25 Million Small Businesses in U.S. Employ Fewer than 10 Employees

In 2007, the last year for which we have data, according to the Census Bureau, there were 21.7 million businesses in the United States with no employees—meaning they were sole proprietorships, or free-lance businesses employing only their owner. 


Of the 6 million remaining businesses in the U.S., more than 3 million had 1 to 4 employees, and 1 million had 5 to 9.

So, all in all, small businesses run by 1 person employing fewer than 10 numbered an astonishing 25 million.