WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Office of Advocacy, an independent office housed in the U.S. Small Business Administration, today released the 2025 Small Business Profiles for Major Metropolitan Areas. Each year, Advocacy’s Office of Economic Research assembles the most recent small business data into a comprehensive snapshot of the largest metropolitan economies.
Each profile highlights metropolitan area statistics on the number of small businesses, small business employment, self-employment, industry small business makeup, business owner demographics, and small business lending. The New York-Newark-Jersey City metropolitan area has the largest number of small businesses, at 2.6 million, as well as the largest small business employment, with 4.1 million people employed by small businesses.
Small businesses generally play a less prominent role in larger cities, but Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach is an exception, with small businesses accounting for 53.6 percent of employment. Many cities exceed the national share of the workforce employed by small businesses, 45.9 percent. For example, in the Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos metropolitan area, small businesses accounted for 48.1 percent of employment. The profiles show small businesses are expanding in several cities, highlighting a positive outlook for job creation and economic growth.
“Did you know that Billings, MT, and Burlington, VT, lead the nation’s metro areas in percentage of jobs supplied by small businesses, both near 60 percent?” said Chief Counsel Casey B. Mulligan. “Advocacy publishes metropolitan profiles to give policymakers and entrepreneurs the facts they need to understand where small businesses are thriving and what conditions allow them to succeed.”
The 2025 Metropolitan Area Profiles are part of Advocacy’s geographic profile series, which highlights the features of small business economies for policymakers and other stakeholders at the national, state, and local levels, including rural areas. To view the Small Business Profiles for various geographical regions, please visit the Office of Advocacy’s website.
Created by Congress in 1976, the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration is an independent voice for small business within the executive branch. Appointed by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, the Chief Counsel for Advocacy directs the office. The Chief Counsel advances the views, concerns, and interests of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policymakers. Economic research, policy analyses, and small business outreach help identify issues of concern. Regional Advocates and an office in Washington, DC, support the Chief Counsel’s efforts. For more information on the Office of Advocacy, visit advocacy.sba.gov or call (202) 205-6533.