Women-Owned Business Statistics (2026)

Reliable numbers on women-owned businesses come from two distinct universes: U.S. government surveys (the Census Bureau and the SBA) and private-sector estimates. The figures below lead with government data and are clearly source-tagged so you can cite them with confidence.

How many women-owned businesses are there in the United States?

As of the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data (reference year 2023, released November 20, 2025), women owned 14.2 million of all U.S. businesses, generating $2.8 trillion in receipts. That total spans both employer firms (with paid staff) and nonemployer firms (solo/self-employed).

• 1.4 million women-owned employer firms — 22.9% of all U.S. employer businesses (Census, RY2023).
• 12.9 million women-owned nonemployer firms — 42.3% of all nonemployer businesses, with $423.1 billion in receipts (Census, RY2023).
• Women own a far larger share of the solo/self-employed segment (42.3%) than of the employer segment (22.9%).

Are the number of women-owned businesses growing over time?

Yes. The Census Bureau's Annual Business Survey shows women-owned employer firms rose from roughly 1.13 million in 2017 to about 1.36 million in 2023 — an increase of about 20% over that period. Year over year, the women-owned employer share ticked up from 22.3% (reference year 2022) to 22.9% (reference year 2023).

What is the federal government's contracting goal for women-owned businesses?

By law (15 U.S.C. 644(g)), the federal government aims to award at least 5% of all federal prime and subcontract dollars to women-owned small businesses each year. This is a government-wide goal, not a per-contract requirement.

The most recently reported achievement was fiscal year 2023, when women-owned small businesses received $30.9 billion — equal to 4.91% of eligible contract dollars. That was the highest dollar figure on record for WOSBs, but it fell just short of the 5% statutory goal. (The 5% goal has been met only twice historically, in FY2015 and FY2019.)

What is the difference between a WOSB and an EDWOSB?

Both certifications run through the SBA's Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program, governed by 13 CFR Part 127.

• WOSB — a small business at least 51% unconditionally and directly owned and controlled by one or more women who are U.S. citizens, with women managing day-to-day operations.
• EDWOSB — everything a WOSB requires, plus an economic-disadvantage test on the owner(s): personal net worth under $850,000, three-year average adjusted gross income of $400,000 or less, and personal assets of $6.5 million or less (each with specific exclusions). Every EDWOSB is, by definition, also a WOSB.

Self-certification ended October 15, 2020. To compete for WOSB set-aside or sole-source contracts, a firm must now be formally certified — free — through the SBA's MySBA Certifications portal, or through an SBA-approved third-party certifier such as WBENC.

What does this directory's certified-vendor data show?

Womyn Owned tracks 5,581 SBA-certified WOSB/EDWOSB B2B vendors, sourced from the U.S. SBA Small Business Search and federal award data on USAspending.gov. Within that set:

• 1,831 hold the EDWOSB designation (the economically-disadvantaged tier).
• 945 have federal contract activity, totaling roughly $2.83 billion in obligations.
• Coverage spans all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, across about 18 industry categories.

Which states have the most certified women-owned vendors?

By certified-vendor count in our directory, the leading states are:

1. Virginia — 520 vendors
2. California — 494 vendors
3. Texas — 489 vendors
4. Florida — 472 vendors
5. Georgia — 400 vendors
6. Maryland — 357 vendors

Virginia's lead reflects its proximity to the federal procurement market — a pattern consistent with where WOSB set-aside opportunities concentrate. You can filter the full directory by state or by certification type.

Where do these statistics come from?

National counts and receipts come from the U.S. Census Bureau's Annual Business Survey and Nonemployer Statistics by Demographics. Program rules and the 5% goal come from the SBA and 13 CFR Part 127. Directory-specific counts are derived from the public SBA Small Business Search and USAspending.gov. Figures are accurate as of the dates of the underlying releases; verify the live SBA scorecard and Census tables before citing the most current fiscal-year numbers.