ENSMALL BUSINESS & MARKET ANALYSIS · SEPTEMBER 30, 2026
Census Releases New Data on Businesses Without Paid Employees
The Census Bureau released 2024 Nonemployer Statistics covering businesses with no paid employees, including establishment counts and receipts by industry, geography, legal form, and receipts-size class.
What Census released on September 29
Source publication date: September 29, 2026. The U.S. Census Bureau released its 2024 Nonemployer Statistics. The program covers businesses with no paid employees that are subject to federal income tax and have at least $1,000 in receipts, or at least $1 in the construction sector. Census said most U.S. business establishments are nonemployers and that most of those businesses are self-employed individuals operating unincorporated businesses.
- 01No paid employees
- 02Industry and geography detail
- 03Receipts are not cash flow
The data support detailed market analysis
The release provides establishment counts and total receipts across 18 NAICS sectors and multiple geographies, including states, metropolitan and micropolitan areas, combined statistical areas, and counties. National and state information is available by legal form of organization, and national data include receipts-size classes. The data are based on business income-tax records provided by the IRS and extend the downloadable annual series through 2024.
What the statistics can and cannot show
Nonemployer data can help owners and investors compare market scale, industry concentration, geographic activity, and broad receipts patterns. The dataset does not show whether a particular business is profitable, liquid, current on obligations, well capitalized, or able to support proposed debt. Gross receipts can differ materially from net income and cash available for debt service after cost of goods, operating expenses, owner needs, taxes, and capital spending.
Practical borrower takeaway
Prepare filed returns, year-to-date profit and loss, balance sheet, bank statements, receivables when applicable, business debt, personal financial information, and a clear use of funds. Reconcile receipts reported to Census-style market data with the company’s actual deposits and explain seasonality or one-time items. Build repayment capacity from documented net cash flow and liquidity rather than industry counts or gross receipts alone.
Self-employed owners should not infer loan capacity from market counts alone; they should convert tax-reported receipts into a documented cash-flow, expense, liquidity, and repayment case supported by current business records.
Discuss a financing need →This independent summary is based on the cited source and is provided for general educational purposes only. Terms and program requirements may change.