Small businesses employ around 50% of the US's workforce. In many cases, they serve markets that are ignored or underserved by larger businesses. The map above shows the percent of small businesses owned by women in each state.
No state surpasses 50%, meaning more men own small businesses than women in every single state. Interestingly, the Northeast has the lowest proportion of women owned businesses. In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, women make up less than 40% of small businesses owners, the lowest values in the US. The US national average is 43.1%.
In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the leading sector for small businesses is Professional, Scientific, and Technical services.
Wyoming's 48.1% leads the US, followed by Washington D.C's 47.1%.
In Wyoming, Real Estate, Rental, and Leasing is the largest sector for small businesses. According to the National Association of Realtors, 65% of its members are women. Since Real Estate is Wyoming's largest small business sector, this could partly explain why Wyoming has a higher proportion of woman owned businesses compared to the national average.
In D.C, Professional, Scientific, and Technical services leads. D.C. is home to many independent contractors that work with the US government, so this higher proportion of women owned businesses could be partly attributed to the government's various initiatives to give opportunities to woman-owned businesses.
What struck you about this visualization? Comment below!
Have a visualization you want to see? Comment below!