Business · Facts & sources
4 sourced facts about merchants, small businesses and retail commerce, each with the context behind the number. 4 more are in today's round and appear here after it closes.
Answerabout 36.2 million
Small businesses make up the vast majority of all companies operating in the country.
Source: SBA Office of Advocacy, Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business 2026 advocacy.sba.gov
Answer43.5%
Small businesses account for a huge slice of overall economic output even though each one is individually small.
Source: SBA Office of Advocacy, Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business 2026 (2014) advocacy.sba.gov
Answerabout $1.2 trillion
Independent merchants, freelancers and sole proprietors add up to a sizable chunk of the whole economy.
Source: MBO Partners study, cited in Wikipedia: Self-employment (2017) en.wikipedia.org
Answer38.7%
Even though small businesses employ nearly half of private workers, larger companies still pay out a bigger overall payroll share thanks to bigger average paychecks.
Source: SBA Office of Advocacy, Frequently Asked Questions About Small Business 2026 advocacy.sba.gov