Nearly One-Fifth of U.S. Businesses Equally Owned by Men and Women

An Issue Brief published by the SBA's Office of Advocacy details a frequently overlooked category of business ownership: firms owned 50 percent by men and 50 percent by women.

Equally-owned businesses (EOBs) represent a significant share of firms, employment, and receipts. These firms are frequently overlooked in discussions about business owner demographics. To say that 30 percent of firms are female-owned suggests that the other 70 percent are owned by men, when in reality, 53 percent are male-owned, and 17 percent are equally-owned by men and women.

Compared to other firms, EOBs are more likely to be family-owned or owned jointly by a married couple, but less likely to be minority-owned or veteran owned. EOBs account for 11.6 percent of total U.S. business receipts, 20.2 percent of firms with paid employees, 14.2 percent of paid employees, and 11.1 percent of annual payroll.

Advocacy’s Issue Brief #8: An Overlooked Demographic: Equally-Owned Businesses or EOBs, is available on Advocacy’s website here.