Small Business Administration 

National Women’s Business Council 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

June 18, 2007 

Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

Prepared by 

The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations found in this study are 

those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Women’s 

Business Council, the United States Small Business Administration, or the United States 

Government. 

th 1220 19 Street NW 

Suite 502 

Washington DC 20036 

202-223-8877
 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

 An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

TABLE OF CHARTS......................................................................... i
 

I. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................... 1
 

II. HIGHLIGHTS............................................................................... 2
 

III. METHODOLOGY..................................................................... 4
 

Data Description........................................................................ 4
 

Data Definitions......................................................................... 5
 

Groupings................................................................................. 6
 Selections................................................................................. 7
 Calculations and Estimates.............................................................. 8
 Data Limitations......................................................................... 8 

IV. CHARTS.................................................................................... 10

A. Distribution Of Women’s Businesses By Geography And Industry Type.... 11
 

B.	 Revenues And Revenues Per Firm Of Women’s Businesses By Geography 

And Industry Type.................................................................. 21
 C.	 Distribution Of Women’s Businesses By Race/Ethnicity, Age, Education, 

Customer Type And Revenue...................................................... 40
 D. Distribution Of Women’s Businesses By Customer Type....................... 56
 E. Distribution Of Women’s Businesses By Compensation........................ 67
 

V. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS.................................................... 79
 

VII. APPENDICES............................................................................. 81

Appendix A– Example of Estimation of Non-Disclosed Data..................... 82
 

Appendix B– Example of data limitations due to lack of precision in reporting 

of Women-Owned & Led firms........................................................ 84
 Appendix C – Data Tables.............................................................. 86
 Appendix D – NAICS Codes........................................................... 113
 

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Firm Distribution 

 

TABLE OF CHARTS 

Chart 1: Overview of Women’s Businesses 

Chart A1: Number of Firms – All Women's Businesses by Region 

Chart A2: Number of Firms – All Women's Businesses in the Northeast 

Chart A3: Number of Firms – All Women's Businesses in the South 

Chart A4: Number of Firms – All Women's Businesses in the Midwest 

Chart A5: Number of Firms – All Women's Businesses in the West 

Chart A6: Number of Firms – All Women’s Businesses by Industry 

Chart A7: Number of Firms – Employer Firms by Industry 

Chart A8: Number of Firms – Non-Employer Firms by Industry 

Receipts 

Chart B1: Receipts – All Women’s Businesses by Region 

Chart B2: Receipts – All Women’s Businesses in the Northeast 

Chart B3: Receipts – All Women’s Businesses in the South 

Chart B4: Receipts – All Women’s Businesses in the Midwest 

Chart B5: Receipts – All Women’s Businesses in the West 

Chart B6: Receipts per Firm – All Women’s Businesses by Region 

Chart B7: Receipts per Firm – All Women’s Businesses in the Northeast 

Chart B8: Receipts per Firm – All Women’s Businesses in the South 

Chart B9: Receipts per Firm – All Women’s Businesses in the Midwest 

Chart B10: Receipts per Firm – All Women’s Businesses in the West 

Chart B11: Receipts – All Women’s Businesses by Industry 

Chart B12: Receipts – Employer Firms by Industry 

Chart B13: Receipts – Non-Employer Firms by Industry 

Chart B14: Receipts per Firm – All Women’s Businesses by Industry 

Chart B15: Receipts per Firm – Employer Firms by Industry 

Chart B16: Receipts per Firm – Non-Employer Firms by Industry 

Demographics 

Chart C1: Demographics – Women-Led, Women-Owned & Led, and Women-Owned 

By Race/Ethnicity 

Chart C2: Demographics – Women-Led, Women-Owned & Led, and Women-Owned 
 

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 An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

 

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By Race/Ethnicity (Percent) 

Chart C3: Demographics – Distribution of WOWL Businesses by Age Group 

Chart C4: Demographics – Distribution of WOWL Businesses by Age Group (Percent) 

Chart C5: Demographics – Distribution of WOWL Firms by Education 

Chart C6: Demographics – Distribution of WOWL Firms by Education (Percent) 

Chart C7: Demographics – Percent of Firms by Race/Ethnicity by Age 

Chart C8: Demographics – Education by Race/Ethnicity 

Chart C9: Demographics – Firms by Education by Age 

Chart C10: Demographics – Receipts by Race/Ethnicity 

Chart C11: Demographics – Receipts per Firm by Race/Ethnicity 

Chart C12: Demographics – Receipts for Employer Firms by Race/Ethnicity 

Chart C13: Demographics – Receipts for Non-Employer Firms by Race/Ethnicity 

Chart C14: Demographics – Receipts per Firm for Employer Firms by Race/Ethnicity 

Chart C15: Demographics – Receipts per Firm for Non-Employer Firms by Race/Ethnicity 

Customer Type 

Chart D1: Customer Type – Distribution of Firms by Customer Type 

Chart D2: Customer Type – Firms by Customer Type (Percent) 

Chart D3: Customer Type – Firms by Race/Ethnicity by Customer Type (Percent) 

Compensation 

Chart E1: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the Northeast 

Chart E2: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the Northeast – Differences from 

National Average 

Chart E3: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the Midwest 

Chart E4: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the Midwest – Differences from 

National Average 

Chart E5: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the South 

Chart E6: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the South – Differences from 

National Average 

Chart E7: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the West 

Chart E8: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the West – Differences from 

National Average 

Chart E9: Average Compensation – Employer Firms by Industry 

Chart E10: Average Compensation – Employer Firms by Industry – Differences from 

National Average 
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I. INTRODUCTION 

The National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) awarded Concentrance Consulting 

Group, Inc. (Concentrance) a contract to research developments in women’s business issues 

based on the data NWBC received from the U.S. Census Bureau. This report addresses the 

requirement to perform a scan of the Special Tabulations of data on women’s businesses and 

to identify specific areas of interest for further research. 

The Special Tabulations that the Census Bureau developed for NWBC were derived from 

the “2002 Survey of Business Owners and Self-Employed Persons” (SBO). In 2006, the 

Bureau finished its publication of this data, but it published only a portion of the 

voluminous data it collected. Data that were published included information about 

businesses that were at least 51% owned by women. Collected, but not published, were data 

on Women-Led businesses where a woman owned at least as much as any other owner and 

managed the day-to-day operations of the firms. NWBC believes that Women-Led firms 

made a substantial contribution to the American economy and that their omission from the 

data might have understated the total economic impact of women’s businesses. 

The data produced by the Census Bureau for the NWBC included both Women-Owned & 

Led (WOWL) businesses. We included charts that show Women-Owned & Led data 

separately, as well as the total of the two. WOWL data were greater than those publicly 

reported by the Census Bureau for Women-Owned businesses. 

While the volume of data in the WOWL dataset was smaller than that of the published 

dataset, it was still quite large and difficult to assimilate without a general overview. In this 

report we created a general overview by grouping the data by geographic, industry and 

demographic distribution; receipts; demographics; customer type; and compensation. These 

categories provided a manageable and meaningful framework through which we could 

analyze and compare the data on WOWL businesses. 

The task of summarizing this data was complicated by the large amount of data that was not 

reported by the Census Bureau in the WOWL dataset. The reasons for the missing data and 

our approaches to developing estimations are described in the Methodology section that 

follows. Also discussed are the limitations of this report and the ratios that we have 

developed that allowed us to compare different sized entities. 

Most of this report is a collection of charts which display the data at a level of 

summarization that will allow the reader to understand the broad patterns of WOWL 

businesses. The charts are complemented by comments identifying our observations and 

patterns. 
Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

II. HIGHLIGHTS 

This report provides an overview of the Special Tabulations developed by the Census 

Bureau from the 2002 Survey of Business Owners (SBO) for the National Women’s 

Business Council. The data included number of firms, industries, revenues, compensation, 

demographics, and customer type for Women-Owned & Led (WOWL) firms. This report 

incorporated additional SBO data to differentiate Women-Led firms from Women-Owned 

firms. Values for Women-Owned firms were subtracted from the Special Tabulations 

WOWL data to calculate the values for Women-Led firms. The following represent 

highlights of our data analysis. 

Women-Led businesses made substantial contributions to the US economy. 

 Women-Led businesses generated a little more than $300 billion dollars in revenues. 

 Women- Led businesses produced about twice as much in receipts per firm as did 

Women-Owned businesses. 

The distribution of receipts across industries varied between WOWL firms 

with paid employees and WOWL firms without paid employees. The 

distribution across industries also varied between receipts and receipts per 

firm.

 WOWL employer firms had highest receipts in the wholesale trade, retail trade, 

manufacturing, and construction industries. However, WOWL employer firms had the 

highest receipts per firm in educational services, accommodation and food services, and 

health care and social services. 

 The receipts of WOWL non-employer firms were highest in real estate and rental and 

leasing, professional, scientific and technical services, healthcare and social services, and 

other services. In contrast, receipts per firm for WOWL non-employer firms were 

highest in construction, wholesale trade, and transportation and warehousing. 

Most WOWL firms catered to household consumers and individuals, although 

variations in the distribution of customer type were evident when comparing 

demographic groups.

 Almost half (47.9%) of all customers of WOWL firms were designated as household 

consumers and individuals. Other important customer types were other businesses and 

organizations (21.9% of all customers) and all others (15.5% of all customers). The least 

 

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common customer type was export sales (around 0.9% of all customers). The export 

sales industry was dominated by Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, Asian, and 

Hispanic or Latina firms. 

 Women-Led firms were more likely to be involved in export sales in comparison to 

Women-Owned firms. This contrast was most pronounced in the data for Native 

Hawaiian or Pacific Islander Firms, where export sales comprised 8.7% of customer type 

for Women- Led firms but only 2.0% of customer type for Women Owned firms. 

Receipts of WOWL firms varied between employer and non-employer firms 

that were Women-Owned & Led, as well as between firms that belonged to 

different demographic groups. 

 WOWL employer firms produced 86% of all WOWL firm revenues, although WOWL 

non-employer firms were 84% of the total number of firms. 

 Asian WOWL firms produced the highest receipts per firm, although White WOWL 

firms dominated in numbers of firms (followed by Hispanic or Latina firms and African 

American firms.) 

Compensation per employee varied between Women-Owned firms and 

Women-Led firms, as well as between different states. 

 Women-Owned firms had higher compensation per employee than Women-Led firms. 

 Overall, women’s firms in states with large urban populations had higher compensation 

per employee than states that were more rural. 

There was no dominant level of education for women in business. 

 The three education groups with high participation rates as business owners were high 

school graduates (21.5%), some college but no degree (20.3%), and bachelor’s degree 

(22%). The groups with the lowest participation rates were those with less than high 

school degrees (5.0%), technical school degrees (8.8%), and associate degrees (7.1%). 

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III. METHODOLOGY 

Data Description 

Concentrance used two sources of data in this report. First, we relied on the NWBC Special 

Tabulations dataset to provide data on the entire population of women’s businesses: both 

Women-Owned & Led firms. Second, we used the SBO database to acquire data on 

Women-Owned1 firms. To calculate the values for Women-Led firms, Concentrance 

subtracted the values for Women-Owned firms from values of WOWL firms, as shown in 

the formula below. 

Women-Led firms = WOWL firms - Women-Owned firms 

The firms in each ownership category were separated further into firms with and without 

paid employees. Concentrance maintained this format because firms with paid employees, 

employer firms, typically have a greater economic impact on their communities than firms 

without paid employees, non-employer firms. The SBO database did not report the number 

and characteristics of non-employer firms. We calculated the values for non-employer firms 

as the difference between all firms and employer firms. The NWBC Special Tabulations 

database provided values for non-employer firms. The following chart depicts the 

distribution of women’s businesses by ownership, leadership and workforce characteristics. 

1

 The SBO database used the term Female-Owned. For consistency of reference with the NWBC Special 

Tabulations data, Concentrance employed the term Women-Owned instead. 
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 An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

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Thousands 

8,000 

7,000 

6,000 

5,000 

4,000 

3,000 

2,000 

1,000 

0 

7,505 

6,296 

1,211 

6,489 

5,573 

917 

1,016 

724 294 

All Firms Non-Employer Employer 

Firms Firms 

Women-Led Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led 

 

 

Overview Chart: Distribution Women’s Businesses 

Sources: Women-Owned & Led firms: NWBC Special Tabulations, 

Women-Owned firms: SBO database, Women-Led firms: Concentrance calculation. 

Data Definitions 

Due to the large amounts of data available, Concentrance grouped data according to certain 

criteria that were intuitively compelling. Most important of these groups are listed below. 

The precise definitions for Industry types are provided in the Appendix C. 

Customer Type – organized as reported by the Census Bureau 

Federal Government 

 State Government 

 Export Sales 

Other Businesses/Organizations (business to business) 

Household Consumers/Individuals (business to consumer) 

 All others 

Item not reported 

Industry type – organized by NAICS code 

Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting 
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Mining 

Utilities 

Construction 

Manufacturing 

Wholesale Trade 

Retail Trade 

Transportation and Warehousing 

Information 

Finance and Insurance 

Real Estate and Rental and Leasing 

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 

Management of Companies and Enterprises 

Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services 

Educational Services 

Health Care and Social Assistance 

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation 

Accommodation and Food Services 

Other Services (except Public Administration) 

Geographic Regions- organized according to U.S. Census Bureau Regions and State 

divisions 

Northeast - Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New 

York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont 

Midwest - Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, 

North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin 

South - Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, 

Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, 

South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia 

West - Arizona, Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New 

Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming 

Groupings 

Our preliminary study of the data shed light on which categories of data were 

comprehensive and meaningful, and those which were not. In order to maintain a high level 

of assessment for the Special Tabulations data, we chose the following categories as the 

framework for our report: 

o	 Distribution of Women’s Businesses by Geography and Industry Type 

o	 Revenues and Revenues Per Firm of Women’s Businesses by Geography and 

Industry type 

o	 Distribution of Women’s Businesses by Race/Ethnicity, Age, and Education 
 

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o Distribution of Women’s Businesses by Customer Type 

o Distribution of Women’s Businesses by Compensation 

Each of these groups is distinguished and substantive in a manner that sets parameters to 

and provides meaning to the provided data. 

We began each of these sections of our report with a general overview of the data within the 

group – for example, the total number of women’s businesses by customer type. Within 

these groups, we presented the data in more specified subgroups – for example, the number 

of women’s businesses by customer type segmented by racial/ethnic groups. 

Selections 

As policy is determined by political jurisdiction, Concentrance presented the data 

geographically by state. We also accumulated the data into the four regions of the country: 

Northeast, South, Midwest, and West, adding another level of summarization and 

comparison. We did not present data by Combined Statistical Areas (CSAs) due to very 

limited data availability. General Census Bureau rules with respect to disclosure were applied 

to this data. Also, according to those rules there would be broad disclosure of financial 

information about individual firms if more detailed data were published. 

When we presented data on firm receipts by industry, we showed the data for all firms, 

employer firms, and non-employer firms. However, when showing receipts by region and 

state, we only showed the data for all firms, based on our observation that such 

employer/non-employer differences were less distinct across states than across industries. 

In addition, Concentrance generally limited its analysis to two variables at a time (e.g. 

revenues by industry, revenues and race/ethnicity). Although the scope of data allowed for 

three levels of analysis (e.g., revenues by industry by race/ethnicity), the intent of this report 

was to lay out a broad picture of WOWL businesses. 

The WOWL data included Family-Ownership status of firms. As we examined the data, we 

discovered that the overwhelming numbers of firms were in fact designated either as FamilyOwned or Family-Owned One Owner. Family Ownership is an interesting dimension of 

WOWL businesses to explore, but we refrained from distinguishing Family Ownership and 

non-Family Ownership in our report as most WOWL firms were designated Family-Owned 

firms. 
 

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 An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

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Calculations and Estimates 

To create comparative data, Concentrance developed several ratios. The fact that women’s 

businesses in the state of Florida had more revenues than those in Idaho was not very 

informative since the Idaho population was so much smaller. More substantive was the fact 

that revenues per firm were much greater in Florida than Idaho, indicating a much richer 

economic environment. Calculating revenues per firm allowed for comparison of economic 

activity of firms in different industries, geographic areas and racial/ethnic groups. 

Concentrance also calculated the ratio of annual payroll to the total number of employees 

for employer firms in different industries and geographic locations. These ratios afforded 

cross-sectional comparisons and generated an effective index for evaluating economic 

impact. 

We found that the revenues for WOWL firms were often undisclosed. (The reasons for the 

lack of disclosure are discussed in Data Limitations below.) In those cases, where data was 

available and reasonable assumptions could be made about the nature of the missing data, 

Concentrance estimated the values for WOWL firms. This enabled us to provide a more 

complete description of women’s businesses. For example, when WOWL revenues for one 

state in a region were undisclosed, we would not have been able to report on the WOWL 

revenues for the region as a whole. By assuming that the state with the missing data was 

similar to the other states in the region, we used regional averages to estimate the missing 

data. Specifically we calculated the average ratio of the disclosed values for WOWL to 

Women-Owned and then applied that ratio to the disclosed value of Women-Owned firms. 

This formula yielded an estimate of the value of WOWL firms that is more accurate than 

assuming that the number of Women-Led firms was zero. An example of an estimation that 

Concentrance performed is provided in Appendix A. 

Where the data showed distributions of firms by the race/ethnicity of the owner, it was 

instructive to observe the percent distribution by race. However, a small but important 

number of respondents reported membership in more than one group. As a result, we 

created percentages based on the total number of races/ethnicities reported; this was greater 

than the total number of firms in the census. 

Data Limitations 

Our report was limited by the availability of data from our two primary sources, the SBO 

dataset and the WOWL dataset. These limitations were largely due to the reporting of the 

Census Bureau, especially in the case of the WOWL dataset. 

Concentrance found that revenues at the state or industry level were withheld to avoid 

disclosing data of individual companies. Publication of WOWL data implied that values for 

particular Women-Led businesses could be discerned. Since Women-Led businesses were 
 

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the smallest in number among the groups that we studied, it became clear why so many data 

items were censored. Data were also suppressed when publication standards were not met, 

such as when the number of firms in a particular category was not statistically important. 

Non-disclosure of WOWL data prevented a broad review of revenues by CSA, since data for 

many CSAs were suppressed. Where WOWL data were unavailable, we could not calculate 

the Women-Led data. 

Where we attempted to estimate non-disclosed data, our estimation techniques were limited. 

First, we could not estimate values if the value of the data to be multiplied by the ratio was 

zero. Concentrance also could not estimate values if they were self-contradictory. For 

example, when the estimated number of non-employer firms exceeded the reported number 

of all firms, we omitted the estimated value. 

Finally, WOWL data was only available for a single year, 2002. It was therefore impossible 

to evaluate how women’s businesses changed over time, or to compare that change to the 

fluctuation of the economy overall. Also, the observations made for women’s businesses in 

2002 might be less indicative of the state of women’s business in 2007. 
 

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7,505 

6,296 

1,211 

6,489 

5,573 

917 

1,016 

724 294 

0 

1,000 

2,000 

3,000 

4,000 

5,000 

6,000 

7,000 

8,000 

Thousands 

All Firms Non-Employer Employer 

Firms Firms 

Women-Led Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led 

IV. CHARTS 

The greatest numbers of women’s businesses are firms with no paid employees, nonemployer firms. However, the firms with employees, employer firms, do have an important 

economic impact, which is evident in our charts examining revenues and revenues per firm. 

Chart 1: Overview of Women’s Businesses 
 

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IV.A Firm Distribution 

In this section, we describe the distribution of women’s businesses by geography and by the 

industry. In the 2002 Survey of Business Owners, there were 23.0 million respondent firms, 

7.5 million of which were owned or led by women. 

The majority of women’s businesses were non-employer firms. This type of firm might have 

been the most common because it might have involved part-time involvement, operation 

out of the owner’s home, or only provided a source of supplemental income. The 

distribution of firms across geographic regions was concentrated in states with large urban 

areas. Women’s businesses also seem to have been concentrated in some industries that are 

traditionally associated with women, such as retail trade, professional, scientific and technical 

services, administrative support, and health care and social assistance services (Chart A6). 

While only a small number of women’s businesses were led by women (14%), a greater 

proportion of Women-Led firms had paid employees than Women-Owned firms (29% vs. 

14%). Among the four regions, the greatest concentration of women’s businesses was in the 

South. The greatest numbers of women’s firms in the South were reported in Texas, Florida, 

Georgia and Virginia (Chart A3). Some of the distribution of women’s firms across 

industries was surprising. For instance, there were relatively few firms in educational 

services. At the same time, there was a sizable number of women’s firms in construction, 

particularly employer firms (Chart A7). 

While the distribution of women’s businesses across geographic areas is apparent, it is 

unclear why women’s businesses were concentrated in certain industries. Further research in 

this area could contribute to a better knowledge of the choices made by female 

entrepreneurs. Further study could also provide meaningful consideration as to why 

Women-Led firms were more likely to have paid employees than Women-Owned firms. 
 

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Chart List 

Chart A1: Number of Firms – All Women's Businesses by Region 

Chart A2: Number of Firms – All Women's Businesses in the Northeast 

Chart A3: Number of Firms – All Women's Businesses in the South 

Chart A4: Number of Firms – All Women's Businesses in the Midwest 

Chart A5: Number of Firms – All Women's Businesses in the West 

Chart A6: Number of Firms – All Women’s Businesses by Industry 

Chart A7: Number of Firms – Employer Firms by Industry 

Chart A8: Number of Firms – Non-Employer Firms by Industry 
 An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

Thousands 

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 

Northeast 

Midwest 

South 

West 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

Chart A1: Number of Firms – All Women's Businesses by Region 

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These data are not adjusted for different levels of population. 
 

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Vermont
 

Rhode Island
 

Pennsylvania
 

505 New York 545 

New Jersey 

New Hampshire 

Massachusetts 

Maine 

Connecticut 

0 65 130 195 260 

Thousands 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

 These data are not adjusted for different levels of population. 

 

Chart A2: Number of Firms – All Women's Businesses in the Northeast 
 

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15 

 

West Virginia 

Virginia 

Texas 

Tennessee 

South Carolina 

Oklahoma 

North Carolina 

Mississippi
 

Maryland
 

Louisiana
 

Kentucky
 

Georgia 

Florida 

District of Columbia 

Delaware 

Arkansas 

Alabama 

470 

543 

437 

500 

0 55 110 165 220 

Thousands 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

 

Chart A3: Number of Firms – All Women's Businesses in the South 

These data are not adjusted for different levels of population. 
 

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0 55 110 165 220 275 

Thousands 

 Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

Wisconsin 

South Dakota 

Ohio 

North Dakota 

Nebraska 

Missouri 

Minnesota 

Michigan 

Kansas 

Iowa 

Indiana 

285 

Illinois 324 

These data are not adjusted for different levels of population. 

Chart A4: Number of Firms – All Women's Businesses in the Midwest 
 

Utah 

Washington 

Wyoming 

New Mexico 

Oregon 

Nevada 

Montana 

Idaho 

Hawaii 

Arizona 

California 

Colorado 

870 

1,022 

Alaska 

0 25 50 75 100 125 150 175 

Thousands 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

 

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Chart A5: Number of Firms – All Women’s Businesses in the West 

These data are not adjusted for different levels of population. 
 

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0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200

Thousands 

 Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

 

 Forestry, fishing & hunting, & ag support 

 Mining 

 Utilities

 Construction 

 Manufacturing 

 Wholesale trade 

 Retail trade

 Transportation & warehousing 

 Information

 Finance & insurance

 Real estate & rental & leasing

 Prof., scientific, & technical services

 Mgmt of companies & enterprises 

Admin., support, waste mgmt

 Educational services 

 Health care & social assistance

 Arts, entertainment, & recreation

 Accommodation & food services

 Other services (except public admin.)

 Industries not classified

Chart A6: Number of Firms – All Women’s Businesses by Industry 
 

 

 

 

 Forestry, fishing & hunting, & ag support 

 Mining

 Utilities

 Construction

 Manufacturing

 Wholesale trade 

 Retail trade

 Transportation & warehousing 

 Information

 Finance & insurance

 Real estate & rental & leasing

 Prof., scientific, & technical services

 Mgmt of companies & enterprises *

 Admin., support, waste mgmt

 Educational services

Health care & social assistance

 Arts, entertainment, & recreation 

 Accommodation & food services

 Other services (except public admin.)

 Industries not classified*

0 40 80 120 160

Thousands 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

206 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulation. 

 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

19 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

 

Chart A7: Number of Firms – Employer Firms by Industry 
 

 Forestry, fishing & hunting, & ag support 

 Mining

 Utilities

 Construction

 Manufacturing

 Wholesale trade 

 Retail trade

 Transportation & warehousing 

 Information

 Finance & insurance

 Real estate & rental & leasing

 Prof., scientific, & technical services

 Mgmt of companies & enterprises*

 Admin., support, waste mgmt

 Educational services

 Health care & social assistance

 Arts, entertainment, & recreation

 Accommodation & food services

 Other services (except public admin.)

 Industries not classified*

0 200 400 600 800 1000

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulation. The reported number of Women-Owned firms in these 

industries is zero. 

 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

20 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

 

Chart A8: Number of Firms – Non-Employer Firms by Industry 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

21 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

 

IV.B Receipts 

In this section we described the distribution of receipts and receipts per firm of women’s 

businesses by geography and by industry. We presented the geographic data for all women’s 

firms without distinguishing employer and non-employer firms. However, we did present 

the employer and non-employer firms in the charts by industry. 

The charts presented in this section can be used to assess the economic impact of women’s 

businesses. However, as receipts are not profits, the firms with more receipts may or may 

not be more profitable than those with fewer receipts. The receipts data become meaningful 

when assessed in the context of the number of firms that generated the receipts. We 

calculated the ratio for receipts per firm which we included in the charts for this section. 

The geographic distribution of receipts data revealed a pattern similar to the numerical 

distribution of firms: regions with large urban areas and greater concentrations of firms 

accounted for a greater share of receipts. For example, California’s receipts were much 

greater than the other states in the West (Chart B5). The geographic distribution of receipts 

per firm data revealed more subtle differences. If we examine receipts per firm in California 

(Chart B10), we see that California is still a top performer but has ceded the top spot to 

Colorado. Some other leaders were New Jersey, District of Columbia, and Wisconsin, where 

firms generated lower total receipts but higher receipts per firm. In terms of receipts 

generated by employer firms, there were four strong industries: wholesale trade, retail trade, 

manufacturing, and construction (Chart B12). However, the receipts of non-employer firms 

were concentrated in different industries and showed higher volumes of receipts: real estate 

and rental and leasing, professional, scientific and technical services, healthcare and social 

services, and other services. Interestingly, non-employer firms showed low volumes of 

receipts in wholesale trade (Chart B13). 

Caution should be taken in reading the charts on receipts per firm. To display differences 

within each chart the scale was changed, so industry types that appear larger on one chart 

could be much smaller on another. Because both numbers of firms and total receipts figure 

into receipts per firm, the relative prominence of different industries changed on each of the 

charts. 

When compared to Women-Owned firms, Women-Led firms had noticeably higher receipts 

per firm across regions (Chart B6). Women-Led firms are not, however, dominant in 

receipts per firm across industries; they appeared dominant across industries only in the case 

of non-employer firms (Chart B16). 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

22 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

It was unclear what factors impacted differences across regions and industries in terms of 

receipts per firm. More in-depth exploration of Women-Led firms could help to explain 

their strong performance in non-employer firms. 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

23 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

Chart List 

Chart B1: Receipts – All Women’s Businesses by Region 

Chart B2: Receipts – All Women’s Businesses in the Northeast 

Chart B3: Receipts – All Women’s Businesses in the South 

Chart B4: Receipts – All Women’s Businesses in the Midwest 

Chart B5: Receipts – All Women’s Businesses in the West 

Chart B6: Receipts per Firm – All Women’s Businesses by Region 

Chart B7: Receipts per Firm – All Women’s Businesses in the Northeast 

Chart B8: Receipts per Firm – All Women’s Businesses in the South 

Chart B9: Receipts per Firm – All Women’s Businesses in the Midwest 

Chart B10: Receipts per Firm – All Women’s Businesses in the West 

Chart B11: Receipts – All Women’s Businesses by Industry 

Chart B12: Receipts – Employer Firms by Industry 

Chart B13: Receipts – Non-Employer Firms by Industry 

Chart B14: Receipts per Firm – All Women’s Businesses by Industry 

Chart B15: Receipts per Firm – Employer Firms by Industry 

Chart B16: Receipts per Firm – Non-Employer Firms by Industry 
 

Northeast* 

Midwest* 

South* 

West 

0 100 200 300 400 

$ Billions 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

24 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

Chart B1: Receipts – All Women’s Businesses by Region 

* In NWBC Special Tabulations data was not disclosed for certain states. For instance in the Northeast 

region, data for New Jersey and Vermont was not disclosed; in the Midwest region data for Kansas, 

Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota was not disclosed; in the South region data for Arkansas, 

Delaware and the District of Columbia was not disclosed. Data is available for all the states in the West 

region. Concentrance used estimates of the non-disclosed data to calculate regional totals. 

These data are not adjusted for different levels of population. 
 

Vermont*
 

Rhode Island
 

Pennsylvania
 

71 

New York 86 

New Jersey* 

New Hampshire 

Massachusetts 

Maine 

Connecticut 

0 10 20 30 40 50

$ Billions 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

* Not reported in NWBC Special Tabulations. 

 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

25 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

 

Chart B2: Receipts – All Women’s Businesses in the Northeast 

These data are not adjusted for different levels of population. 
 

West Virginia 

Virginia 

Texas 

Tennessee 

South Carolina 

Oklahoma 

North Carolina 

Mississippi 

Maryland 

Louisiana 

Kentucky 

Georgia 

Florida 

District of Columbia* 

Delaware* 

Arkansas* 

Alabama 

65 

86 

61 

79 

0 10 20 30 40

$ Billions 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

* Not reported in NWBC Special Tabulations. 

 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

26 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

 

Chart B3: Receipts – All Women’s Businesses in the South 

These data are not adjusted for different levels of population. 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

27 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

 

 

Wisconsin 

South Dakota* 

Ohio 

North Dakota* 

Nebraska 

Missouri 

Minnesota* 

Michigan 

Kansas* 

Iowa 

Indiana 

Illinois 

0 10 20 30 40 50

$ Billions 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

61 

* Not reported in NWBC Special Tabulations. 

Chart B4: Receipts – All Women’s Businesses in the Midwest 

These data are not adjusted for different levels of population. 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

28 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

 

Wyoming 

Washington 

Utah 

Oregon 

New Mexico 

Nevada 

Montana 

Idaho 

Hawaii 

Colorado 

California 

Arizona 

Alaska 

138
 183
 44
 

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 

$ Billions 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

 These data are not adjusted for different levels of population. 

Chart B5: Receipts – All Women’s Businesses in West 
 

National Average 

West 

South* 

Midwest* 

Northeast* 

0 100 200 300 400 

$ Thousands 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

29 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

Chart B6: Receipts per Firm – All Women’s Businesses by Region 

* In NWBC Special Tabulations, data were not disclosed for certain states. For instance in the Northeast 

region data for New Jersey and Vermont were not disclosed; in the Midwest region data for Kansas, 

Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota were not disclosed; in the South region data for Arkansas, 

Delaware and the District of Columbia were not disclosed. Data were available for all the states in the West 

region. Concentrance used estimates of the non-disclosed data to calculate regional totals. 
 

Connecticut 

Maine 

Massachusetts 

New Hampshire 

New Jersey* 

New York 

Pennsylvania 

Rhode Island 

Vermont* 

National Average 

0 100 200 300 400 500 

$ Thousands 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. 

 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

30 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

Chart B7: Receipts per Firm – All Women’s Businesses in the Northeast 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

31 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

 

 

National Average 

West Virginia 

Virginia 

Texas 

Tennessee 

South Carolina 

Oklahoma 

North Carolina 

Mississippi
 

Maryland
 

Louisiana
 

Kentucky
 

Georgia 

Florida 

District of Columbia* 

Delaware* 

Arkansas* 

Alabama 

0 65 130 195 260 325 

$ Thousands 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

883 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. 

Chart B8: Receipts per Firm – All Women’s Businesses in the South 
 

National Average 

Wisconsin 

South Dakota* 

Ohio 

North Dakota* 

Nebraska 

Missouri 

Minnesota* 

Michigan 

Kansas* 

Iowa 

Indiana 

Illinois 

0 60 120 180 240 300 360 

$ Thousands 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. 

 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

32 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

 

Chart B9: Receipts per Firm – All Women’s Businesses in the Midwest 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

33 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

 

Utah 

Washington 

Wyoming 

National Average 

New Mexico 

Oregon 

Nevada 

Montana 

Idaho 

Colorado 

Hawaii 

415 

California 

Arizona 

Alaska 

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 

$ Thousands 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

Chart B10: Receipts per Firm – All Women’s Businesses in the West 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

34 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

 

 

 

 

 Forestry, fishing & hunting, & ag support 

 Mining 

 Utilities*

 Construction 

 Manufacturing 

 Wholesale trade 

 Retail trade

 Transportation & warehousing 

 Information 

 Finance & insurance

Real estate & rental & leasing

 Prof., scientific, & technical services 

 Mgmt of companies & enterprises

 Admin., support, waste mgmt

 Educational services

 Health care & social assistance

Arts, entertainment, & recreation

 Accommodation & food services 

 Other services (except public admin.)

 Industries not classified**

210 

258 

224 

0 50 100 150

$ Billions 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. 

** Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. Due to data limitations Concentrance could not 

calculate an estimate. 

Chart B11: Receipts – All Women’s Businesses by Industry 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

35 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

 

 Forestry, fishing & hunting, & ag support* 

 Mining*

 Utilities*

 Construction 

 Manufacturing 

 Wholesale trade 252 

 Retail trade

Transportation & warehousing 

 Information 

 Finance & insurance

Real estate & rental & leasing

 Prof., scientific, & technical services 

 Mgmt of companies & enterprises*

 Admin., support, waste mgmt

 Educational services*

 Health care & social assistance

 Arts, entertainment, & recreation

 Accommodation & food services

 Other services (except public admin.)

 Industries not classified**

0 50 100 150 200

$ Billions 

 Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. 

** Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. Due to data limitations Concentrance could not calculate 

an estimate.
 

Chart B12: Receipts – Employer Firms by Industry 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

36 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

 

 

 

 Forestry, fishing & hunting, & ag support* 

 Mining*

 Utilities*

 Construction

 Manufacturing

 Wholesale trade 

 Retail trade

 Transportation & warehousing

 Information

 Finance & insurance

 Real estate & rental & leasing

 Prof., scientific, & technical services

 Mgmt of companies & enterprises** 

 Admin., support, waste mgmt

 Educational services*

 Health care & social assistance

 Arts, entertainment, & recreation

 Accommodation & food services

 Other services (except public admin.)

 Industries not classified**

26 

0 5 10 15 20 25

$ Billions 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. 

** Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. Due to data limitations Concentrance could 

not calculate an estimate. 

31 

Chart B13: Receipts – Non-Employer Firms by Industry 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

37 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

 

 

 

 

National Average 

 Forestry, fishing & hunting, & ag support 

 Mining

 Utilities*

 Construction

 Manufacturing

 Wholesale trade

 Retail trade

Transportation & warehousing

 Information 

 Finance & insurance

 Real estate & rental & leasing

 Prof., scientific, & technical services

 Mgmt of companies & enterprises 

 Admin., support, waste mgmt

 Educational services

 Health care & social assistance

 Arts, entertainment, & recreation

 Accommodation & food services

 Other services (except public admin.)

 Industries not classified**

1,734

1,654 

1,374 

0 200 400 600 800 1000

$ Thousands 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. 

** Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. Due to data limitations Concentrance could 

not calculate an estimate.
 

Chart B14: Receipts per Firm – All Women’s Businesses by Industry 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

38 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

 

 

 

 

National Average 

 Forestry, fishing & hunting, & ag support* 

 Mining*

 Utilities*

 Construction

 Manufacturing 

 Wholesale trade 

 Retail trade

 Transportation & warehousing 

 Information

 Finance & insurance

 Real estate & rental & leasing

 Prof., scientific, & technical services

 Mgmt of companies & enterprises**

 Admin., support, waste mgmt

 Educational services**

Health care & social assistance*

 Arts, entertainment, & recreation
 

 Accommodation & food services

 Other services (except public admin.)

 Industries not classified**

0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500

$ Thousands 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. 

** Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. Due to data limitations Concentrance could not 

calculate an estimate. 

4449 

Chart B15: Receipts per Firm – Employer Firms by Industry 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

39 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

 

 

 

Totals for all sectors 

 Utilities

 Mining

 Forestry, fishing & hunting, & ag support 

 Retail trade

 Wholesale trade

 Manufacturing

 Construction 84 

98 

 Finance & insurance

 Information 

Transportation & warehousing

 Health care & social assistance

 Educational services

 Admin., support, waste mgmt

 Mgmt of companies & enterprises*

 Prof., scientific, & technical services

 Real estate & rental & leasing

 Accommodation & food services

 Arts, entertainment, & recreation

 Industries not classified*

 Other services (except public admin.)

0 25 50 75

$ Thousands 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. Due to data limitations Concentrance could not 

calculate an estimate. 

Chart B16: Receipts per Firm – Non-Employer Firms by Industry 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

40 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

 

IV.C Demographics 

The Special Tabulations provided firm data by demographics. These data highlighted 

differences in women’s businesses. Several of the Census data tables included racial/ethnic 

groups: Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, 

Black or African American, White, and Hispanic or Latina. The data also included 

demographics of age and level of education. 

The data in the following charts did not provide us with a comprehensive assessment on the 

success of women’s businesses; we would need more information on survival rates, growth 

and actual income. However, the demographics data painted a picture of women’s 

businesses which provided insight into the status of women’s businesses and their 

demographic positioning relative to one another. 

The first three pairs of charts depict all women’s firms by race/ethnicity, age, and education. 

This provided us with a perspective for comparison when we considered the other data on 

demographics and receipts. With respect to the distribution of firms by race/ethnicity, data 

existed for all races/ethnicities but values less than one percent were not displayed (Chart 

C2). 

The ages of women in business formed a bell curve, with over fifty percent being between 

the ages of thirty-five and fifty-four. The levels of education were more spread out along the 

spectrum. The three education groups that stood out with high participation rates as 

business owners were high school graduates, some college but no degree, and bachelor’s 

degree. The groups with the lowest participation rates were those with less than high school, 

technical schools, and associate degrees. Post graduate degree business owners generally fell 

between these sets. Differences in level of education were not particularly apparent among 

the races. However, more Asians had a bachelor’s degree and, in turn, fewer Asians fell into 

the category some college but no degree. Except for women in the under-25 age group, the 

younger the age grouping of Women-Owned & Led businesses the greater number of 

bachelor’s degrees achieved (Chart C9). 

There were also substantial variations across racial/ethnic groups with respect to ownership 

and receipts. While there were more Hispanic and Black or African American firms than 

Asian firms, Asian firms had higher receipts. Also, Asian firms had the highest amount of 

receipts per firm, even higher than White firms which had the highest overall receipts (and 

substantially more firms overall). Unsurprisingly, all racial/ethnic groups had higher receipts 

if they had paid employees. Higher receipts for employer firms do not necessarily translate 

directly to overall performance, however, because we do not know the costs of additional 

employees. 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

41 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

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Demographic analysis and comparison of women’s businesses provide opportunities for 

further research. Policy initiatives would be substantiated by further research into the success 

of women’s business ventures across demographic divisions. This research would need to 

include firm survival rates, income, and growth. Additional insight into varying levels of 

education may also be helpful to fully understand women’s businesses. Further research may 

also call for the inclusion of gender in the study. 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

42 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

 

 

Chart List 

Chart C1: Demographics – Women-Led, Women-Owned & Led, and Women-Owned 

By Race/Ethnicity 

Chart C2: Demographics – Women-Led, Women-Owned & Led, and Women-Owned 

By Race/Ethnicity (Percent) 

Chart C3: Demographics – Distribution of WOWL Businesses by Age Group 

Chart C4: Demographics – Distribution of WOWL Businesses by Age Group (Percent) 

Chart C5: Demographics – Distribution of WOWL Firms by Education 

Chart C6: Demographics – Distribution of WOWL Firms by Education (Percent) 

Chart C7: Demographics – Percent of Firms by Race/Ethnicity by Age 

Chart C8: Demographics – Education by Race/Ethnicity 

Chart C9: Demographics – Firms by Education by Age 

Chart C10: Demographics – Receipts by Race/Ethnicity 

Chart C11: Demographics – Receipts per Firm by Race/Ethnicity 

Chart C12: Demographics – Receipts for Employer Firms by Race/Ethnicity 

Chart C13: Demographics – Receipts for Non-Employer Firms by Race/Ethnicity 

Chart C14: Demographics – Receipts per Firm for Employer Firms by Race/Ethnicity 

Chart C15: Demographics – Receipts per Firm for Non-Employer Firms by Race/Ethnicity 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

43 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

 

 

Native Hawaiian and 

Pacific Islander 

Asian 

American Indian or
 

Alaska Native
 

Black or African
 

American
 

4,160

White 5,063 

903 

Hispanic or Latina 321

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 

Thousands 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

Chart C1: Demographics – Women-Led, Women-Owned & Led, and 

Women-Owned By Race/Ethnicity 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

44 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

 

 

2.5 

4.8 

3.1 89.3 

Women-Led 

5.4 

1.0 

4.4 

83.3 5.8 

Women-Owned 

84.3 5.4

4.9 

0.8 

4.5

Women-Owned & Led 

 Hispanic or Latina

 White

 Black or African American

 American Indian and Alaska Native

 Asian

 Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander 

Chart C2: Demographics – Women-Led, Women-Owned & Led, and 

Women-Owned By Race/Ethnicity (Percent) 

Values less than 0.5% are not displayed 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

Chart C3: Demographics - Distribution of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

by Age Group 

Under 25 

25 to 34 

35 to 44 

45 to 54 

55 to 64 

65 or over 

1,650 

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 

Thousands 

1400 1600 

Chart C4: Demographics – Distribution of Women-Owned & Led 

Businesses by Age Group (Percent) 

 

8.3 2.8 

14.7 

26.6 

28.8 

18.8 

Under 25 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 or over 

 

 

45 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

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Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

46 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

 

Chart C5: Demographics – Distribution of Women-Owned & Led Firms by 

Education 

Less than High School Graduate 

High School Graduate - Diploma or GED 

Technical, Trade, or Vocational School 

Some College, but no Degree 

Associate's Degree 

Bachelor's Degree 

Master's, Doctorate, or Professional Degree 

1,247 

1,276 

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 

Thousands 

Chart C6: Demographics – Distribution of Women-Owned & Led Firms by 

Education (Percent) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.0 

21.5 

8.8 

7.1 

22.0 

15.3 

20.3
 

Less than High School Graduate Associate's Degree

 High School Graduate - Diploma or GED Bachelor's Degree

 Technical, Trade or Vocational School Master's, Doctorate or Professional Degree 

Some College but no Degree 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

47 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

 

Chart C7: Demographics – Percent of Firms by Race/Ethnicity by Age

0 

5 

10 

15 

20 

25 

30 

Under 25 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 or over 

 Hispanic or Latina

 White

 Black or African American

 American Indian and Alaska Native

 Asian

 Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander 

 

We omitted Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders from this chart; their numbers are too small to present 

meaningful data here. 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

48 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

 

Chart C8: Demographics – Education by Race/Ethnicity (Percent) 

 

8.2 

20.1 

9.7 

22.9 

7.4 

16.7 

14.9 

Black or African American 

4.5 

21.7 

8.9 

20.5 7.1 

22.1 

15.2 

White 

9.0 

20.1 

13.3 

6.5 

23.1 

18.4 

9.6 

Hispanic or Latina 

10.3 

18.4 

19.4 

26.9 5.6 

13.4 

5.8 

Asian 

 

 

 

 

10.5 8.9 

21.0 

7.7 

9.0 

15.1 

27.8 

American Indian or Alaska Native

 Less than High School Graduate Associate's Degree

 High School Graduate - Diploma or GED Bachelor's Degree

 Technical, Trade or Vocational School Master's, Doctorate or Professional Degree

 Some College but no Degree 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

49 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chart C9: Demographics – Firms by Education by Age (Percent)

0 

5 

10 

15 

20 

25 

30 

32 

Under 25 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 or over 

 Less than High School Graduate

 High School Graduate - Diploma or GED

 Technical, Trade or Vocational School

 Some College but no Degree

 Associate's Degree

 Bachelor's Degree

 Master's, Doctorate or Professional Degree 
 

Publicly held (WOWL)* 

Native Hawaiian and 

Other Pacific Islander 

Asian 

American Indian and 

Alaska Native
 

Black or African
 

American
 

863 

White 1,135 

272 

Hispanic or Latina 

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 

$ Billions 

 Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

* Publicly Held means that the firm is publicly held and a race/ethnicity classification is not applicable and 

is available for Women-Owned & Led only. 

 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

50 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

 May 7, 2007 

 

Chart C10: Demographics – Receipts by Race/Ethnicity 
 

Publicly held (WOWL)* 2112 

Native Hawaiian and 

Other Pacific Islander 

Asian 

American Indian and 

Alaska Native 

Black or African 

American 

White 

Hispanic or Latina 

All 

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 

$ Thousands 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

* Publicly Held means that the firm is publicly held and a race/ethnicity classification is not applicable and 

is available for Women-Owned & Led only. 

 

 

 

51 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

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Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

Chart C11: Demographics – Receipts per Firm by Race/Ethnicity 
 

Publicly held (WOWL)* 

Native Hawaiian and 

Other Pacific Islander** 

Asian 

American Indian and 

Alaska Native** 

Black or African 

American 

White 

Hispanic or Latina 

743 

982 

239 

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

$ Billions 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

* Publicly Held means that the firm is publicly held and a race/ethnicity classification is not applicable and 

is available for Women-Owned & Led only.
 

** Data not available for Women-Owned & Led for these groups. 

 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

52 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

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Chart C12: Demographics – Receipts for Employer Firms by Race/Ethnicity 
 

Publicly held (WOWL)* 

Native Hawaiian and 

Other Pacific Islander** 

Asian 

American Indian and 

Alaska Native** 

Black or African 

American 

White 

Hispanic or Latina 

120 

153 

33 

0 24 6 810 12

$ Billions 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

* Publicly Held means that the firm is publicly held and a race/ethnicity classification is not applicable and 

is available for Women-Owned & Led only.
 

** Data not available for Women-Owned & Led for these groups. 

 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

53 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

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Chart C13: Demographics – Receipts for Non-Employer Firms by 

Race/Ethnicity 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

54 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

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Chart C14: Demographics – Receipts per Firm for Employer Firms by 

Race/Ethnicity 

 

Publicly held (WOWL)* 

Native Hawaiian and 

Other Pacific Islander** 

Asian 

American Indian and 

Alaska Native** 

Black or African 

American 

White 

Hispanic or Latina 

All 

12,641 

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 

$ Thousands 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

* Publicly Held means that the firm is publicly held and a race/ethnicity classification is not applicable and 

is available for Women-Owned & Led only.
 

** Data not available for Women-Owned & Led for these groups. 
Chart C15: Demographics – Receipts per Firm for Non-Employer Firms by 

Race/Ethnicity 

 

Publicly held (WOWL)* 

Native Hawaiian and 

Other Pacific Islander** 

Asian 

American Indian and 

Alaska Native** 

Black or African 

American 

White 

Hispanic or Latina 

All 

89 

78 

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 

$ Thousands 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

* Publicly Held means that the firm is publicly held and a race/ethnicity classification is not applicable and 

is available for Women-Owned & Led only.
 

** Data not available for Women-Owned & Led for these groups. 

 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

55 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

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Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

56 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

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IV.D Customer Type 

We reviewed data on the customer type of WOWL businesses. Survey respondents had the 

option of selecting the federal government, state and local government, export sales, other 

businesses and organizations, household consumers and individuals, and all others. The 

most predominant customer type selected by WOWL businesses in the survey was 

household consumers and individuals, and the least selected was export sales. A substantial 

number of survey respondents did not select a customer type or selected all others, so this 

data might not provide a comprehensive assessment of WOWL businesses by customer 

type. 

The pie charts “Percent of Firms by Customer Type by Race/Ethnicity” highlight important 

differences between the racial/ethnic groups and their clientele. Household consumers and 

individuals remained the predominant customer type across all racial/ethnic groups. 

However, the distribution of customer types across the racial/ethnic groups varied. 

White WOWL businesses had the highest percentage of clients in the category other 

businesses and organizations. In contrast to White firms, some minority groups had more 

customers in the export sales category. This was particularly true for Asian and Native 

Hawaiian or Pacific Islander firms, as well as Hispanic firms to a smaller degree. American 

Indian or Alaska Native firms and Black or African American firms also included federal and 

state governments in their clientele more frequently than other racial/ethnic groups. 

There were also differences in customer types between Women-Owned & Led firms within 

racial/ethnic groups. For example, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander Women-Led firms 

cited other businesses and organizations or export sales more than Native Hawaiian or 

Pacific Islander Women-Owned firms. Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander Women-Owned 

firms were more likely to cite state and local government. However, these Women-Owned 

firms commonly selected all others or did not report. There were also more export sales by 

Hispanic Women-Led firms than Hispanic Women-Owned firms. 

Although there was an issue of non-response in the customer type data, it is an interesting 

aspect of the state of WOWL businesses. It would be interesting to look deeper into the 

overlap between customer types; for example, did WOWL firms serve only one customer 

type or multiple types. It would also be informative to analyze additional research by 

customer type; for example, receipts by customer type or age by customer type. 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

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Chart List 

Chart D1: Customer Type – Distribution of Firms by Customer Type 

Chart D2: Customer Type – Firms by Customer Type (Percent) 

Chart Series D3: Customer Type – Firms by Race/Ethnicity by Customer Type (Percent) 

Chart D3a: Business by Customer Type: Black or African American Firms 

(Percent) 

Chart D3b: Business by Customer Type: White Firms (Percent) 

Chart D3c: Business by Customer Type: American Indian or Alaska Native 

Firms (Percent) 

Chart D3d: Business by Customer Type: Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 

Firms (Percent) 

Chart D3e: Business by Customer Type: Asian Firms (Percent) 

Chart D3f: Business by Customer Type: Hispanic or Latina Firms (Percent) 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

58 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

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Chart D1: Customer Type – Distribution of Firms by Customer Type 

 

Federal Government 

State and Local 

Government 

Export Sales 

Other Businesses & 

Organizations 

Household Consumers 

& Individuals 

All Others 

Item not Reported 

2,451 

3,080 

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 

Thousands 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

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Chart D2: Customer Type – Percent of Firms by Customer Type 

14.0 

1.1 

52.1 

4.0 

4.1 

1.2 

23.5 

Women-Led 

15.9 

8.3 

47.0 

1.7 

4.8 

0.8 

21.5 

Women-Owned 

 

 

 

 

1.6 

4.7 

0.9 

21.9 

47.9 

15.5 

7.5

Women-Owned & Led 

 Federal Government Household Consumers & Individuals

 State & Local Government All Others

 Export Sales Item not reported

 Other Businesses & Organizations 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

 

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Chart Series D3: Firms by Race/ Ethnicity by Customer Type (Percent) 

Charts are on the following pages 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

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Chart D3a: Business by Customer Type: Black or African American Firms 

(Percent) 

15.1 

7.6 

53.2 

3.0 

6.5 

1.0 

13.6 

Women-Led 

18.7 

16.4 

3.1 

40.0 

7.8 

1.0 

13.0 

Women-Owned 

 

18.4 

3.1 

7.7 

1.0 

13.1 

41.1 

15.6

 Women-Owned & Led 

 

 

 

 

 

 Federal Government Household Consumers & Individuals

 State & Local Government All Others

 Export Sales Item not reported

 Other Businesses & Organizations 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

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Chart D3b: Business by Customer Type: White Firms (Percent) 

13.4 

52.3 

3.6 

1.4 

3.9 

1.1 

Women-Led 

24.2 

7.8 

15.3 

47.7 

1.5 

4.6 

0.7 

22.3 

Women-Owned 

 

 

 

 

 

1.5 

4.5 

0.8 

22.6 

48.6 

15.0 

7.0

Women-Owned & Led 

 Federal Government Household Consumers & Individuals

 State & Local Government All Others

 Export Sales Item not reported

 Other Businesses & Organizations 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

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Chart D3c: Business by Customer Type: American Indian or Alaska Native 

Firms (Percent) 

3.2 

7.1 

0.8 

16.6 

51.5 

12.9 

7.9 

Women-Led 

16.8 

11.6 

41.3 

3.3 

7.4 

0.9 

18.8 

Women-Owned 

 

 

 

 

16.6 

3.3 

7.4 

0.9 

18.7 

41.8 

11.4

Women-Owned & Led 

 Federal Government Household Consumers & Individuals

 State & Local Government All Others

 Export Sales Item not reported

 Other Businesses & Organizations 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

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Chart D3d: Business by Customer Type: Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 

Firms (Percent) 

52.2 

7.7 

1.6 

1.5 

3.3 

8.7 

25.0 

Women-Led 

17.5 

11.5 

41.9 

4.2 

7.5 

2.0 

15.4 

Women-Owned 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16.7 

4.0 

7.2 

2.6 

16.2 

42.7 

10.7

Women-Owned & Led 

 Federal Government Household Consumers & Individuals

 State & Local Government All Others

 Export Sales Item not reported

 Other Businesses & Organizations 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

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Chart D3e: Business by Customer Type: Asian Firms (Percent) 

20.8 

5.0 

49.8 2.1 

3.8 

3.3 

15.2 

Women-Led 

23.8 

8.2 

2.3 40.3 

4.0 

2.4 

19.0 

Women-Owned 

 

 

 

 

 

23.3 

2.2 

3.9 

2.6 

18.3 

42.1 

7.6

Women-Owned & Led 

 Federal Government Household Consumers & Individuals

 State & Local Government All Others

 Export Sales Item not reported

 Other Businesses & Organizations 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

66 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

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Chart D3f: Business by Customer Type: Hispanic or Latina Firms (Percent) 

19.4 

8.3 

46.4 2.3 

4.8 

3.2 

15.7 

Women-Led 

19.5 

14.4 

2.4 

42.4 5.0 

1.5 

14.8 

Women-Owned 

 

 

 

 

19.5 

2.4 

5.0 

1.6 

14.9 

42.8 

13.8

Women-Owned & Led 

 Federal Government Household Consumers & Individuals

 State & Local Government All Others

 Export Sales Item not reported

 Other Businesses & Organizations 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

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IV.E Compensation 

In this section we presented data for employee compensation of women’s firms by state and 

by industry. For each region we first showed compensation by state and followed with 

differences from the national average of all women’s businesses by state. We then showed 

average employee compensation by industry and their differences from the national 

averages. The charts of the differences from national averages display the magnitude of the 

differences among states and industries. 

Data was frequently lacking for WOWL firms due to Census Bureau disclosure rules and so 

we did not provide estimates by region. Because of missing WOWL data, some of the 

comments that follow are based on data for Women-Owned firms only. However, 

consistent with our data, WOWL firm trends were similar to those of Women-Owned firms. 

Women’s firms in states with large urban populations had higher compensation per 

employee than states that were more rural. This is to be expected as urban areas typically 

had higher costs of living than rural areas. The Dakotas and Montana had the lowest 

compensation per employee while urban-dominated states like New York and California 

were among the highest, with New Jersey ranking at the very top. 

While we showed the variation in compensation by industry for women’s firms and 

compared those data to the national averages of women’s firms, it would be instructive to 

learn how the compensation patterns differ within industry by the owner’s gender. 

While Women-Led firms were stronger than Women-Owned firms in receipts per firm, they 

paid their employees less than Women-Owned firms on a national basis. This phenomenon 

would be an interesting matter to investigate further. 

Note that the Census Bureau reported in the Survey of Business Owners that average 

employee compensation for all women’s and men’s firms was $34,419, which is about fifty 

percent higher than that for the women’s firms. 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

68 Order Number: SBAHQ06F0408 

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Chart List 

Chart E1: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the Northeast 

Chart E2: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the Northeast – Differences from 

National Average 

Chart E3: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the Midwest 

Chart E4: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the Midwest – Differences from the 

National Average 

Chart E5: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the South 

Chart E6: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the South – Differences from the 

National Average 

Chart E7: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the West 

Chart E8: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the West – Differences from the 

National Average 

Chart E9: Average Compensation – Employer Firms by Industry 

Chart E10: Average Compensation – Employer Firms by Industry – Differences from the 

National Average 
Chart E1: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the Northeast 

 

National Average 

Vermont 

Rhode Island 

Pennsylvania 

New York* 

New Jersey* 

New Hampshire* 

Massachusetts* 

Maine 

Connecticut 

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 

$ Thousands 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. 

 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

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Chart E2: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the Northeast: 

Differences from the National Average 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Connecticut 

Maine 

Massachusetts* 

New Hampshire* 

New Jersey* 

New York* 

Pennsylvania 

Rhode Island 

Vermont 

-6 -4 -2 0 2 4 

$ Thousands 

6 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

National Averages: 22.6 23.9 24.3 

*Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. 

 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

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Chart E3: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the South 

 

National Average 

West Virginia* 

Virginia* 

Texas 

Tennessee 

South Carolina 

Oklahoma 

North Carolina 

Mississippi 

Maryland* 

Louisiana 

Kentucky 

Georgia* 

Florida 

District of Columbia** 

Delaware* 

Arkansas 

Alabama 

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 

$ Thousands 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. 

**Data for this state is not reported 

 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

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Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

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Chart E4: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the South: 

Differences from the National Average 

 

 

 

 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

Delaware* 

District of Columbia** 

Florida 

Georgia* 

Kentucky 

Louisiana 

Maryland* 

Mississippi 

North Carolina 

Oklahoma 

South Carolina 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia* 

West Virginia* 

-8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 

$ Thousands 

4 6 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

National Averages: 22.6 23.9 24.3 

*Not Reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. 

**Data for this state is not reported 
Chart E5: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the Midwest 

 

National Average
 

Wisconsin
 

South Dakota
 

Ohio
 

North Dakota
 

Nebraska
 

Missouri*
 

Minnesota*
 

Michigan*
 

Kansas*
 

Iowa*
 

Indiana*
 

Illinois*
 

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 

$ Thousands 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. 

 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

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Chart E6: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the Midwest: 

Differences from the National Average 

 

 

 

 

Illinois* 

Indiana* 

Iowa* 

Kansas* 

Michigan* 

Minnesota* 

Missouri* 

Nebraska 

North Dakota 

Ohio 

South Dakota 

Wisconsin 

-8 -6 -4 -2 0 

$ Thousands 

2 4 

National Averages:

Women-Owned 

22.6 

Women-Owned & Led 

 23.9 

Women-Led 

24.3 

*Not Reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. 

 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

 

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Chart E7: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the West 

 

National Average
 

Wyoming**
 

Washington
 

Utah*
 

Oregon*
 

New Mexico
 

Nevada
 

Montana*
 

Idaho*
 

Hawaii*
 

Colorado
 

California
 

Arizona
 

Alaska*
 

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 

$ Thousands 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

*Not Reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. 

**Data for this state is not reported. 

 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

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Chart E8: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the West: 

Differences from the National Average 

 

 

 

 

Utah* 

Oregon* 

New Mexico 

Montana* 

Idaho* 

Hawaii* 

Colorado 

Arizona 

-8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 

$ Thousands 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

Washington 

Wyoming** 

Nevada 

California 

Alaska* 

National Averages: 22.6 23.9 24.3 

*Not Reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. 

**Data for this state is not reported. 

 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

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Chart E9: Average Compensation – Employer Firms by Industry 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Average 

 Forestry, fishing & hunting, & ag support* 

 Mining*

 Utilities*

 Construction

 Manufacturing 

 Wholesale trade 

 Retail trade

 Transportation & warehousing

 Information

 Finance & insurance

Real estate & rental & leasing

 Prof., scientific, & technical services 

 Mgmt of companies & enterprises*

 Admin., support, waste mgmt

 Educational services*

 Health care & social assistance

Arts, entertainment, & recreation

 Accommodation & food services 

Other services (except public admin.)

 Industries not classified* 

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

$ Thousands 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. Values for WOWL and Women-Led firms are 

Concentrance estimates. 

 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

 

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Chart E10: Average Compensation – Employer Firms by Industry: 

Differences from the National Average 

 

 

 Industries not classified* 

Other services (except public admin.) 

 Accommodation & food services 

Arts, entertainment, & recreation 

Health care & social assistance 

Educational services* 

Admin., support, waste mgmt 

 Mgmt of companies & enterprises*

 Prof., scientific, & technical services

 Real estate & rental & leasing

 Finance & insurance

 Information 

 Transportation & warehousing 

Retail trade

 Wholesale trade

 Manufacturing

 Construction

 Utilities* 

Mining* 

Forestry, fishing & hunting, & ag support* 

National Average 

-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25

$ Thousands 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. Values for WOWL and Women-Led Firms are 

Concentrance estimates. 

 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

 

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V. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 

This report has provided a survey of the contribution of women’s businesses to the national 

economy along a variety of demographic and economic dimensions. We designed the report 

to highlight the contributions of Women-Led businesses and to compare those 

contributions with those of Women-Owned businesses as publicly reported by the Census 

Bureau. 

Women-Led businesses made strong contributions to the economy in 2002. We examined 

both total WOWL revenues and revenues per firm. In total, Women-Led businesses 

generated a little more than $300 billion dollars in revenues and produced about twice as 

much in receipts per firm as did Women-Owned businesses. While the greatest numbers of 

firms (84%) were non-employer firms, employer firms produced much more revenue: 86% 

of all WOWL firm revenues. The biggest revenue producing industries for women’s 

businesses were wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing, and construction; except for 

retail, these do not represent what is typically thought of as traditional women’s businesses. 

There was a different pattern of receipts by industry for non-employer firms. Real estate and 

professional services produced greater revenues than retail trade, as did professional services. 

The top three industries for receipts per employer firm were educational services, 

accommodation and food services, and health care and social services. The top three for 

non-employer firms were construction, wholesale trade, and transportation and warehousing. 

Combining employer and non-employer firms, receipts per firm were highest for wholesale 

trade, manufacturing and management of companies. The view of all women’s businesses 

produced less insight than the view at the employer or non-employer level because it hid 

underlying patterns. 

Trends in the larger society were shown in the data with respect to racial/ethnic groups. 

White firms dominated the women’s business landscape. A distant second were Hispanic or 

Latina firms, which were followed closely by Black or African American firms. Asian firms, 

also well represented in the number of firms, produced the highest receipts per firm of all 

groups. 

The distribution of firms by age was a rough bell curve. Nearly 56% of the women were 

between the ages of 35 and 54; the numbers thinned out as we moved to older and younger 

owners. On the other hand, the distribution of firms by education did not reflect a simple 

pattern. Generally, more educated women led greater numbers of women’s firms. But the 

most educated (master’s and doctorates) led a lower percentage (15%) than three other 

groups: high school graduates, college graduates and some college but no degree (each of 

these groups comprised roughly 20% of reporting firms). 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

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The dominant customer type for WOWL was household consumers and individuals, 

accounting for almost half of all customers. Next in size was other businesses and 

organizations (22%), followed by all others (16%). The next two meaningful customer types 

were state and federal governments, which combined for a little more than 6%. Export sales 

accounted for a little less than 1% of all WOWL customers. These numbers formed a base 

by which to understand the distribution of customer type by race and ethnicity. So while 

export sales were very small for the totality of WOWL businesses they became substantial 

when examined for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders, Asians and Hispanics or Latinas. 

Similarly, the shares of state and federal government customers for minority women 

business owners were noticeably greater than the share for White business owners. 

Compensation was higher in more urbanized states. And while Women-Led firms were 

stronger than Women-Owned firms in receipts per firm, they paid their employees less than 

Women-Owned firms on a national basis. WOWL firms paid their employees less than all 

US firms (men’s and women’s combined); according to the 2002 Survey of Business 

Owners, compensation by all firms (including both men’s and women’s firms) was about 

50% higher than compensation by women’s firms. 
 

Study of Women-Owned & Led Businesses 

An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

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VII. APPENDICES
 
 

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An Overview of the Data in NWBC’s Special Tabulations 

 

 

 

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Appendix A: An Example of Estimation of Non-Disclosed Data 

Figure 1 on the following page illustrates a case in which Concentrance estimated nondisclosed, state level data. The NWBC Special Tabs dataset did not report the value for 

receipts of Women-Owned & Led (WOWL) firms in New Jersey and Vermont, although the 

value for Women-Owned (WO) firms in these states was reported. Without the value for 

WOWL firms, the value of Women-Led (WL) firms cannot be calculated. 

To estimate the undisclosed values, Concentrance assumed that the states with missing data 

were more similar to the other states in the region than to national averages or to zero. We 

calculated the ratio of the value of WO firms to WOWL firms for the other states in this 

region for which complete information was available. These ratios are provided in Table 1 

and exhibit fairly low variability (the standard deviation of the ratios does not exceed 9%). 

Next, we took an average of those ratios, which is equal to 0.7518. Assuming that the ratio 

between WO and WOWL firms located in the states in the Northeast region are 

comparable, this average ratio is the best indicator of how the values of WO firms in 

Vermont and New Jersey differ from the values for WOWL firms. Thus, we divided the 

value for WO firms in New Jersey and Vermont by the average ratio for the Northeast of 

0.7518 to obtain estimated values for these states. Having estimated the values for WOWL 

firms, the values for WL firms can be obtained by subtracting the value for WO firms from 

the value of the WOWL firm. 
 

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Figure 1: Receipts for Women’s Businesses in the Northeast ($1000) and estimation of 

non-disclosed data 

State WO WOWL WL 

Ratio of 

WO/WOWL 

Connecticut 12215939 15366275 3150336 0.7950 

Maine 3282306 5530317 2248011 0.5935 

Massachusetts 23133981 28688662 5554681 0.8064 

New 

Hampshire 4665353 7051480 

Not 

2386127 0.6616 

New Jersey 35573077 reported Not Calculated N/A 

New York 70838360 85902184 15063824 0.8246 

Pennsylvania 38998092 49235123 10237031 0.7921 

Rhode Island 3640614 4611903 

Not 

971289 0.7894 

Vermont 1454095 reported Not Calculated N/A 

Average 0.7518 

Standard Deviation 9% 

State WO Average 

Est. 

WOWL WO 

Est. 

WL 

New Jersey 

Vermont 

35573077 

1454095 

0.7518 47317184 

1934150 

35573077 

1454095

11744107 

480055 
 

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Appendix B: Example of Data Limitations Due to Lack of 

Precision in Reporting of Women-Owned & Led Firms 

Figure 2 below displays the total number of WOWL firms as well as the number of WOWL 

firms whose owners have less than a high school degree by race/ethnicity of the firm’s 

owner. This figure demonstrates a limitation in how WOWL data are reported, as it shows 

only percentages of numbers of firms in races/ethnicities rather than providing an actual 

number. Distribution of firms by the other educational levels and by the race/ethnicity of 

the owner is reported in a similar manner. 

Figure 2: Sample of data on Women Owned & Led firms by Education Level and Race 

Total Total 

Highest Education Level of the 

Owner Hispanic or Latina origin and race Number Percent 

Total Total 5,882,687 X 

Total Hispanic or Latina X 6 

Total Not Hispanic or Latina X 94 

Total White X 89.6 

Total Black or African American X 5.2 

Total American Indian and Alaska Native X 1 

Total Asian X 5 

Total Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander X 0.1 

Less than high school graduate Total 292,078 X 

Less than high school graduate Hispanic or Latina X 23.7 

Less than high school graduate Not Hispanic or Latina X 76.3 

Less than high school graduate White X 80.7 

Less than high school graduate Black or African American X 8.4 

Less than high school graduate American Indian and Alaska Native X 1.8 

Less than high school graduate Asian X 10.2 

Less than high school graduate Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander X 0.2 

There is also segmentation within educational levels. The reported percentages of business 

owners by race at specific educational levels relate to the number of business owners of all 

races/ethnicities at that specific educational level. For instance, in the figure above, to 

determine the number of business owners that are Asian and are not high school graduates, 

one must calculate 10.2 % of 292,078, the total figure for less than high school graduates for 

all races. 

This format of presentation limits analysis of education levels within races/ethnicities, 

especially races/ethnicities with small numbers. The percentages are accurate only to one 

significant digit, and some of the smaller races/ethnicities make up less than a 1% of the 

total. In other words, the numbers are sufficiently accurate for larger races/ethnicities, but 
 

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an acceptable level of accuracy for the smaller races/ethnicities would require more 

significant digits. For instance, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander WOWL firms 

comprise 0.1 % of the total number of firms. If we round to one significant digit, the actual 

figure may be anywhere between 0.06% and 0.14%. The margin of error (0.04%) is very 

substantial for a race/ethnicity that is only 0.1 %. 

The margin of error manifested itself when we analyzed the distribution of firms by 

education level. When we used the reported percentages to calculate the numbers of Native 

Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders WOWL firms at each level of education and added 

those numbers together, they exceeded the total number of firms in the entire Native 

Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander group by more than 40%. 

For this reason we did not produce estimates of Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific 

Islanders for the distribution of firms by education and race. 
 

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Appendix C – Data Tables 

Data Tables 

Following are the data tables for the charts above. Note that when we did not have 

sufficient data upon which to base an estimate we labeled the cell as ‘N/E’ or ‘not 

estimated’. An ‘S’ in a text box means that estimates were suppressed when publication 

standards were not met. 

Table 1: Overview of Women’s Businesses (Thousands) 

All Firms Non-Employer Firms Employer Firms 

Women-Owned & Led 7,505 6,296 1,211 

Women-Owned 6,489 5,573 917 

Women-Led 1,016 724 294 

Table A1: Number of Firms – All Women's Businesses by Region (Thousands) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Northeast 138 1,405 1,267 

Midwest 246 1,637 1,391 

South 340 2,586 2,245 

West 295 1,887 1,592 

U.S. 1,019 7,515 6,495 

Table A2: Number of Firms – All Women's Businesses in the Northeast (Thousands) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Connecticut 10 92 82 

Maine 8 40 33 

Massachusetts 15 177 162 

New Hampshire 6 37 31 

New Jersey 22 208 185 

New York* 40 545 505 

Pennsylvania 30 257 227 

Rhode Island 3 26 23 

Vermont 4 23 19 
 

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Table A3: Number of Firms – All Women's Businesses in the South (Thousands) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Alabama 11 93 82 

Arkansas 13 62 50 

Delaware 3 18 15 

District of Columbia 1 16 16 

Florida 63 500 437 

Georgia 24 220 196 

Kentucky 15 92 77 

Louisiana 15 102 87 

Maryland 16 154 137 

Mississippi 8 55 47 

North Carolina 26 200 174 

Oklahoma 17 92 75 

South Carolina 11 88 77 

Tennessee 18 136 118 

Texas 74 543 469 

Virginia 21 178 157 

West Virginia 5 36 31 

Table A4: Number of Firms – All Women's Businesses in the Midwest (Thousands) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Illinois* 39 324 285 

Indiana 22 141 119 

Iowa 14 78 64 

Kansas 14 73 60 

Michigan 33 250 218 

Minnesota 24 148 124 

Missouri 26 146 120 

Nebraska 10 49 39 

North Dakota 4 17 13 

Ohio 31 261 230 

South Dakota 5 21 16 

Wisconsin 24 129 104 
 

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Table A5: Number of Firms – All Women's Businesses in the West (Thousands) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Alaska 4 21 16 

Arizona 23 133 110 

California* 132 1,002 870 

Colorado 27 162 135 

Hawaii 6 36 30 

Idaho 11 40 29 

Montana 8 32 25 

Nevada 9 56 48 

New Mexico 9 51 42 

Oregon 21 109 88 

Utah 10 58 48 

Washington 32 169 137 

Wyoming 4 17 13 

Table A6: Number of Firms – All Women’s Businesses by Industry (Thousands) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Industries not classified 1 7 6 

Other services (except public admin.) 110 1,126 1,016 

Accommodation & food services 64 231 167 

Arts, entertainment, & recreation 40 329 289 

Health care & social assistance 63 1,099 1,036 

Educational services 14 206 192 

Admin., support, waste mgmt 58 627 569 

Mgmt of companies & enterprises 1 3 2 

Prof., scientific, & technical services 111 1,046 935 

Real estate & rental & leasing 115 619 504 

Finance & insurance 29 196 167 

Information 12 92 80 

Transportation & warehousing 37 148 111 

Retail trade 200 1,145 945 

Wholesale trade 35 156 121 

Manufacturing 31 141 110 

Construction 82 283 202 

Utilities 1 3 2 

Mining 4 18 13 

Forestry, fishing & hunting, & ag support 13 38 24 
 

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Table A7: Number of Firms – Employer Firms by Industry (Thousands) 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

Industries not classified* 6 not estimated not estimated 

Other services (except public admin.) 86 109 23 

Accommodation & food services 87 126 39 

Arts, entertainment, & recreation 17 23 6 

Health care & social assistance 116 135 19 

Educational services 16 20 4 

Admin., support, waste mgmt 61 77 17 

Mgmt of companies & enterprises * 2 not estimated not estimated 

Prof., scientific, & technical services 133 160 27 

Real estate & rental & leasing 50 66 16 

Finance & insurance 32 40 8 

Information 11 15 4 

Transportation & warehousing 20 29 10 

Retail trade** 146 206 61 

Wholesale trade 42 57 15 

Manufacturing 40 55 15 

Construction 52 82 30 

Utilities 0 0 0 

Mining 2 2 1 

Forestry, fishing & hunting, & ag support 3 5 2 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. 
 

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Table A8: Number of Firms – Non-Employer Firms by Industry (Thousands) 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

Industries not classified* 0 S not estimated 

Other services (except public admin.) 930 1017 87 

Accommodation & food services 80 104 25 

Arts, entertainment, & recreation 272 306 34 

Health care & social assistance 920 964 44 

Educational services 177 187 10 

Admin., support, waste mgmt 509 550 41 

Mgmt of companies & enterprises* 0 S not estimated 

Prof., scientific, & technical services 801 886 85 

Real estate & rental & leasing 454 554 99 

Finance & insurance 135 155 21 

Information 69 78 8 

Transportation & warehousing 92 119 27 

Retail trade 799 938 140 

Wholesale trade 80 100 20 

Manufacturing 70 86 16 

Construction 150 202 51 

Utilities 2 2 0 

Mining 12 15 4 

Forestry, fishing & hunting, & ag support 22 33 12 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. The reported number of Women–Owned firms in these 

industries is zero. 

S– Estimates are suppressed when publication standards are not met, such as, the firm count is less than 3, 

or the relative standard error of the sales and receipts is 50 percent or more.
 
 

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Table B1: Receipts – All Women’s Businesses by Region ($ Billions) 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

Northeast* 194 246 52 

Midwest* 200 274 74 

South* 315 405 90 

West 230 318 88 

* In NWBC Special Tabulations data was not disclosed for certain states. For instance in the Northeast 

region, data for New Jersey and Vermont was not disclosed; in the Midwest region data for Kansas, 

Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota was not disclosed; in the South region data for Arkansas, 

Delaware and the District of Columbia was not disclosed. Data is available for all the states in the West 

region. Concentrance used estimates of the non– disclosed data to calculate regional totals. 

Table B2: Receipts – All Women’s Businesses in the Northeast ($ Billions) 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

Connecticut 3 15 12 

Maine 2 6 3 

Massachusetts 6 29 23 

New Hampshire 2 7 5 

New Jersey* 12 47 36 

New York 15 86 71 

Pennsylvania 10 49 39 

Rhode Island 1 5 4 

Vermont* 1 2 2 

* Not reported in NWBC Special Tabulations. 

Table B3: Receipts – All Women’s Businesses in the South ($ Billions) 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

Alabama 11 15 3 

Arkansas* 6 8 2 

Delaware* 2 3 1 

District of Columbia* 2 3 1 

Florida 61 79 17 

Georgia 30 37 7 

Kentucky 10 13 4 

Louisiana 12 16 4 

Maryland 17 21 4 

Mississippi 7 9 2 

North Carolina 27 34 8 

Oklahoma 9 13 4 

South Carolina 11 14 3 

Tennessee 18 22 5 

Texas 66 86 20 

Virginia 22 28 6 

West Virginia 3 4 1 

* Not reported in NWBC Special Tabulations. 
 

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Table B4: Receipts – All Women’s Businesses in the Midwest ($ Billions) 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

Illinois 47 61 14 

Indiana 17 24 7 

Iowa 7 11 4 

Kansas* 7 10 3 

Michigan 29 39 9 

Minnesota* 16 23 6 

Missouri 19 26 8 

Nebraska 6 8 2 

North Dakota* 1 2 1 

Ohio 32 43 11 

South Dakota* 2 2 1 

Wisconsin 18 26 9 

* Not reported in NWBC Special Tabulations. 

Table B5: Receipts – All Women’s Businesses in the West ($ Billions) 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

Alaska 2 4 1 

Arizona 16 22 7 

California* 138 183 45 

Colorado 16 23 6 

Hawaii 5 7 3 

Idaho 3 5 2 

Montana 2 4 1 

Nevada 9 11 3 

New Mexico 5 7 3 

Oregon 11 16 6 

Utah 6 9 3 

Washington 17 25 8 

Wyoming 1 2 1 

Table B6: Receipts per Firm – All Women’s Businesses by Region ($ Thousands) 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

Northeast* 153 175 375 

Midwest* 144 167 299 

South* 140 157 266 

West 145 169 297 

National Average 145 166 301 

* In NWBC Special Tabulations data was not disclosed for certain states. For instance in the Northeast 

region, data for New Jersey and Vermont was not disclosed; in the Midwest region data for Kansas, 

Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota was not disclosed; in the South region data for Arkansas, 

Delaware and the District of Columbia was not disclosed. Data is available for all the states in the West 

region. Concentrance used estimates of the non– disclosed data to calculate regional totals. 
 

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Table B7: Receipts per Firm – All Women’s Businesses in the Northeast ($ Thousands) 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

Connecticut 149 167 313 

Maine 101 138 296 

Massachusetts 143 162 362 

New Hampshire 150 192 416 

New Jersey* 192 228 525 

New York 140 158 374 

Pennsylvania 172 191 341 

Rhode Island 157 178 351 

Vermont* 77 84 117 

National Average 145 166 301 

* Not reported in NWBC Special Tabulations 

Table B8: Receipts per Firm – All Women’s Businesses in the South ($ Thousands) 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

Alabama 140 159 301 

Arkansas* 128 133 151 

Delaware* 132 144 211 

District of Columbia* ^ 153 189 883 

Florida 140 157 275 

Georgia 153 167 277 

Kentucky 122 147 271 

Louisiana 141 158 255 

Maryland 126 139 245 

Mississippi 143 161 270 

North Carolina 154 171 287 

Oklahoma 123 140 212 

South Carolina 142 159 276 

Tennessee 150 164 258 

Texas 140 158 271 

Virginia 141 158 286 

West Virginia 104 123 247 

National Average 145 166 301 

* Not reported in NWBC Special Tabulations 

Table B9: Receipts per Firm – All Women’s Businesses in the Midwest ($ Thousands) 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

Illinois 164 187 349 

Indiana 139 167 316 

Iowa 116 144 268 

Kansas* 117 133 203 

Michigan 134 154 289 

Minnesota* 131 153 268 

Missouri 154 179 293 

Nebraska 149 168 244 

North Dakota* 100 107 133 

Ohio 141 165 341 

South Dakota* 99 104 117 

Wisconsin 169 204 357 

National Average 145 166 301 
 

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Table B10: Receipts per Firm – All Women’s Businesses in the West ($ Thousands) 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

Alaska 144 169 264 

Arizona 144 169 292 

California 158 182 341 

Colorado 121 140 235 

Hawaii 153 198 415 

Idaho 112 136 203 

Montana 87 112 189 

Nevada 181 201 310 

New Mexico 112 143 296 

Oregon 120 148 264 

Utah 122 146 260 

Washington 126 148 241 

Wyoming 87 140 299 

National Average 145 166 301 

Table B11: Receipts – All Women’s Businesses by Industry ($ Billions) 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

Industries not classified** 1 not estimated not estimated 

Other services (except public admin.) 36 47 11 

Accommodation & food services 39 59 21 

Arts, entertainment, & recreation 13 16 4 

Health care & social assistance 68 82 13 

Educational services 7 10 2 

Admin., support, waste mgmt 48 59 11 

Mgmt of companies & enterprises 2 2 0.4 

Prof., scientific, & technical services 79 96 17 

Real estate & rental & leasing 48 63 15 

Finance & insurance 27 35 8 

Information 22 26 4 

Transportation & warehousing 22 31 9 

Retail trade 149 224 75 

Wholesale trade 210 258 48 

Manufacturing 93 124 31 

Construction 68 103 34 

Utilities* 1 1 0.2 

Mining 3 4 1 

Forestry, fishing & hunting, & ag support 2 4 2 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. 

** Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. Due to data limitations Concentrance could not 

calculate an estimate. 
 

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Table B12: Receipts – Employer Firms by Industry ($ Billions) 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

Industries not classified** 1 not estimated not estimated 

Other services (except public admin.) 20 28 8 

Accommodation & food services 36 55 19 

Arts, entertainment, & recreation 8 11 3 

Health care & social assistance 52 63 12 

Educational services* 6 7 2 

Admin., support, waste mgmt* 41 50 10 

Mgmt of companies & enterprises 2 2 1 

Prof., scientific, & technical services 57 70 13 

Real estate & rental & leasing 24 32 8 

Finance & insurance 22 28 6 

Information 20 24 4 

Transportation & warehousing 19 26 7 

Retail trade 131 200 68 

Wholesale trade 206 252 46 

Manufacturing 91 121 30 

Construction 62 92 30 

Utilities* 1 1 0.2 

Mining* 3 4 1 

Forestry, fishing & hunting, & ag support* 1 2 0.4 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. 

** Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. Due to data limitations Concentrance could not 

calculate an estimate. 
 

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Table B13: Receipts – Non-Employer Firms by Industry ($ Billions) 

Women-Owned Women-Owned & Led Women-Led 

Industries not classified** - S not estimated 

Other services (except public admin.) 17 20 3 

Accommodation & food services 3 4 2 

Arts, entertainment, & recreation 5 6 1 

Health care & social assistance 17 18 1 

Educational services* 2 2 1 

Admin., support, waste mgmt 7 9 1 

Mgmt of companies & enterprises** - S not estimated 

Prof., scientific, & technical services 22 26 4 

Real estate & rental & leasing 24 31 7 

Finance & insurance 5 7 1 

Information 2 2 0.4 

Transportation & warehousing 3 5 2 

Retail trade 17 25 7 

Wholesale trade 4 6 2 

Manufacturing 2 3 1 

Construction 6 10 4 

Utilities* 0.0 0.1 0.0 

Mining* 0.4 1 0.1 

Forestry, fishing & hunting, & ag support* 1 1 0.2 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. 

** Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. Due to data limitations Concentrance could not 

calculate an estimate. 

S– Estimates are suppressed when publication standards are not met, such as, the firm count is less than 3, 

or the relative standard error of the sales and receipts is 50 percent or more. 
 

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Table B14: Receipts per Firm – All Women’s Businesses by Industry ($ Thousands) 

Women Owned Women Owned & Led Women Led 

Industries not classified** 125 not estimated not estimated 

Other services (except public admin.) 36 42 103 

Accommodation & food services 232 257 323 

Arts, entertainment, & recreation 44 49 89 

Health care & social assistance 66 74 213 

Educational services 38 46 161 

Admin.,support, waste mgmt 84 94 185 

Mgmt of companies & enterprises 814 771 619 

Prof., scientific, & technical services 85 92 151 

Real estate & rental & leasing 96 102 131 

Finance & insurance 161 176 268 

Information 275 283 337 

Transportation & warehousing 201 211 241 

Retail trade 158 196 377 

Wholesale trade 1734 1654 1376 

Manufacturing 844 878 998 

Construction 339 362 419 

Utilities* 360 376 434 

Mining 236 233 223 

Forestry, fishing & hunting, & ag support 84 97 123

 National Average 145 166 301 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. 

** Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. Due to data limitations Concentrance could not 

calculate an estimate. 
 

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Table B15: Receipts per Firm – Employer Firms by Industry ($ Thousands) 

Women Owned Women Owned & Led Women Led 

Industries not classified** 523 not estimated not estimated 

Other services (except public admin.) 1,648 1,587 1,425 

Accommodation & food services 2,310 2,294 2,246 

Arts, entertainment, & recreation 1,206 1,128 993 

Health care & social assistance* 2,286 2,213 2,019 

Educational services** 4,941 not estimated not estimated 

Admin.,support, waste mgmt 903 969 1,127 

Mgmt of companies & enterprises** 997 not estimated not estimated 

Prof., scientific, & technical services 1,887 1,665 1,009 

Real estate & rental & leasing 663 688 787 

Finance & insurance 486 493 515 

Information 429 440 497 

Transportation & warehousing 814 799 759 

Retail trade 670 649 573 

Wholesale trade 347 375 496 

Manufacturing 444 470 629 

Construction 478 465 429 

Utilities* 413 436 487 

Mining* 229 258 366 

Forestry, fishing & hunting, & ag support* 125 122 116 

National Average 876 885 913 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. 

** Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. Due to data limitations Concentrance could not 

calculate an estimate. 
 

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Table B16: Receipts per Firm – Non-Employer Firms by Industry ($ Thousands) 

 Women Owned Women Owned & Led Women Led 

Industries not classified* - S not estimated 

Other services (except public admin.) 18 19 33

 Accommodation & food services 34 40 60 

Arts, entertainment, & recreation 17 18 30 

Health care & social assistance 18 19 33

 Educational services 11 13 60 

Admin., support, waste mgmt 15 16 28 

Mgmt of companies & enterprises* - not estimated not estimated 

Prof., scientific, & technical services 27 29 43 

Real estate & rental & leasing 53 56 70 

Finance & insurance 39 43 69

 Information 24 26 45

 Transportation & warehousing 32 42 75

 Retail trade 22 26 52

 Wholesale trade 52 61 98

 Manufacturing 27 31 48

 Construction 40 52 84

 Utilities 27 28 34

 Mining 36 35 34 

Forestry, fishing & hunting, & ag support 31 26 19 

Totals for all sectors 25 28 52 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations. Due to data limitations Concentrance could not 

calculate an estimate. 

S – Estimates are suppressed when publication standards are not met, such as, the firm count is less than 3, 

or the relative standard error of the sales and receipts is 50 percent or more.
 
 

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Table C1: Demographics – Women-Led, Women-Owned & Led, Women-Owned 

By Race/Ethnicity (Thousands) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Hispanic or Latina 32 321 290 

White 903 5063 4160 

Black or African American 25 293 268 

American Indian or Alaska Native 3 51 48 

Asian 49 268 220 

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander 0.5 7 6 

Table C2: Demographics – Women-Led, Women-Owned & Led, Women-Owned 

By Race/Ethnicity (Percent) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Hispanic or Latina 3.1 5.4 5.8 

White 89.3 84.3 83.3 

Black or African American 2.5 4.9 5.4 

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.3 0.8 1.0 

Asian 4.8 4.5 4.4 

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander 0.1 0.1 0.1 

Table C3: Demographics – Distribution of WOWL Businesses by Age Group (Thousands) 

Under 25 161 

25 to 34 843 

35 to 44 1,522 

45 to 54 1,650 

55 to 64 1,074 

65 and over 474 

Table C4: Demographics – Distribution of WOWL Businesses by Age Group (Percent) 

Under 25 2.8 

25 to 34 14.7 

35 to 44 26.6 

45 to 54 28.8 

55 to 64 18.8 

65 or over 8.3 

Table C5: Demographics – Distribution of WOWL Firms by Education (Thousands) 

Item not Reported 84 

Master's, Doctorate, or Professional Degree 888 

Bachelor's Degree 1,276 

Associate's Degree 410 

Some College, but no Degree 1,177 

Technical, Trade, or Vocational School 509 

High School Graduate - Diploma or GED 1,247 

Less than High School Graduate 292 
 

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Table C6: Demographics – Distribution of WOWL Firms by Education (Percent) 

Less than High School Graduate 5.0 

High School Graduate - Diploma or GED 21.5 

Technical, Trade, or Vocational School 8.8 

Some College, but no Degree 20.3 

Associate's Degree 7.1 

Bachelor's Degree 22.0 

Master's, Doctorate, or Professional Degree 15.3 

Table C7: Demographics – Percent of Firms by Race/Ethnicity by Age 

Under 25 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 and over 

Hispanic or Latina 4.6 20.3 30.2 24.3 12.2 4.0 

White 2.7 14.0 25.6 28.1 18.7 8.4 

Black or African American 3.3 17.4 27.4 26.4 15.1 6.2 

American Indian and Alaska Native 4.1 17.2 28.5 30.9 14.6 4.8 

Asian 3.2 18.1 29.5 29.2 13.5 3.9 

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander 5.5 28.7 51.8 28.1 18.3 8.1 
 

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Table C8: Demographics – Education by Race/Ethnicity (Percent) 

Black or African American 

Less than High School Graduate 8.2 

High School Graduate - Diploma or GED 20.1 

Technical, Trade, or Vocational School 9.7 

Some College, but no Degree 22.9 

Associate's Degree 7.4 

Bachelor's Degree 16.7 

Master's, Doctorate, or Professional Degree 14.9 

White 

Less than High School Graduate 4.5 

High School Graduate - Diploma or GED 21.7 

Technical, Trade, or Vocational School 8.9 

Some College, but no Degree 20.5 

Associate's Degree 7.1 

Bachelor's Degree 22.1 

Master's, Doctorate, or Professional Degree 15.2 

Hispanic or Latina 

Less than High School Graduate 20.1 

High School Graduate - Diploma or GED 23.1 

Technical, Trade, or Vocational School 9.6 

Some College, but no Degree 18.4 

Associate's Degree 6.5 

Bachelor's Degree 13.3 

Master's, Doctorate, or Professional Degree 9.0 

Asian 

Less than High School Graduate 10.3 

High School Graduate - Diploma or GED 19.4 

Technical, Trade, or Vocational School 5.6 

Some College, but no Degree 13.4 

Associate's Degree 5.8 

Bachelor's Degree 26.9 

Master's, Doctorate, or Professional Degree 18.4 

American Indian and Alaska Native 

Less than High School Graduate 8.9 

High School Graduate - Diploma or GED 21.0 

Technical, Trade, or Vocational School 7.7 

Some College, but no Degree 27.8 

Associate's Degree 9.0 

Bachelor's Degree 15.1 

Master's, Doctorate, or Professional Degree 10.5 
 

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Table C9: Demographics – Firms by Education by Age (Percent) 

Under 25 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 or over 

Less than High School Graduate 12.6 3.4 3.5 4.3 6 9.4 

High School Graduate - Diploma or GED 23.5 15.4 19.3 20.5 25.2 31.8 

Technical, Trade, or Vocational School 9.9 9.7 9.9 8.3 7.9 5.7 

Some College, but no Degree 25.8 19.6 18.8 20.4 20.9 20.8 

Associate's Degree 6.4 7.9 8.4 7.2 5.4 3.9 

Bachelor's Degree 19 29.9 24.5 21 16.8 14.5 

Master's, Doctorate, or Professional Degree 1.8 13.4 14.9 17.3 16.9 12.3 

Table C10: Demographics – Receipts by Race/Ethnicity ($ Billions) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Hispanic or Latina 7 42 35 

White 272 1,135 863 

Black or African American 3 23 21 

American Indian and Alaska Native 0 6 6 

Asian 18 72 54 

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander 0.1 1 1 

Publicly held (WOWL) not estimated 6 not estimated 

Table C11: Demographics – Receipts per Firm by Race/Ethnicity ($ Thousands) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

All 301 166 145 

Hispanic or Latina 218 74 65 

White 300 175 155 

Black or African American 103 41 38 

American Indian and Alaska Native 154 76 74 

Asian 367 185 158 

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander 114 77 75 

Publicly held (WOWL) 2112 

Table C12: Demographics – Receipts for Employer Firms by Race/Ethnicity ($ Billions) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Hispanic or Latina 6 31 26 

White 239 982 743 

Black or African American 2 15 13 

American Indian and Alaska Native** not estimated not estimated 4 

Asian 16 61 45 

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander** not estimated not estimated 1 

Publicly held (WOWL)* not estimated 6 not estimated 

Table C13: Demographics – Receipts for Non-Employer Firms by Race/Ethnicity ($ Billions) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Hispanic or Latina 1 11 10 

White 33 153 120 

Black or African American 1 8 8 

American Indian and Alaska Native** not estimated not estimated 1 

Asian 2 11 9 

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander** not estimated not estimated 0 

Publicly held (WOWL)* 0 0.2 0 
 

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Table C14: Demographics – Receipts per Firm for Employer Firms by Race/Ethnicity ($ 

Thousands) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

All 913 885 876 

Hispanic or Latina 762 621 596 

White 912 911 911 

Black or African American 537 487 480 

American Indian and Alaska Native** not estimated not estimated 598 

Asian 814 671 632 

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander** not estimated not estimated 741 

Publicly held (WOWL)* 0 12,641 0 

* Publicly Held means that the firm is publicly held and a race/ethnicity classification is not applicable and 

is available for Women-Owned & Led only.
 

** Data not available for Women-Owned & Led for these groups. 

Table C15: Demographics – Receipts per Firm for Non-Employer Firms by Race/Ethnicity 

(Thousands) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

All 52 28 25 

Hispanic or Latina 51 21 19 

White 52 28 25 

Black or African American 32 16 15 

American Indian and Alaska Native** not estimated not estimated 19 

Asian 78 37 32 

Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander** not estimated not estimated 18 

* Publicly Held means that the firm is publicly held and a race/ethnicity classification is not applicable and 

is available for Women-Owned & Led only.
 

** Data not available for Women-Owned & Led for these groups. 
 

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Table D1: Customer Type – Distribution of Firms by Customer Type (Thousands) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Federal Government 14 102 89 

State and Local Government 49 301 252 

Export Sales 15 57 42 

Other Businesses Organizations 284 1407 1123 

Household Consumers Individuals 629 3080 2451 

All Others 169 998 829 

Item not Reported 49 482 433 

Table D2: Customer Type – Firms by Customer Type (Percent) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Federal Government 1.1 1.6 1.7 

State and Local Government 4.1 4.7 4.8 

Export Sales 1.2 0.9 0.8 

Other Businesses Organizations 23.5 21.9 21.5 

Household Consumers Individuals 52.1 47.9 47.0 

All Others 14.0 15.5 15.9 

Item not Reported 4.0 7.5 8.3 
 

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Tables D3a-f: Customer Type – Firms by Race/Ethnicity (Percent) 

Table D3a: Business by Customer Type: Black or African American Firms (Percent) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Federal Government 3.0 3.1 3.1 

State & Local Government 6.5 7.7 7.8 

Export Sales 1.0 1.0 1.0 

Other Businesses & Organizations 13.6 13.1 13.0 

Household Consumers & Individuals 53.2 41.1 39.9 

All Others 15.0 18.4 18.7 

Item not Reported 7.6 15.6 16.4 

Table D3b: Business by Customer Type: White Firms (Percent) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Federal Government 1.4 1.5 1.5 

State & Local Government 3.9 4.5 4.6 

Export Sales 1.1 0.8 0.7 

Other Businesses & Organizations 24.2 22.6 22.3 

Household Consumers & Individuals 52.3 48.6 47.7 

All Others 13.4 15.0 15.3 

Item not Reported 3.6 7.0 7.8 

Table D3c: Business by Customer Type: American Indian or Alaska Native Firms (Percent) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Federal Government 3.2 3.3 3.3 

State & Local Government 7.1 7.4 7.4 

Export Sales 0.8 0.9 0.9 

Other Businesses & Organizations 16.6 18.7 18.8 

Household Consumers & Individuals 51.5 41.8 41.3 

All Others 12.9 16.6 16.8 

Item not Reported 7.9 11.4 11.6 

Table D3d: Business by Customer Type: Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander Firms (Percent) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Federal Government 1.5 4.0 4.2 

State & Local Government 3.3 7.2 7.5 

Export Sales 8.7 2.6 2.0 

Other Businesses & Organizations 25.0 16.2 15.4 

Household Consumers & Individuals 52.2 42.7 41.9 

All Others 7.7 16.7 17.5 

Item not Reported 1.6 10.7 11.5 

Table D3e: Business by Customer Type: Asian Firms (Percent) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Federal Government 2.1 2.2 2.3 

State & Local Government 3.8 3.9 4.0 

Export Sales 3.3 2.6 2.4 

Other Businesses & Organizations 15.2 18.3 19.0 

Household Consumers & Individuals 49.8 42.1 40.3 

All Others 20.8 23.3 23.8 

Item not Reported 5.0 7.6 8.2 
 

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Table D3f: Business by Customer Type: Hispanic or Latina Firms (Percent) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Federal Government 2.3 2.4 2.4 

State & Local Government 4.8 5.0 5.0 

Export Sales 3.2 1.6 1.5 

Other Businesses & Organizations 15.7 14.9 14.8 

Household Consumers & Individuals 46.4 42.8 42.4 

All Others 19.4 19.5 19.5 

Item not Reported 8.3 13.8 14.4 
 

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Table E1: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the Northeast ($ Thousands) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Connecticut 25 27 27 

Maine 23 22 21 

Massachusetts* N/E N/E 27 

New Hampshire* N/E N/E 23 

New Jersey* N/E N/E 29 

New York* N/E N/E 27 

Pennsylvania 22 23 23 

Rhode Island 25 25 25 

Vermont 20 19 19 

National Average 23 24 24 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations 

Table E2: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the Northeast: Differences from the 

National Average ($ Thousands) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Connecticut 2 3 3 

Maine (0.1) (2) (3) 

Massachusetts* N/E N/E 3 

New Hampshire* N/E N/E (1) 

New Jersey* N/E N/E 5 

New York* N/E N/E 3 

Pennsylvania (0.1) (1) (2) 

Rhode Island 2 1 1 

Vermont (3) (4) (5) 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations 
 

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Table E3: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the South ($ Thousands) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Alabama 20 21 21 

Arkansas 21 20 20 

Delaware* N/E N/E 23 

District of Columbia N/E N/E N/E 

Florida 23 23 23 

Georgia* N/E N/E 25.5 

Kentucky 19 20 21 

Louisiana 19 20 20 

Maryland* N/E N/E 28 

Mississippi 17 18 19 

North Carolina 21 22 22 

Oklahoma 20 20 20 

South Carolina 18 20 21 

Tennessee 21 22 23 

Texas 21 23 23 

Virginia* N/E N/E 26 

West Virginia* N/E N/E 20 

National Average 23 24 24 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations 

Table E4: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the South: Differences from the National 

Average ($ Thousands) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Alabama (3) (3) (3) 

Arkansas (2) (4) (4) 

Delaware* N/E N/E (1) 

District of Columbia** N/E N/E N/E 

Florida 0.1 (1) (2) 

Georgia* N/E N/E 1 

Kentucky (4) (4) (3) 

Louisiana (3) (4) (4) 

Maryland* N/E N/E 4 

Mississippi (5) (6) (6) 

North Carolina (2) (2) (2) 

Oklahoma (3) (4) (5) 

South Carolina (4) (4) (4) 

Tennessee (2) (2) (2) 

Texas (2) (1) (1) 

Virginia* N/E N/E 1 

West Virginia* N/E N/E (4) 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations 
 

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Table E5: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the Midwest ($ Thousands) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Illinois* N/E N/E 27 

Indiana* N/E N/E 22 

Iowa* N/E N/E 19 

Kansas* N/E N/E 22 

Michigan* 23 24 24 

Minnesota* N/E N/E 23 

Missouri* N/E N/E 24 

Nebraska N/E N/E 23 

North Dakota N/E N/E 17 

Ohio 22 23 24 

South Dakota N/E N/E 17 

Wisconsin 22 22 22 

National Average 23 24 24 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations 

**Table Data for this state is not reported 

Table E6: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the Midwest: Differences from the 

National Average ($ Thousands) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Illinois* N/E N/E 3 

Indiana* N/E N/E (2) 

Iowa* N/E N/E (5) 

Kansas* N/E N/E (3) 

Michigan* 0.4 (0.1) (0.3) 

Minnesota* N/E N/E (1) 

Missouri* N/E N/E 0 

Nebraska N/E N/E (2) 

North Dakota N/E N/E (7) 

Ohio (1) (1) (1) 

South Dakota N/E N/E (7) 

Wisconsin (1) (2) (3) 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations 

**Table Data for this state is not reported 
 

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Table E7: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the West ($ Thousands) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Alaska* N/E N/E 26 

Arizona 21 22 23 

California 26 27 27 

Colorado 21 23 24 

Hawaii* N/E N/E 21 

Idaho* N/E N/E 20 

Montana* N/E N/E 17 

Nevada 23 24 25 

New Mexico 19 20 20 

Oregon* N/E N/E 22 

Utah* N/E N/E 21 

Washington 23 25 25 

Wyoming** N/E N/E N/E 

National Average 23 24 24 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations 

**Table Data for this state is not reported 

Table E8: Average Compensation – Employer Firms in the West: Differences from the National 

Average ($ Thousands) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned 

Alaska* N/E N/E 1 

Arizona (2) (2) (1) 

California 3 3 3 

Colorado (1) (1) (0.1) 

Hawaii* N/E N/E (3) 

Idaho* N/E N/E (4) 

Montana* N/E N/E (7) 

Nevada 0.2 0.4 1 

New Mexico (4) (4) (4) 

Oregon* N/E N/E (2) 

Utah* N/E N/E (3) 

Washington 1 1 1 

Wyoming** N/E N/E N/E 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations 

**Table Data for this state is not reported 
 

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Table E9: Average Compensation – Employer Firms by Industry ($ Thousands) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned

 Industries not classified* 19 20 20

 Other services (except public admin.) 19 17 17

 Accommodation & food services 11 11 11

 Arts, entertainment, & recreation 17 21 22 

Health care & social assistance 22 23 23

 Educational services* 17 18 18 

Admin., support, waste mgmt 21 20 20

 Mgmt of companies & enterprises* 43 44 45 

Prof., scientific, & technical services 37 37 37 

Real estate & rental & leasing 25 27 28

 Finance & insurance 38 39 39

 Information 37 38 38

 Transportation & warehousing 25 27 28

 Retail trade 18 18 18

 Wholesale trade 35 34 34

 Manufacturing 32 32 32

 Construction 32 34 35

 Utilities* 34 35 35

 Mining* 36 37 37 

Forestry, fishing & hunting, & ag support* 14 14 15 

National Average 23 24 24 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations 

Table E10: Average Compensation – Employer Firms by Industry: Differences from the National 

Average ($ Thousands) 

Women-Led Women-Owned & Led Women-Owned

 Industries not classified* (3) (4) (4)

 Other services (except public admin.) (4) (6) (7)

 Accommodation & food services (12) (13) (13)

 Arts, entertainment, & recreation (5) (3) (2) 

Health care & social assistance (1) (1) (2)

 Educational services* (6) (6) (7) 

Admin., support, waste mgmt (1) (4) (5)

 Mgmt of companies & enterprises* 20 20 20 

Prof., scientific, & technical services 14 13 13 

Real estate & rental & leasing 2 4 4

 Finance & insurance 15 15 15

 Information 14 14 14

 Transportation & warehousing 2 3 4

 Retail trade (4) (6) (6)

 Wholesale trade 13 10 10

 Manufacturing 9 8 8

 Construction 9 10 11

 Utilities* 11 11 11

 Mining* 13 13 13 

Forestry, fishing & hunting, & ag support* (9) (10) (10) 

National Average 23 24 24 

* Not reported in the NWBC Special Tabulations 
 

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Appendix D – NAICS Codes 

Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting 

The Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting sector comprises establishments primarily 

engaged in growing crops, raising animals, harvesting timber, and harvesting fish and other 

animals from a farm, ranch, or their natural habitats. 

Mining 

The Mining sector comprises establishments that extract naturally occurring mineral solids, 

such as coal and ores; liquid minerals, such as crude petroleum; and gases, such as natural 

gas. 

Utilities 

The Utilities sector comprises establishments engaged in the provision of the following 

utility services: electric power, natural gas, steam supply, water supply, and sewage removal. 

Construction 

The Construction sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in the construction of 

buildings or engineering projects (e.g., highways and utility systems). Establishments 

primarily engaged in the preparation of sites for new construction and establishments 

primarily engaged in subdividing land for sale as building sites also are included in this 

sector. 

Manufacturing 

The Manufacturing sector comprises establishments engaged in the mechanical, physical, or 

chemical transformation of materials, substances, or components into new products. The 

assembling of component parts of manufactured products is considered manufacturing, 

except in cases where the activity is appropriately classified in Sector 23, Construction. 

Wholesale Trade 

The Wholesale Trade sector comprises establishments engaged in wholesaling merchandise, 

generally without transformation, and rendering services incidental to the sale of 

merchandise. The merchandise described in this sector includes the outputs of agriculture, 

mining, manufacturing, and certain information industries, such as publishing. 
 

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Retail Trade 

The Retail Trade sector comprises establishments engaged in retailing merchandise, generally 

without transformation, and rendering services incidental to the sale of merchandise. 

Transportation and Warehousing 

The Transportation and Warehousing sector includes industries providing transportation of 

passengers and cargo, warehousing and storage for goods, scenic and sightseeing 

transportation, and support activities related to modes of transportation. Establishments in 

these industries use transportation equipment or transportation related facilities as a 

productive asset. The type of equipment depends on the mode of transportation. The modes 

of transportation are air, rail, water, road, and pipeline. 

Information 

The Information sector comprises establishments engaged in the following processes: (a) 

producing and distributing information and cultural products, (b) providing the means to 

transmit or distribute these products as well as data or communications, and (c) processing 

data. 

Finance and Insurance 

The Finance and Insurance sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in financial 

transactions (transactions involving the creation, liquidation, or change in ownership of 

financial assets) and/or in facilitating financial transactions. Three principal types of activities 

are identified: 

Real Estate and Rental and Leasing 

The Real Estate and Rental and Leasing sector comprises establishments primarily engaged 

in renting, leasing, or otherwise allowing the use of tangible or intangible assets, and 

establishments providing related services. The major portion of this sector comprises 

establishments that rent, lease, or otherwise allow the use of their own assets by others. The 

assets may be tangible, as is the case of real estate and equipment, or intangible, as is the case 

with patents and trademarks. 

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 

The Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services sector comprises establishments that 

specialize in performing professional, scientific, and technical activities for others. Activities 

performed include legal advice and representation; accounting, bookkeeping, and payroll 
 

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services; architectural, engineering, and specialized design services; computer services; 

consulting services; research services; advertising services; photographic services; translation 

and interpretation services; veterinary services; and other professional, scientific, and 

technical services. 

Management of Companies and Enterprises 

The Management of Companies and Enterprises sector comprises (1) establishments that 

hold the securities of (or other equity interests in) companies and enterprises for the purpose 

of owning a controlling interest or influencing management decisions or (2) establishments 

(except government establishments) that administer, oversee, and manage establishments of 

the company or enterprise and that normally undertake the strategic or organizational 

planning and decision-making role of the company or enterprise. 

Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services 

The Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services sector 

comprises establishments performing routine support activities for the day-to-day operations 

of other organizations. Activities performed include: office administration, hiring and 

placing of personnel, document preparation and similar clerical services, solicitation, 

collection, security and surveillance services, cleaning, and waste disposal services. 

Educational Services 

The Educational Services sector comprises establishments that provide instruction and 

training in a wide variety of subjects. This instruction and training is provided by specialized 

establishments, such as schools, colleges, universities, and training centers. These 

establishments may be privately owned and operated for profit or not for profit, or they may 

be publicly owned and operated. They may also offer food and accommodation services to 

their students. 

Health Care and Social Assistance 

The Health Care and Social Assistance sector comprises establishments providing health 

care and social assistance for individuals. The sector includes both health care and social 

assistance because it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between the boundaries of these 

two activities. 

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation 

The Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation sector includes a wide range of establishments that 

operate facilities or provide services to meet varied cultural, entertainment, and recreational 
 

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interests of their patrons. This sector comprises (1) establishments that are involved in 

producing, promoting, or participating in live performances, events, or exhibits intended for 

public viewing; (2) establishments that preserve and exhibit objects and sites of historical, 

cultural, or educational interest; and (3) establishments that operate facilities or provide 

services that enable patrons to participate in recreational activities or pursue amusement, 

hobby, and leisure-time interests. 

Accommodation and Food Services 

The Accommodation and Food Services sector comprises establishments providing 

customers with lodging and/or preparing meals, snacks, and beverages for immediate 

consumption. The sector includes both accommodation and food services establishments 

because the two activities are often combined at the same establishment. 

Other Services (except Public Administration) 

The Other Services (except Public Administration) sector comprises establishments engaged 

in providing services not specifically provided for elsewhere in the classification system. 

Establishments in this sector are primarily engaged in activities, such as equipment and 

machinery repairing, promoting or administering religious activities, grant making, advocacy, 

and providing dry cleaning and laundry services, personal care services, death care services, 

pet care services, photofinishing services, temporary parking services, and dating services.