{
  "schema_version": "1.1",
  "id": "sba-36-2-million-small-businesses-2025",
  "slug": "sba-36-2-million-small-businesses-2025",
  "url": "https://groundedkit.com/claims/sba-36-2-million-small-businesses-2025/",
  "api_url": "https://groundedkit.com/api/claims/sba-36-2-million-small-businesses-2025.json",
  "claim": "The US has 36.2 million small businesses, which account for almost 46% of private-sector employment",
  "commonly_cited_as": "\"There are over 36 million small businesses in the US\"",
  "verdict": "verified",
  "verdict_definition": "Primary source found; it says the same thing, the scope matches, and it is reasonably current.",
  "confidence": "high",
  "rating": {
    "value": 5,
    "best": 5,
    "worst": 1
  },
  "origin": {
    "publisher": "U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy",
    "title": "2025 Small Business Profiles (press release, June 30, 2025)",
    "year": "2025"
  },
  "quote": "the U.S. contains 36.2 million small businesses, which account for almost 46 percent of private sector employment.",
  "method": "Office of Advocacy compilation of Census and BLS data. 'Small' means fewer than 500 employees; most are non-employer firms (sole proprietors).",
  "drift": [
    "Most of the 36.2 million have no employees",
    "Small = under 500 employees, which includes fairly large firms"
  ],
  "interest": "n/a (federal statistical agency).",
  "safe_rephrasing": "The SBA Office of Advocacy counted 36.2 million US small businesses (under 500 employees, including non-employers) in 2025, accounting for almost 46% of private-sector employment.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "SBA Office of Advocacy — 2025 Small Business Profiles",
      "url": "https://advocacy.sba.gov/2025/06/30/new-advocacy-report-shows-the-number-of-small-businesses-in-the-u-s-exceeds-36-million/",
      "primary": true
    }
  ],
  "kind": "reference_fact",
  "as_of": "2025 profiles (latest federal data available in 2025)",
  "last_checked": "2026-10-16",
  "stale": false,
  "date_reviewed": "2026-10-16",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0",
  "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
}