistics Division of the U.S. Census Bureau, which provided invaluable insights
during the preparation of this analysis.
Visit openforum.com/womensbusinessreport
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
National Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Geographic Trends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Industry Trends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Firms Owned by Women of Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
The Issue of Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Women-Owned Businesses in the United States in 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
The Business Census Over Time:
Data Improvements, De?nitional Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
State Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Metropolitan Area Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Industry Trends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
In the Spotlight: Firms Owned by Women of Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
African American Women-Owned Firms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Asian American Women-Owned Firms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Latina-Owned Firms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Native American/Alaska Native Women-Owned Firms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Native Hawaiian/Paci?c Islander Women-Owned Firms. . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Fostering Growth: A Focus on the Size Continuum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Growth Along the Employment Size Spectrum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Growth Along the Revenue Size Spectrum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Observations: On Moving From Measurement to Action. . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Study Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Summary Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
INTRODUCTION
T
his publication marks our fourth annual
investigation into the state of women-owned
businesses in the United States. It provides
stakeholders in the women’s enterprise development
community—policy makers, entrepreneurial support
organizations, suppliers and customers, and women
business owners themselves—with information and
intelligence that can inform their eforts. American
Express OPEN is proud to build upon the growing interest
and commentary generated by our previous reports.
This current publication reinforces trends we have been
seeing in this and other research—that the number
of women-owned ?rms continues to increase at rates
exceeding the national average, yet they remain smaller
than the average ?rm. And since the ?rst annual report
published in 2011, we have expanded our analysis
to include an investigation into growth trends at the
metropolitan area level, new insights on the size of ?rms
within industries, an exploration of growth along the
business size spectrum, and—last year—the addition of
an analysis of the tremendous growth seen among ?rms
owned by women of color. New this year: a look at daily
business creation rates, comparing rates before and
after the recent recession.
AMONG THE MOST IMPORTANT
FINDINGS IN THIS REPORT:
• The current numbers: it is estimated that, as of 2014,
there are nearly 9.1 million women-owned enterprises,
employing nearly 7.9 million workers and generating
over $1.4 trillion in revenues.
• Between 1997 and 2014, the number of women-owned
?rms grew at 1½ times the national average. And
revenue and employment growth among women-
owned ?rms tops that of all other ?rms—except the
largest, publicly traded corporations.
On average over the 1997–2014 period, there has been
a net increase of 591 women-owned ?rms each day—
including 714 per day in the years (2002–07) leading up
to the recession, 506 per day over the past seven years
(2007–14), and fully 1,288 per day over the past year.
• Since 1997, the growth in the number and economic
contributions of ?rms owned by women of color is
nothing short of remarkable. Comprising just 17%
of women-owned ?rms 17 years ago, ?rms owned by
women of color now account for one in three (32%)
women-owned ?rms in the U.S.
• The states with the fastest growth in the number,
employment and revenues of women-owned ?rms
since 1997 are: North Dakota, the District of Columbia,
Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, Wyoming, Virginia,
Maryland, Texas, and Utah.
• The metropolitan areas with the greatest growth in
the number, employment and revenues of women-
owned ?rms since 2002 are: San Antonio, TX; Atlanta,
GA; Baltimore, MD; Houston, TX; Portland, OR;
Washington, DC; Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL; Seattle,
WA; Dallas, TX and Riverside, CA.
It is our hope that these up-to-date insights, based upon
published information from the U.S. Census Bureau,
will spark debate and discussion. Further, we expect it
will draw particular attention to the growing diversity in
women-owned enterprises, both in terms of the sectors
in which they operate AND with respect to the ethnic
diversity of women business owners.
Finally, it is our goal to add to the body of knowledge of
where growth leads and where it lags, thereby pointing
the way to areas where policy and programmatic support
can help even more women-owned ?rms to reach their
full potential.
2
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
NATIONAL TRENDS
• As of 2014, it is estimated that there are nearly 9.1
million women-owned businesses in the United States,
generating over $1.4 trillion in revenues and employing
nearly 7.9 million people.
• Between 1997 and 2014, when the number of
businesses in the United States increased by 47%, the
number of women-owned ?rms increased by 68%—a
rate 1½ times the national average. Indeed, the growth
in the number (up 68%), employment (up 11%) and
revenues (up 72%) of women-owned ?rms over the past
17 years exceeds the growth rates of all but the largest
publicly traded ?rms, topping growth rates among all
other privately held businesses over this period.
• Business creation activity typically waxes and wanes
depending on overall economic vitality.
1
Over the
entire 17-year period from 1997 to 2014, there were
an average of 591 new women-owned businesses
started each day. In the years leading up to the recent
recession, the net daily number of new women-owned
businesses rose to 714, but in the years since—from
2007–2014—that daily number is a lower 506 new
women-owned ?rms. Start-up activity is on the rise,
however. The net daily rate of new women-owned ?rms
was 602 in 2011–12, 744 in 2012–13, and this year is
up to an all-time high: an estimated 1,288 new women-
owned ?rms have started each day over the past year.
• Private sector employment has started to pick up,
but at a rate half that of pre-recession levels. Where
are new jobs coming from? Overwhelmingly from
publicly traded companies. Over the past seven years,
the overall increase of 8.3 million (net) new jobs is
comprised of a 9.2 million increase in employment in
large, publicly traded corporations, combined with
a 893,000 decline in employment among smaller,
privately held companies.
• The only bright spot in recent years with respect to
privately held company job growth has been among
women-owned ?rms. They have added an estimated
274,000 jobs since 2007. Among men-owned and
equally owned ?rms, employment has declined over
the past seven years.
• Women-owned ?rms now account for 30% of all
enterprises, and are growing faster in number and
employment than most other ?rms. Despite this fact,
women-owned ?rms employ only 6% of the country’s
workforce and contribute just under 4% of business
revenues—roughly the same share they contributed in
1997. When large, publicly traded ?rms are excluded,
women-owned ?rms comprise 31% of of all privately
held ?rms and contribute 14% of employment and 11%
of revenues.
• Combining equally owned ?rms with women-owned
enterprises ?nds that these ?rms number 14.2 million
as of 2014, generate nearly $2.9 trillion in revenues,
and employ just over 15.9 million people. Women-
owned and equally owned ?rms together represent
47% of U.S. ?rms and contribute 13% of total
employment and 8% of ?rm revenues.
2
1
Typically, start-up activity increases in a recession, and declines as
larger ?rms start hiring again. However, the recession of 2007-08
was diferent—new ?rm formation declined and is only now picking
back up. See the Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://www.bls.gov/
bdm/entrepreneurship/entrepreneurship.htm), a recent report,
“The Return of Business Creation,” from the Kaufman Foundation,
and a recent article in Forbes (http://www.forbes.com/sites/
joelkotkin/2013/03/13/wall-streets-hollow-boom-with-small-
business-and-startups-lagging-employment-wont-pick-up/) for a
discussion of this issue.
2
Changes in the way that equally owned ?rms have been de?ned
over time guard against an accurate reporting of trends in the
growth of women-owned and equally owned ?rms over time.
3
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
GEOGRAPHIC TRENDS
• Nationally, the number of women-owned ?rms has
increased by 68% since 1997. The states with the
fastest growth in the number of women-owned ?rms
over the past 17 years are Georgia (up 118%), Texas
(98%), North Carolina (91%), Nevada (91%) and
Mississippi (81%). The states with the lowest growth
in the number of women-owned ?rms between 1997
and 2014 are Alaska (11%), West Virginia (23%), Iowa
(23%), Kansas (30%) and Vermont (30%).
• In terms of growth in combined economic clout,
however—meaning averaging together the rankings in
growth in the number, revenues and employment of
women-owned ?rms—the states in which all of these
measures combined place women-owned ?rms in a
much-better-than-average position over the 1997 to
2014 period are North Dakota, the District of Columbia,
Nevada, Arizona and Georgia. The ?ve states at the
bottom of the combined economic clout ranking are
Iowa, Vermont, Rhode Island, Ohio and Maine.
• Looking at the top 25 most populous metropolitan
areas ?nds the greatest number of women-owned
businesses to be located in New York, NY/NJ with
665,700 women-owned ?rms as of 2014; Los Angeles,
CA with 427,800; Chicago, IL with 308,700; Miami,
FL with 242,600; and Washington, DC/MD/VA with
206,400.
• Averaging together the 12-year growth rankings
3
in
the number, revenue and employment of women-
owned ?rms in the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the
country—to look at combined economic clout—?nds
that San Antonio, TX; Atlanta, GA; Baltimore, MD;
Houston, TX; and Portland, OR are the top-ranked
metro areas in terms of the growth in the economic
strength of women-owned businesses.
INDUSTRY TRENDS
• Women-owned ?rms continue to diversify into
all industries. The industries with the highest
concentration of women-owned ?rms are health care
and social assistance (53% of ?rms in this sector are
women-owned, compared to a 30% share overall),
educational services (45%), other services (42%), and
administrative support and waste management services
(37%). The industries with the lowest concentration
of women-owned ?rms (in industries contributing 2%
or more of the business population) are construction
(where just 7% of ?rms are women-owned),
transportation and warehousing (11%), wholesale
trade (19%) and ?nance and insurance (20%). All other
industries are close to the 30% share in all industries,
again illustrating that women-owned ?rms are staking a
claim in all sectors of the U.S. economy.
• Looking at the distribution of women-owned ?rms
by industry sector ?nds that the greatest number of
women-owned ?rms is found in health care and social
assistance, including doctors and dentists, residential
care facilities and child care providers. Seventeen
percent of women-owned ?rms own businesses in this
sector. Other top sectors for women-owned ?rms include
other services, with 16% of women-owned ?rms in that
grouping; professional/scienti?c/technical services
(including attorneys, accountants, public relations
and human resources/organizational development
consulting), 13%; retail trade, 10%; and administrative
support and waste management services, 10%.
Together, these ?ve sectors account for two-thirds of all
of the women-owned ?rms in the country.
• The fastest growth in the number of women-owned
?rms over the past 12 years
4
has been in education
services (up 128%), administration and waste services
(up 60%), arts/entertainment/recreation (up 47%),
and health care and social assistance (up 44%).
Comparing the growth in the number of women-owned
?rms to that of all ?rms in each industry sector since
3
The boundaries of metropolitan areas were changed after the 2000
Census, thus metropolitan area trends can only be analyzed back
as far as the 2002 Economic Census.
4
Unlike the other national- and state-level trends reported in this
publication, which go back to 1997, industry trends can only be
reported as far back as the 2002 Census due to changes in industry
classi?cation between 1997 and 2002 (from SIC Codes to
NAICS codes).
4
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
2002 ?nds that women-owned ?rms are exceeding
overall sector growth rates in eight of the 13 most
populous industries, and match sector growth in three
others—meaning that the growth in the number of
women-owned ?rms lags sector averages only in retail
trade and educational services.
5
In order from widest to narrowest growth gap, the
industries in which growth in the number of women-
owned ?rms leads that of their sector peers are
other services (up 43% among women-owned ?rms
compared to 30% growth overall in the sector, for a
13-point gap), real estate (11-point gap), wholesale
trade (10-point gap), and ?nance and insurance
(6-point gap).
• How are women-owned ?rms doing with respect to
economic clout across industries? This year’s analysis
continues the investigation into the share of women-
owned and all ?rms in each industry that are “high
economic impact,” meaning that they are generating
$500,000 or more in annual revenues. Overall, just
9% of all ?rms in the country meet that criterion, as
do just 4% of women-owned ?rms. Relative to the
overall 4% of women-owned ?rms surpassing the
$500,000 revenue mark, women-owned ?rms in three
industries—wholesale trade (19%), construction (12%),
and accommodation and food services (11%) are those
most likely to be making a high economic impact.
• Compared to their peers, a look at the share of
women-owned and all ?rms with the highest economic
impact ?nds that women-owned ?rms are standing
toe-to-toe with their industry peers in two industries:
construction, where 12% of women-owned ?rms and
11% of all construction ?rms are pulling in $500,000+
per year; and in transportation and warehousing,
where 6% of each are generating $500,000 or more
in revenues.
FIRMS OWNED BY WOMEN OF COLOR
• In 1997, there were just under 1 million (929,445)
?rms owned by women of color, accounting for one
in six (17%) women-owned ?rms. That number has
skyrocketed to an estimated 2,934,500 as of 2014, now
comprising one in three (32%) women-owned ?rms.
• Firms owned by African American women number
an estimated 1,237,900 as of 2014. These 1.2 million
?rms employ 287,100 workers in addition to the
owner and generate an estimated $49.5 billion in
revenue. African American women own fully 49% of
all African American-owned ?rms, employ 28% of
the workers employed by African American-owned
?rms, and contribute 29% of the revenue generated
by African American-owned businesses. While African
American women comprise 14% of all women-owned
?rms nationally, African American women comprise a
greater than average share of all women-owned ?rms
in Georgia (34%), Maryland (32%), and Illinois (22%).
• Firms owned by Latinas number an estimated
1,033,100 as of 2014. These ?rms employ 433,600
workers in addition to the owner and generate an
estimated $71.1 billion in revenue. Latina women
own 36% of all Latino-owned ?rms, employ 20% of
the workers employed by Latino-owned ?rms, and
contribute 16% of the revenue generated by Latino-
owned businesses. While 11% of women-owned ?rms
are owned by Latinas nationally, Latinas comprise
the greatest share of all women-owned ?rms in
New Mexico (29%), Texas (25%), Florida (24%) and
California (20%).
• Firms owned by Asian American women number an
estimated 675,900 as of 2014. These ?rms employ
699,200 workers in addition to the owner and
generate an estimated $115 billion in revenue. Asian
American women own 35% of all Asian American-
owned ?rms, employ 22% of the workers employed
by Asian American-owned ?rms, and contribute 19%
of the revenue generated by Asian American-owned
businesses. While Asian American women own 7%
5
Six industry groups, comprising 2% or less of the business
population, are excluded from this analysis, but are included in the
Summary Tables at the back of this report.
5
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
of women-owned ?rms nationally, a greater than
average share of Asian American women-owned ?rms
(compared to all women-owned ?rms in the state) can
be found in Hawaii (55%), California (18%), New Jersey
(11%) and New York (10%).
• Firms owned by Native American or Alaska Native
women number an estimated 119,900 as of 2014.
These ?rms employ 40,600 workers in addition to
the owner and generate an estimated $10 billion in
revenue. Native American/Alaska Native women own
47% of all Native American/Alaska Native-owned
?rms, employ 33% of the workers, and contribute 29%
of the revenue generated by Native American/Alaska
Native-owned businesses. While Native American/
Alaska Native women comprise just 1% of women-
owned ?rms nationally, that share rises to 10% in
Oklahoma, 9% in New Mexico and 3% in Arizona.
• Firms owned by Native Hawaiian or Paci?c Islander
women number an estimated 20,000 as of 2014.
These ?rms employ 15,200 workers in addition to
the owner and generate an estimated $1.9 billion in
revenue. Native Hawaiian/Paci?c Islander women own
42% of all Native Hawaiian/Paci?c Islander-owned
?rms, employ 38% of the workers, and contribute 26%
of the revenue generated by Native Hawaiian/Paci?c
Islander owned businesses. Native Hawaiian/Paci?c
Islander women-owned ?rms comprise less than 1%
of the women-owned business population nationally.
In Hawaii, however, 12% of women-owned ?rms are
majority-owned by Native Hawaiians or natives of other
Paci?c Islands.
• While ?rms owned by women of color are smaller than
non-minority women-owned businesses both in terms
of average employment and revenues, their growth in
number and economic clout is generally far outpacing
that of all women-owned ?rms. Indeed, the growth in
the number of African American (up 296% from 1997 to
2014), Asian American (+179%), Latina (+206%), Native
American/Alaska Native (124%), and Native Hawaiian/
Paci?c Islander (+247%) women-owned ?rms all top
the growth in the number of non-minority women-
owned ?rms (+37%) over the past 17 years. Growth in
employment (except among Native American/Alaska
Native women-owned ?rms) and revenue growth are
also stronger among ?rms owned by women of color
than among non-minority women-owned ?rms. While
this is, in part, due to growth from a smaller base
number, it does indicate that business ownership is an
increasing career path for women of color.
THE ISSUE OF GROWTH
• The tale of women’s business ownership and growth
has two storylines. First, we see faster than average
growth over time. Yet, we also see a signi?cant
disparity in ?rm size. Likewise, business growth
in general shows two sides of a coin: despite the
frequently heralded claim that small businesses are the
backbone of the U.S. economy, they have been taking a
back seat to the largest publicly traded companies for
the past decade or more in terms of contributions to
economic growth.
• When comparing the growth in number, employment
and revenues of women-owned ?rms with those of
their peers along the full spectrum of business size,
women-owned ?rms matched or exceeded growth
rates up until the 100-employee threshold or the
million-dollar revenue mark.
• Employment and revenue growth patterns are similar
between women-owned and all ?rms of similar sizes.
There were distinct dips in ?rm growth—growth pains if
you will—among businesses that employ between ?ve
and nine workers, as well as among those generating
between $250,000 and $499,999 in revenues.
• This year, we examine employment and revenue
growth by ?rm size among women-owned businesses,
comparing the patterns seen in two distinct time
periods: the high-?ying decade leading up to the recent
2007–08 recession (1997–2007), and the seven years
since (2007–2014). With respect to employment
6
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
growth, the 1997–2007 period saw a 7% increase
in employment among women-owned ?rms overall,
compared to just under 4% growth in the seven years
since the recession (2007–2014). Employment growth
patterns are similar in both time periods; the greatest
job creation occurs among women-owned ?rms
employing between 20 and 99 employees.
• With respect to revenue growth, the 1997–2007 period
saw a 47% growth in revenues among women-owned
?rms, which is over twice the 17% growth seen over
the 2007–2014 period. In contrast to the similarity
seen across time periods in employment growth by
?rm size, revenue growth patterns difer between the
1997–2007 and the 2007–2014 periods. First, in the
earlier boom period, revenue growth was particularly
high compared to the overall average among ?rms
with $10,000 to $49,000 in annual revenues and
among ?rms with $1 million or more in revenues. That
pattern is not in evidence in the more recent period—
there is much less divergence from the average. This
is perhaps to the detriment of the very smallest and
largest of women-owned ?rms, but it also means that
the previously seen dip in revenue growth among the
$250,000–$499,999 revenue ?rms has been all but
erased. Revenue growth is now much closer to the 17%
7-year average among ?rms, regardless of size.
7
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES IN
THE UNITED STATES IN 2014
A
fter analyzing growth trends in the number and
size of women-owned ?rms in the 1997, 2002
and 2007 Economic Census, and extrapolating
those trends forward (taking economic conditions into
account),
6
we estimate that—as of 2014—there are just
under 9.1 million women-owned businesses in the United
States: 9,087,200 to be precise. As of this year, women-
owned ?rms are generating $1,410,940,800,000 (over
$1.4 trillion) in revenues and employing over 7.8 million
(7,854,200) people.
Between 1997 and 2014, when the number of businesses
in the United States increased by 47%, the number of
women-owned ?rms increased by 68%—a rate 1½ times
the national average.
5.4
819
7.1
6.5
7.1
7.8
7.6
9.1
7.9
941
1,202
1,411
1997 2002 2007 2014
# Firms
#
F
i
r
m
s
,
E
m
p
l
o
y
e
e
s
(
M
i
l
l
i
o
n
s
)
F
i
r
m
R
e
v
e
n
u
e
s
(
B
i
l
l
i
o
n
s
)
Sources: 1997–2007, US Census Bureau. 2014 estimates,
American Express OPEN/Womenable.
Employment
Revenues ($B)
NUMBER & ECONOMIC CLOUT OF WOMEN-OWNED
FIRMS CONTINUE TO GROW
Despite the fact that the number of women-owned ?rms
continues to grow at a rate exceeding the national
average, and now accounts for 30% of all enterprises,
women-owned ?rms still employ just 6% of the country’s
workforce and contribute just under 4% of business
revenues—roughly the same share they contributed in
1997. When large, publicly traded ?rms are excluded,
women-owned ?rms comprise 31% of the privately held
?rm population and contribute 14% of employment and
11% of revenues.
NUMBER OF WOMEN-OWNED FIRMS GROWING AT
1½ TIMES THE NATIONAL AVERAGE
Employment/Revenue Growth Tops All But Largest Companies
46.6
34.4
67.8
44.3
NUMBER OF FIRMS
22.8
11.0
-4.3
-6.5
EMPLOYMENT
47.6
96.8
45.1
72.3
REVENUES
American Express OPEN/Womenable estimates as of 2014, based on
1997–2007 data from US Census Bureau.
All Firms
%
C
h
a
n
g
e
,
1
9
9
7
–
2
0
1
4
All privately held ?rms
Men-owned
Women-owned
Combining equally owned ?rms
7
with women-owned
enterprises ?nds that women-owned and equally owned
?rms number 14,214,300 as of 2014. These ?rms
generate $2,879,244,900,000 (nearly $2.9 trillion) in
revenues, and employ 15.9 million people. Women-owned
and equally owned ?rms together represent 47% of U.S.
?rms and contribute 13% of total employment and 8% of
?rm revenues.
8
New this year is a more detailed look at new ?rm
formation. Comparing the number of businesses in a
given year with the number some years later, one
6
Refer to Study Methodology on page 33 for more details.
7
Equally owned ?rms are multi-owner ?rms that are 50% owned by a
woman or women and 50% owned by a man or men.
8
Changes in the way that equally owned ?rms have been de?ned, guard
against inaccurate reporting of trends in the growth of women-owned
and equally owned ?rms over time.
8
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
WOMEN ARE MAJORITY OWNERS OF NEARLY
1 IN 3 U.S. FIRMS
Provide 1 in 7 Jobs in Privately Held Firms, 1 in 16 Overall
29.8
6.2
3.9
30.8
13.9
11.4
ALL FIRMS PRIVATELY HELD FIRMS
American Express OPEN/Womenable estimates as of 2014, based on
1997–2007 data from US Census Bureau.
Number of ?rms
%
W
o
m
e
n
-
O
w
n
e
d
F
i
r
m
s
a
s
S
h
a
r
e
o
f
.
.
.
Employment
Revenues
can calculate the number of net new ?rms (taking into
account the number of ?rm start-ups minus closings and
changes in ownership) over any given period. Looking
over the entire 17-year period of our analysis—when the
number of women-owned ?rms has increased from 5.4
million to 9.1 million—we can then calculate that, on
average, there have been 591 (net) new women-owned
?rms started per day.
WOMEN STARTING NEARLY 4 IN 10 NEW FIRMS
A Net Average of 506 Per Day Since 2007
588
49.8
714
1997–2002
31.5
2002–2007
506
37.8
2007–2014
# of New WOBs per Day
% of New Firms that are Women-Owned
Sources: 1997–2007, US Census Bureau. 2014 estimates, American Express OPEN/Womenable.
During the 1997–2002 period, there were a net average
of 588 new women-owned ?rms per day, with women-
owned ?rms accounting for nearly half (49.8%) of new
?rms. Just before the recession, the daily net rate for new
women-owned ?rms increased to 714 per day, yet the
net share of new ?rms that were women-owned declined
to 31.5%. More recently, between 2007 and 2014, there
have been a net average of 506 new women-owned ?rms
launched per day, accounting for nearly four in ten of the
new ?rms started in the past seven years.
1,288
591 588
2013–
2014
2012–
2013
2011–
2012
2007–
2014
2002–
2007
1997–
2002
1997–
2014
714
506
602
744
Sources: 1997–2007, US Census Bureau. 2011–2014 estimates, American Express OPEN/Womenable.
#
o
f
N
e
w
W
o
m
e
n
-
O
w
n
e
d
F
i
r
m
s
p
e
r
D
a
y
START-UP ACTIVITY PICKING UP SIGNIFICANTLY
# of Net New WOBs/Day Has Doubled in Past 3 Years
Looking more recently at the net average number of new
women-owned ?rms started on an annual basis since the
publication of the annual State of Women-Owned
Businesses reports ?nds that start-up activity has
increased signi?cantly. While there have been a net
average of 506 new women-owned ?rms started per day
since 2007, the daily average was 602 per day from
2011–12, 744 per day from 2012–13, and fully 1,288 per
day over the past year—showing that the number of new
women-owned ?rms launched each day has doubled
over the past three years.
9
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
2007–2014
Sources: 1997–2007, US Census Bureau. 2014 estimates, American Express OPEN/Womenable.
2002–2007 1997–2002
1.2
1997–2014
46.6
67.8
10.3
19.8
12.6
16.6
18.0
20.1
NUMBER OF WOMEN-OWNED FIRMS GROWING
AT 1½ TIMES NATIONAL AVERAGE
Recent Rate Up, But Doesn’t Match Heyday of 1997–2002 Period
%
C
h
a
n
g
e
i
n
#
o
f
F
i
r
m
s
O
v
e
r
T
i
m
e
P
e
r
i
o
d
(1.5:1) (1.9:1) (1.1:1) (1.3:1)
All Firms
Women Owned Firms
While the number of new women-owned ?rms starting
each day is impressive, and picking up signi?cantly in
recent years as just described, the relative growth in the
number of women-owned ?rms is not keeping up the
pace witnessed in earlier years. Back in the 1997–2002
period, the number of women-owned ?rms increased at a
rate twice the national average—which is the sound bite
still often used to describe the growth of women-owned
?rms. During the 2002–2007 period, when new
businesses were being launched at a faster pace overall,
the ratio was even—the number of women-owned ?rms
grew by 20%, while the number of all ?rms increased by
18%. During the most recent period, from 2007–2014,
the number of women-owned ?rms increased by 17%
compared to an overall increase of 13%—a ratio of 1.3:1.
As mentioned earlier, over the entire 1997–2014 period,
the number of women-owned ?rms has increased at a
rate 1½ times the national average.
As in the 2013 State of Women-Owned Businesses report,
this year’s analysis takes a look at the all-important
issue of job creation. According to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, between January 1997 and January 2014, total
non-farm employment increased by 13%, from 121.4
million to 137.5 million. There’s a signi?cant diference in
the pre-recession and post-recession trends, however.
Between 1997 and 2007, employment grew by 13%, while
it has remained essentially ?at since 2007.
9
Looking more narrowly at private sector jobs, contributed
by the businesses included in the U.S. Census’ Survey
of Business Owners, there were 103 million people
employed in non-farm private sector jobs as of March
1997, 118.6 million in March 2007, and we estimate that
there are now 126.9 million persons employed in the
private sector as of March 2014. This represents a 23%
increase over the entire 17-year period, including a 15%
increase from 1997 to 2007 and a rate less than half that
(7%) over the last seven years.
10
All Firms Publicly
Traded
Men-
Owned
Women-
Owned
Equally
Owned
All Privately
Held
American Express OPEN/Womenable estimates as of 2014,
based on 1997–2007 data from US Census Bureau.
+8.3M
+9.2M
-893K -997K
+274K
-72K
N
e
w
E
m
p
l
o
y
m
e
n
t
C
h
a
n
g
e
,
2
0
0
7
–
2
0
1
4
RECENT EMPLOYMENT GROWTH HAS COME
FROM PUBLICLY TRADED CORPORATIONS…
AND WOMEN-OWNED FIRMS
9
See bls.gov for more information. The “employed persons” data
focuses on civilian non-farm employment. It does not include
the military, but it does include public sector employees such as
government and university workers.
10
Note: this is a subset of total employed persons, as it excludes public
sector employees as well as self-employed persons. Firm employment
as delineated in the U.S. Census generally counts employees other
than the business owner.
10
STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES REPORT
This 7% increase translates into an estimated net
8.3 million new jobs in the private sector over the
past seven years. Where have these jobs come from?
Overwhelmingly, from publicly traded companies. The
overall increase of 8.3 million net new private sector jobs
is accounted for by a 9.2 million increase in employment
in large, publicly traded corporations, combined with a
893,000 decline in employment among smaller, privately
held companies. The only bright spot in recent years
with respect to privately held company job growth has
been among women-owned ?rms. They have added an
estimated 274,000 jobs since 2007. Among men-owned
and equally owned ?rms, employment has declined over
the past seven years.
So, indeed, while women-owned ?rms remain smaller
than their peers in terms of average employment and
revenues, they are not only showing higher percent
growth in numbers but also higher absolute growth in
terms of job creation.
For more detailed data on national trends, see Tables 1
and 2 in the Summary Tables section.
11
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
THE BUSINESS CENSUS OVER
TIME: DATA IMPROVEMENTS,
DEFINITIONAL CHANGES
A
s we move into an analysis of trends by state,
metropolitan area, industry, race and business
size, it is important to note why this report only
includes data from the three most recent Business
Census surveys, when the U.S. Census Bureau ?rst
provided sex-disaggregated business counts in the
1977 Census. The reason lies in the progress made over
time by the Census Bureau in industry inclusion and in
the changes that have been made in how the gender of
business ownership is determined.
As summarized in Table 2 in the Summary Tables
section, there have been a variety of de?nitional changes
that have afected the number, share and economic clout
of women-owned businesses. The ?rst Census to include
an accounting of women-owned ?rms, in 1977, was
experimental and included only some industries. In fact,
only with the 1992 Survey of Women-Owned Business
Enterprises
11
were all women-owned ?rms—including
C corporations—included in the count. That Census also
marked the only time that publicly traded women-owned
?rms were tabulated. The difculty of determining the
gender of ownership of publicly traded ?rms led to their
being put into a separate category thereafter.
The threshold of ownership has also changed over time.
Prior to 1997, ?rms with 50% or more ownership by
a woman or women were counted as women-owned.
Starting with the 1997 Census, that threshold was raised
to 51% or more, to match government procurement
de?nitions. Thus, the separate equally owned category
was born.
While Table 1 in the Summary Tables section of this report
does ofer an estimate of the number and economic
contributions of “women-owned and equally owned
?rms,” this report will not focus on that population—
because the method for determining equal ownership
(which has, in our view, improved accuracy) has difered
in each of the past three Censuses. In 1997, equal
ownership was determined at the company level through
administrative records. Starting in 2002, ownership was
determined at the personal rather than at the company
level, by asking the gender of the top three owners of the
?rm (virtually all ?rms have three or fewer owners). This
methodological improvement resulted in a drop in the
count of equally owned ?rms from 1997 to 2002. Then, in
2007, the gender of the top four owners of the ?rm was
used to determine gender status of ownership, resulting in
an increase in equally owned ?rms. Therefore, while it may
interest some to know the number and size of women-
owned and equally owned ?rms in each of these Census
years—and in our 2014 estimates—care should be taken
not to ascribe changes over time in the women-owned
and equally owned ?rm population to anything other than
de?nitional diferences.
It is also important to note that, due to changes in
industry de?nitions and metropolitan area boundaries
after the 1997 SBO, the analysis of trends at the industry
and metropolitan area level can only go back as far as the
2002 Census survey.
11
Formerly referred to as SWOBE, now referred to as the Survey of
Business Owners (SBO).
12
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
STATE TRENDS
N
ationally, we estimate that—as of 2014—there
are 9.1 million women-owned businesses. The
states with the greatest number of women-
owned ?rms are, naturally, the most populous states.
California is home to the greatest number of women-
owned ?rms in the country, and is the only state in which
there are 1 million or more women-owned ?rms (see
Table below). California is followed by Texas, New York,
Florida and Illinois. Rounding out the top ten are Georgia,
Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina and Michigan.
Demographic and economic trends have brought some
changes to the top ten in recent years. Texas now edges
out New York as home to the second highest number
of women-owned ?rms. Georgia, ranked 10th in 1997
and 7th in 2012, is now the 6th most populous state for
women-owned businesses. North Carolina joined the top
ten in 2011 in 10th place, and now has risen to #8.
TOP TEN STATES: NUMBER OF
WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
State
Number of
Women-Owned
Firms
2013
Rank
1997
Rank
California 1,114,900 1 1
Texas 756,700 2 3
New York 682,200 3 2
Florida 596,400 4 4
Illinois 388,700 5 5
Georgia 317,200 6 10
Pennsylvania 297,700 7 7
Ohio 268,700 8 6
North Carolina 267,800 9 12
Michigan 261,400 10 8
New Jersey, which was the 9th most populous state for
women-owned ?rms in 1997, has since fallen from the
top ten and now stands at #11. Also falling in ranking over
the past 17 years—following overall demographic and
economic conditions—are Ohio, slipping from #6 to #8,
and Michigan, dropping from #8 in 1997 to #10 in 2014.
For additional information on the number and size
of women-owned ?rms at the state level—including
estimates of number of ?rms, employment and
revenues, and growth rates over the 1997–2014 period
for all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, refer to
Table 3 in the Summary Tables section.
What is more interesting than looking at the states with
the greatest number of women-owned ?rms, however, is
to look at the growth in women-owned ?rms at the state
level: not only growth in terms of number of ?rms but
in the employment and revenues that these ?rms are
contributing to the economy.
Nationally, the number of women-owned businesses has
grown by 68% since 1997. The states with the fastest
growth in the number of women-owned ?rms over the
past 17 years are Georgia (up 118%), Texas (98%), North
Carolina (just over 91%), Nevada (just under 91%),
Mississippi (81%), South Carolina (78%), Florida (77%),
Alabama (76%), Maryland (75%) and Utah (73%).
The states with the lowest growth in the number of
women-owned ?rms between 1997 and 2014 are Alaska
(11%), West Virginia (23%), Iowa (23%), Kansas (30%)
and Vermont (30%).
In terms of growth in combined economic clout,
however—averaging together the rankings of growth
in the number, revenues and employment of women-
owned ?rms—the states in which all of these measures
combined place women-owned ?rms in a much better
13
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
TOP TEN STATES FOR WOMEN-OWNED FIRMS:
A RANKING OF GROWTH IN NUMBER & ECONOMIC CLOUT
State Number Revenue Employment
Combined Rank
2014
Combined Rank
2012
North Dakota 13 2 2 1 5
District of Columbia 18 1 1 2 1
Nevada 4 8 9 3 1
Arizona 19 10 3 4 4
Georgia 1 19 12 4 8
Wyoming 24 3 8 6 1
Virginia 15 9 15 7 6
Maryland 9 21 10 8 7
Texas 2 18 24 9 15
Utah 10 4 30 9 11
than average position over the 1997–2014 period, in
descending order, are North Dakota, the District of
Columbia, Nevada, Arizona and Georgia (tied for 4th),
Wyoming, Virginia, Maryland, and Texas and Utah
(tied for 9th).
Comparing the ranking of the top ten today with last
year’s ranking ?nds that the economic clout of women-
owned ?rms in Georgia, North Dakota, Texas and Utah
is on the rise, while the economic clout of women-owned
?rms in Nevada and Wyoming has slipped a bit over the
past year.
At the other end of the spectrum, the states in which
the combined growth in the number, revenues and
employment of women-owned ?rms lag the national
average to the greatest extent are Iowa, Vermont, Rhode
Island, Ohio and Maine.
The full ranking of the states in terms of growth in number
of ?rms, revenues and employment—as well as combined
economic clout—may be seen in the Table that follows,
and additional summary information may be found in
Table 3 in the Summary Tables section of this report.
14
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
RANK OF STATES BY GROWTH IN NUMBER & ECONOMIC CLOUT
OF WOMEN-OWNED FIRMS, 1997–2014
State
Growth in
Number of
Firms Rank
Growth
in Firm
Revenues Rank
Growth in
Employment Rank
Combined
Economic
Clout Rank
Alabama 76.1% 8 64.1% 30 3.9% 38 22
Alaska 11.2% 51 77.9% 23 18.0% 21 37
Arizona 60.2% 19 100.5% 10 48.8% 3 4
Arkansas 54.5% 23 72.9% 27 -5.1% 44 36
California 59.2% 20 64.3% 29 5.5% 36 29
Colorado 55.3% 22 90.2% 13 6.5% 33 20
Connecticut 33.2% 44 62.9% 32 16.4% 22 38
Delaware 57.4% 21 87.6% 14 -5.7% 45 26
District of Columbia 61.0% 18 176.0% 1 80.1% 1 2
Florida 76.5% 7 63.0% 31 28.3% 11 12
Georgia 117.9% 1 80.4% 19 26.0% 12 4
Hawaii 64.7% 16 76.2% 24 36.4% 5 11
Idaho 46.3% 29 85.7% 16 33.0% 7 13
Illinois 62.1% 17 30.8% 48 -19.5% 49 44
Indiana 32.5% 45 80.3% 20 21.9% 16 27
Iowa 22.7% 49 -3.8% 51 -21.8% 50 51
Kansas 29.8% 48 51.8% 38 25.3% 13 39
Kentucky 52.2% 25 42.7% 46 -11.3% 47 46
Louisiana 70.9% 12 143.8% 5 -7.3% 46 18
Maine 34.6% 43 13.8% 50 6.5% 31 47
Maryland 74.7% 9 80.2% 21 28.4% 10 8
Massachusetts 38.7% 36 81.3% 17 12.8% 26 24
Michigan 41.6% 33 20.1% 49 8.5% 29 43
Minnesota 36.2% 41 60.8% 33 20.2% 18 35
Mississippi 81.4% 5 59.5% 34 6.5% 32 21
Missouri 38.8% 35 51.5% 39 6.5% 34 42
Montana 37.5% 38 97.0% 11 41.6% 4 14
Nebraska 40.1% 34 74.3% 25 19.6% 19 23
Nevada 90.6% 4 111.5% 8 31.2% 9 3
New Hampshire 44.1% 30 139.7% 6 12.9% 25 17
Note: Combined economic clout rank is an averaging of the ranks in
the number, revenue and employment growth of women-owned ?rms
between 1997 and 2014.
15
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
RANK OF STATES BY GROWTH IN NUMBER & ECONOMIC CLOUT
OF WOMEN-OWNED FIRMS, 1997–2014 (CONT’D)
State
Growth in
Number of
Firms Rank
Growth
in Firm
Revenues Rank
Growth in
Employment Rank
Combined
Economic
Clout Rank
New Jersey 48.6% 26 48.5% 42 4.9% 37 41
New Mexico 38.2% 37 70.5% 28 3.2% 39 40
New York 73.1% 11 59.3% 35 1.7% 40 30
North Carolina 91.4% 3 48.6% 41 20.9% 17 17
North Dakota 66.7% 13 175.2% 2 58.0% 2 1
Ohio 31.0% 46 49.0% 40 -0.8% 42 48
Oklahoma 36.8% 39 95.6% 12 25.2% 14 19
Oregon 46.6% 28 58.4% 36 10.2% 28 35
Pennsylvania 46.7% 27 53.9% 37 18.1% 20 28
Rhode Island 41.8% 32 31.0% 47 -27.8% 51 49
South Carolina 78.3% 6 47.2% 45 0.0% 41 35
South Dakota 35.3% 42 119.8% 7 33.4% 6 15
Tennessee 66.3% 14 73.0% 26 -17.4% 48 32
Texas 98.4% 2 80.8% 18 13.0% 24 9
Utah 73.8% 10 157.7% 4 7.7% 30 9
Vermont 30.4% 47 47.4% 44 -1.7% 43 50
Virginia 65.3% 15 105.4% 9 22.6% 15 7
Washington 42.8% 31 79.8% 22 10.9% 27 26
West Virginia 22.7% 50 86.0% 15 13.6% 23 32
Wisconsin 36.6% 40 47.7% 43 6.2% 35 46
Wyoming 53.4% 24 163.2% 3 31.9% 8 6
Note: Combined economic clout rank is an averaging of the ranks in
the number, revenue and employment growth of women-owned ?rms
between 1997 and 2014.
16
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
METROPOLITAN
AREA TRENDS
A
s in our 2012 report, we began by exploring
trends in the growth of women-owned ?rms in
the 25 most populous metropolitan areas in the
country. As of 2014, the metropolitan areas that are
home to the greatest number of women-owned ?rms
are New York, NY/NJ, with 665,700 women-owned
?rms; Los Angeles, CA with 427,800; Chicago, IL with
308,700; Miami, FL with 242,600 and Dallas, TX with
207,900. Rounding out the top ten are the Washington,
DC metropolitan area, Atlanta, GA; Houston, TX; San
Francisco, CA and Philadelphia, PA. Just missing the cut
were Boston, MA and Detroit, MI.
The metropolitan areas that have seen the greatest
growth in the number of women-owned ?rms between
2002 and 2014 are San Antonio and Dallas, TX; Atlanta,
GA; Baltimore, MD and Houston, TX. Comparing these
metropolitan area growth rankings with those of their
parent states reveals that economic conditions in top
cities can difer from overall state trends. For example,
Baltimore, ranked #4, outpaces Maryland’s #9 ranking
with respect to the growth in the number of women-
owned ?rms. Conversely, Atlanta’s #3 ranking lags
behind Georgia’s #1 ranking in the growth in the number
of women-owned ?rms.
Averaging together 2002–2014 growth rankings in
the number, revenue and employment of women-
owned ?rms in the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the
country—to look at combined economic clout—reveals
a diferent top ?ve list, however: San Antonio, TX tops
the list this year, making it the metro area with the most
robust growth in number and economic contributions of
women-owned ?rms. San Antonio is followed by a four-
way tie for second place among (in alphabetical order):
Atlanta, GA; Baltimore, MD; Houston, TX; and Portland,
OR. Washington, DC/MD/VA ranks 6th this year (down
from a #1 ranking two years ago), while Tampa/St.
Petersburg, FL—breaking into the top ten for the ?rst
time—ranks 7th. Rounding out the top ten are Seattle,
WA; Dallas, TX; and Riverside, CA.
TEN TOP METRO AREAS: NUMBER OF
WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
Metropolitan Area
Number of
Women-Owned
Firms
2014
Rank
2002
Rank
New York, NY/NJ 665,700 1 1
Los Angeles, CA 427,800 2 2
Chicago, IL 308,700 3 3
Miami, FL 242,600 4 4
Dallas, TX 207,900 5 6
Washington, DC/MD/VA 206,400 6 5
Atlanta, GA 202,400 7 8
Houston, TX 178,500 8 10
San Francisco, CA 154,000 9 7
Philadelphia, PA/DE/NJ 153,100 10 11
12
The boundaries of metropolitan areas were changed after the 2000
Census, thus metropolitan area trends can only be analyzed back as
far as the 2002 Economic Census.
17
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
TOP TEN METRO AREAS FOR WOMEN-OWNED FIRMS:
A RANKING OF GROWTH IN NUMBER & ECONOMIC CLOUT
Metropolitan Area Number Revenue Employment
Combined
Rank, 2014
Combined
Rank, 2012
San Antonio, TX 1 12 1 1 2
Atlanta, GA 3 10 6 2 9
Baltimore, MD 4 8 7 2 4
Houston, TX 5 1 13 2 3
Portland, OR 13 2 4 2 10
Washington, DC/MD/VA 7 6 8 6 1
Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL 6 13 3 7 7
Seattle, WA 16 5 2 8 11
Dallas, TX 2 4 21 9 8
Riverside, CA 10 11 11 10 4
The metro areas with the lowest level of combined
economic clout among the 25 most populous cities are
St. Louis, MO; San Francisco, CA; Pittsburgh, PA; Boston,
MA; and Miami, FL—all driven to the bottom of the list
by recent declines in employment. Detroit has climbed
out of the bottom ?ve listing due to an uptick in
employment growth.
A listing of combined economic clout rankings follows.
For more detailed data on metropolitan area trends, see
Table 4 in the Summary Tables section.
18
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
RANK OF METROPOLITAN AREAS BY GROWTH IN NUMBER & ECONOMIC CLOUT
OF WOMEN-OWNED FIRMS, 2002–2014
State
Growth in
Number of
Firms Rank
Growth in
Firm $ Rank
Growth in
Employment Rank
Combined
Economic
Clout Rank
Atlanta, GA 63.1% 3 54.8% 10 32.3% 6 2
Baltimore, MD 58.4% 4 55.7% 8 31.7% 7 2
Boston, MA 24.1% 18 31.9% 18 -12.3% 23 22
Chicago, IL 43.5% 8 30.1% 20 -1.8% 19 15
Dallas, TX 63.3% 2 77.8% 4 -6.4% 21 9
Denver, CO 32.0% 12 66.8% 7 7.7% 14 11
Detroit, MI 27.9% 15 5.3% 25 30.4% 9 16
Houston, TX 51.9% 5 112.2% 1 13.1% 13 2
Los Angeles, CA 23.8% 19 43.1% 15 6.0% 16 19
Miami, FL 34.2% 11 27.8% 21 -10.1% 22 21
Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN 22.2% 21 41.1% 16 34.3% 5 14
New York, NY/NJ 30.4% 14 30.5% 19 -4.2% 20 20
Philadelphia, PA/NJ/DE 41.3% 9 55.4% 9 3.9% 17 13
Phoenix, AZ 20.2% 23 43.8% 14 16.7% 12 16
Pittsburgh, PA 19.2% 24 18.4% 23 -0.8% 18 23
Portland, OR 31.4% 13 95.5% 2 37.6% 4 2
Riverside, CA 35.6% 10 49.8% 11 23.7% 11 10
Sacramento, CA 22.6% 20 81.4% 3 28.4% 10 11
St. Louis, MO 9.8% 25 21.2% 22 -18.9% 24 24
San Antonio, TX 86.4% 1 46.9% 12 54.2% 1 1
San Diego, CA 25.2% 17 32.8% 17 7.2% 15 16
San Francisco, CA 20.9% 22 17.2% 24 -19.7% 25 24
Seattle, WA 25.5% 16 70.3% 5 42.9% 2 8
Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL 50.0% 6 45.6% 13 38.1% 3 7
Washington, DC 46.8% 7 69.0% 6 30.7% 8 6
Note: Combined economic clout rank is an averaging of the ranks in
the number, revenue and employment growth of women-owned ?rms
between 2002 and 2014.
19
THE STATE OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES, 2014
INDUSTRY TRENDS
W
omen-owned ?rms are starting and growing
businesses in all industries, diversifying into
sectors previously described as “non-traditional”
for women. Over the past 14 years
13
there has been an
evening-out in the concentration of women-owned ?rms,
meaning that an increasing number of women-owned ?rms
can be found in all industries. And while there are below
average shares of women-owned ?rms in construction
(7%), transportation and warehousing (11%), and ?nance
and insurance (20%), in most other industries, women-
owned ?rms are close to or exceeding their overall 30%
share of the business population.
This Table summarizes both the concentration of
women-owned ?rms within each major industry sector
(the share of ?rms in each sector that are women-
owned) and the distribution of the current population of
women-owned ?rms across industries (the percentage
of all women-owned ?rms that are in that industry).
The industries with the highest concentration of
women-owned ?rms are health care and social
assistance (53% of ?rms in this sector are women-
owned, compared to a 30% share overall), educational
services (45% – e.g., private schools, cosmetology,
language or ?ight training, or any other education or
training provider), other services (42% – e.g., auto and
appliance repair, beauty salons and pet sitting services),
and administrative and waste management services
(37% – e.g., ofce administration and temp services,
landscaping and janitorial services). The industries
with the lowest concentration of women-owned ?rms
(in industries contributing 2% or more of the business
population) are construction (where just 7% of ?rms are
women-owned), transportation and warehousing (11%),
wholesale trade (19%) and ?nance and insurance (20%).
All other industries are close to a 30% share—again
illustrating that women-owned ?rms are staking a claim
in all sectors of the U.S. economy.
CONCENTRATION AND DISTRIBUTION
OF WOMEN-OWNED FIRMS BY INDUSTRY SECTOR
Industry Sector
(with 2%+ women-owned ?rms)
Concentration
Within
Industry
Distribution
Across
Industries
Construction 7.2% 2.2%
Wholesale Trade 18.8 1.5
Retail Trade 32.8 9.9
Transportation & Warehousing 11.4 1.7
Finance & Insurance 19.5 2.2
Real Estate 25.6 7.8
Professional/Scienti?c/
Technical Services
29.2 13.3
Administrative, Support & Waste
Management Services
37.3 10.0
Educational Services 45.0 4.8
Health Care & Social Assistance 52.6 16.5
Arts, Entertainment, Recreation 30.7 4.7
Accommodation & Food Service 24.7 2.3
Other Services 41.5 15.9
All Other Industries (with