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Eddie Salyers
Valerie Strang
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WP Version
New York, California, Texas Lead States, Census Bureau Reports
African American-owned businesses in the United States totaled 823,500, employed 718,300 people and generated $71.2 billion in revenues in 1997, according to a report released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau.
Businesses owned by African Americans made up 4 percent of the 20.8 million nonfarm businesses in the nation and 0.4 percent of the $18.6 trillion in receipts for all businesses.
The vast majority of African American-owned firms, 90 percent or 737,100, were sole proprietorships -- unincorporated businesses owned by individuals. C corporations (all legally incorporated businesses except for Subchapter S corporations, whose shareholders elect to be taxed as individuals rather than as corporations) numbered 42,700. But C corporations ranked first in receipts among all African American-owned firms, reporting $28.5 billion. The 1997 Survey of Minority-Owned Business Enterprises was the first to include C corporations, from which the current tabulations are derived.
Four states, New York (86,500), California (79,100), Texas (60,400) and Florida (59,700) accounted for 35 percent of the firms owned by African Americans. Three out of 10 African Americans reside in these four states.
| States With Largest Number of African American-Owned Firms: 1997 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Geographic Area | African American-owned firms (number) |
Percent of total African American-owned firms in U.S. |
| U.S. Total | 823,500 | |
| New York | 86,500 | 10.5 |
| California | 79,100 | 9.6 |
| Texas | 60,400 | 7.3 |
| Florida | 59,700 | 7.2 |
| Georgia | 55,800 | 6.8 |
| Maryland | 47,600 | 5.8 |
| Illinois | 41,200 | 5.0 |
| North Carolina | 39,900 | 4.8 |
| Virginia | 33,500 | 4.1 |
| Ohio | 27,000 | 3.3 |
While New York had the largest number of African American-owned businesses, the District of Columbia had the highest percentage, with 24 percent of its firms being African American-owned but only 2.5 percent of its overall business receipts coming from African American-owned firms.
Maryland ranked second, with 12 percent of the state's firms owned by African Americans. They accounted for 1.4 percent of Maryland's receipts. Mississippi was third, with 11 percent of its firms African American-owned and 0.7 percent of its receipts from African American-owned firms; and Georgia was fourth, with 10 percent of its firms owned by African Americans and 0.7 percent of its receipts generated by African American businesses.
| States With the Largest Percentage of African American-Owned Firms: 1997 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| State | African American-owned firms | All firms | African American-owned firms as a percent of all firms |
| U.S. Total | 823,500 | 20,821,900 | 4.0 |
| District of Columbia | 10,900 | 45,300 | 24.1 |
| Maryland | 47,600 | 400,200 | 11.9 |
| Mississippi | 17,600 | 167,900 | 10.5 |
| Georgia | 55,800 | 568,600 | 9.8 |
| South Carolina | 23,200 | 260,300 | 8.9 |
| Louisiana | 25,800 | 295,700 | 8.7 |
| Virginia | 33,500 | 480,100 | 7.0 |
| North Carolina | 39,900 | 570,500 | 7.0 |
| Alabama | 19,100 | 285,200 | 6.7 |
| New York | 86,500 | 1,509,800 | 5.7 |
About one-half (49 percent), or 403,800, of African American-owned businesses had receipts of under $10,000; 23 percent, or 188,800, had receipts of between $10,000 and $25,000; and about 1 percent, or 8,700, had sales of $1 million or more. African American-owned firms averaged $86,500 in receipts compared with $410,600 for all U.S. firms (excluding publicly held corporations and firms whose owners' race or ethnicity were indeterminate, e.g., mutual companies whose ownership is shared by its members).
The survey data also show that 11 percent, or 93,200, of African American-owned firms had paid employees. These accounted for 79 percent ($56.4 billion) of the gross receipts of African American-owned businesses. There were 900 firms with 100 or more employees and total receipts of $12.3 billion.
More than half of African American-owned firms were in the service industry and accounted for 36 percent of the gross receipts of African American-owned businesses. Retail trade firms, on the other hand, accounted for 11 percent of total African American-owned firms but 19 percent of their gross receipts.
The number of African American-owned firms, excluding C corporations for which prior comparable data are not available, increased 26 percent from 1992 to 1997, compared with a 7 percent increase in this category for all U.S. firms.
Receipts of African American-owned firms rose 33 percent, from $32 billion in 1992 to $43 billion in 1997, compared with a 40 percent increase for all U.S. firms over the same period.
The data in the report were collected as part of the 1997 Economic Census from a large sample of nonfarm businesses filing tax forms as sole proprietorships, partnerships or any type of corporation with receipts of $1,000 or more in 1997.
The report, 1997 Survey of Minority-Owned Business Enterprises: Black, presents data for African American-owned businesses by size, type of business and geographic areas (states, counties, metropolitan areas and places).
The data were collected in a sample survey and are subject to sampling variability, as well as nonsampling errors. Sources of nonsampling error include errors of response, nonreporting and coverage. Further details concerning survey design, methodology and data limitation are contained in the full report. Comparisons to 1992 should be conducted with extreme caution due to changes in tax laws that result in inconsistencies between 1992 and 1997 data. Changes in survey methodology also may contribute to differences.
| Percentage of Total Black-Owned Firms by State
Compared With Percentage of Black-Owned Firms to All Businesses by State: 1997 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geographic area | African American- owned firms |
Percent of total African American-owned firms in U.S. | All firms | African American- owned firms as a percent of all firms |
| U.S. Total | 823,500 | 20,821,900 | 4.0 | |
| Alabama | 19,100 | 2.3 | 285,200 | 6.7 |
| Alaska | 900 | 0.1 | 64,100 | 1.4 |
| Arizona | 3,600 | 0.4 | 329,000 | 1.1 |
| Arkansas | 6,700 | 0.8 | 193,400 | 3.5 |
| California | 79,100 | 9.6 | 2,565,700 | 3.1 |
| Colorado | 4,900 | 0.6 | 410,200 | 1.2 |
| Connecticut | 7,300 | 0.9 | 284,000 | 2.6 |
| Delaware | 2,700 | 0.3 | 56,600 | 4.8 |
| District of Columbia | 10,900 | 1.3 | 45,300 | 24.1 |
| Florida | 59,700 | 7.2 | 1,301,900 | 4.6 |
| Georgia | 55,800 | 6.8 | 568,600 | 9.8 |
| Hawaii | 600 | 0.1 | 94,000 | 0.6 |
| Idaho | 200 | 0.0 | 109,800 | 0.2 |
| Illinois | 41,200 | 5.0 | 882,100 | 4.7 |
| Indiana | 11,100 | 1.3 | 413,400 | 2.7 |
| Iowa | 1,400 | 0.2 | 227,600 | 0.6 |
| Kansas | 3,400 | 0.4 | 213,400 | 1.6 |
| Kentucky | 5,600 | 0.7 | 281,600 | 2.0 |
| Louisiana | 25,800 | 3.1 | 295,700 | 8.7 |
| Maine | 300 | 0.0 | 127,500 | 0.2 |
| Maryland | 47,600 | 5.8 | 400,200 | 11.9 |
| Massachusetts | 11,800 | 1.4 | 537,200 | 2.2 |
| Michigan | 25,000 | 3.0 | 677,500 | 3.7 |
| Minnesota | 4,000 | 0.5 | 410,600 | 1.0 |
| Mississippi | 17,600 | 2.1 | 167,900 | 10.5 |
| Missouri | 13,700 | 1.7 | 411,400 | 3.3 |
| Montana | 100 | 0.0 | 93,700 | 0.1 |
| Nebraska | 1,600 | 0.2 | 138,800 | 1.2 |
| Nevada | 2,800 | 0.3 | 129,800 | 2.2 |
| New Hampshire | 300 | 0.0 | 115,700 | 0.3 |
| New Jersey | 26,500 | 3.2 | 654,200 | 4.1 |
| New Mexico | 1,100 | 0.1 | 131,700 | 0.8 |
| New York | 86,500 | 10.5 | 1,509,800 | 5.7 |
| North Carolina | 39,900 | 4.8 | 570,500 | 7.0 |
| North Dakota | 100 | 0.0 | 55,300 | 0.2 |
| Ohio | 27,000 | 3.3 | 781,300 | 3.5 |
| Oklahoma | 5,300 | 0.6 | 280,700 | 1.9 |
| Oregon | 2,200 | 0.3 | 291,600 | 0.8 |
| Pennsylvania | 19,800 | 2.4 | 837,800 | 2.4 |
| Rhode Island | 1,300 | 0.2 | 80,900 | 1.6 |
| South Carolina | 23,200 | 2.8 | 260,300 | 8.9 |
| South Dakota | 200 | 0.0 | 65,800 | 0.3 |
| Tennessee | 20,200 | 2.5 | 415,900 | 4.9 |
| Texas | 60,400 | 7.3 | 1,526,000 | 4.0 |
| Utah | 400 | 0.0 | 169,200 | 0.2 |
| Vermont | 200 | 0.0 | 67,500 | 0.3 |
| Virginia | 33,500 | 4.1 | 480,100 | 7.0 |
| Washington | 5,600 | 0.7 | 447,400 | 1.3 |
| West Virginia | 1,100 | 0.1 | 111,700 | 1.0 |
| Wisconsin | 4,800 | 0.6 | 366,400 | 1.3 |
| Wyoming | 200 | 0.0 | 49,400 | 0.4 |
Note: Detail may not add to the total because a firm may be counted in more than one state.
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