Census Bureau Releases New Data About Business Owners

NOV. 20, 2025 — The U.S. Census Bureau today released new data about the sex, race, ethnicity, veteran status and other characteristics of U.S. business owners. For the first time, the release also includes estimates of employer firms by owner characteristics, industry sector and congressional district.

The data come from two sources: the Annual Business Survey (ABS), which covers employer businesses (those with paid employees), and the Nonemployer Statistics by Demographics (NES-D), which covers nonemployer businesses (those without paid employees). Together, they provide the most complete picture yet of U.S. business owner demographics.

Explore data highlights on both employer and nonemployer businesses.