NC in Focus: New Data on Entrepreneurship

Nationally, 22.2% of businesses with paid employees had been operating for no more than three years as of 2014. In North Carolina, this proportion is slightly lower: 20.8% or just over 32,000 of the state’s 154,000 firms were younger businesses, according to recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s first Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs.

In contrast, North Carolina had an above average proportion of long-established businesses: 6% of North Carolina businesses with paid employees had been operating for 16 years or longer compared to 3% of firms nationally.

Within North Carolina, women owned nearly 30,000 businesses with paid employees or 21% of all such businesses in the state.

Thirteen percent of North Carolina businesses were minority owned. Of the 20,400 minority-owned firms with paid employees, 8,700 or 45% were Asian-owned; 5,500 or 29% were black or African-American owned; and nearly 1,200 or 6% were American Indian owned. Four thousand businesses with paid employees were owned by Hispanics, representing 3% of all firms.

Young businesses—those firms operating for fewer than four years—were more likely to be owned by women and minorities. Among young businesses, 24% were headed by women compared to 21% of all businesses. The differences were even greater for racial minority groups: 22% of young businesses were minority-owned compared to 13% overall. Similarly, the share of Hispanic business owners was much higher at young firms (5% vs. 3% among all firms).

More from the 2014 Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs:

• Nearly 1 in 10 Businesses with Employees are New, According to Inaugural Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs
• The Metro Areas With More New Businesses