Who is the Entrepreneur? New Entrepreneurs in the United States, 1996-2021

Key insights from 2021:

• About 4 in 10 new entrepreneurs were women.
• About 1 in 10 new entrepreneurs were Black or African American, and around 1 in 14 were Asian. Nearly one quarter of new entrepreneurs were Hispanic or Latino, and more than half were white.
• More than 1 in 5 new entrepreneurs were between 55-64 years old.
• About 7 in 10 new entrepreneurs were native-born, and nearly 3 in 10 were foreign-born.

Key insights from the last 25 years:

• The share of women among new entrepreneurs has remained relatively consistent over time.
• The share of new entrepreneurs who are Hispanic or Latino more than doubled (10.0% to 24.2%), as did the share of new entrepreneurs who are Asian (from 3.4% to 7.3%). The share of new entrepreneurs who are Black or African American increased from 8.4 to 10.1%. The share of new entrepreneurs who were white declined from 77.1% to 54.5%.
• We have seen a notable shift toward more older new entrepreneurs. In 1996, 14.8% of entrepreneurs were 55-64 years old compared to 22.8% in 2021. At the same time, we have seen a decrease in the share of younger new entrepreneurs. In 1996, 34.3% of entrepreneurs were 20-34 years old compared to 26.2% in 2021.
• The share of new entrepreneurs who are foreign-born have more than doubled.