As per the U.S. Small Business Administration a small business is defined as one with fewer than 500 employees. To learn more about the trends related to the number of small businesses in Santa Barbara County, we’ve analyzed all of the most essential data reported by relevant surveys across various departments at the U.S. Census Bureau.
How many small businesses are there in Santa Barbara County, CA?
Our research yielded several striking findings related to the number of small businesses in Santa Barbara County, CA:
- According to the 2022 Small Business profile from the Office of Advocacy, U.S. SBA and Statistics of US Businesses, the number of small businesses totaled 47,138 in Santa Barbara County, CA.
- The small businesses make up nearly all (99.96 percent) businesses in Santa Barbara County, CA.
- Most of Santa Barbara County’s small businesses are very small as 96.55 percent of all businesses did not have employees or have fewer than 20 employees.
- As per the Non employer statistics, self-employment in Santa Barbara County, CA increased by 11.13% over the last 8 years. .
- Between 2021 and 2022, the number of small businesses in Santa Barbara County, CA increased by 123 ( 0.26% ). Overall the number of small businesses marked a a growth of 4,160 ( 9.68% ) between 2014 and 2022.
As of Sep 2022, there were 35,300 small businesses with no employees in Santa Barbara County, CA. Compared to 2014, that is an increase of 3,536 ( 11.13% ) in the number of self employed population in the county.
Most recently, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of small businesses with no employees increased by 28 from being 35,272 in 2021.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, across the United States, we witnessed an ongoing economic trend of the rise of gig economy and the beginning of the great resignation. The biggest impact was found in the economic activity related to the small businesses with no employees.
Its impact in Santa Barbara County, CA is clearly reflected in the below chart, displaying number of small businesses with no employees between 2016 and 2022 (Exhibit 2).
Between 2014 and 2022, the number of small businesses with less than 20 employees increased by 454 ( 4.64% ). In 2014 the number of businesses were 9,778, which increased to 10,232 in 2022.
Overall most of the small businesses in Santa Barbara County, CA are very small, and have less then 20 employees. These micro businesses account for nearly 86.28% of the total businesses with employees in the county.
The trend in the number of small businesses with less than 20 employees is visible in the below chart ( Exhibit 3).
Of the 3,195 counties reviewed across the United States, the small businesses with 20 - 99 employees was found to be resilient set with respect to the impact of the pandemic.
In Santa Barbara County, CA the number of small businesses with 20 - 99 employees increased from being 1,282 in 2014 to 1,421 in 2022. In percentage terms the change is an increase of approximately 10.84%.
We have charted the number of small businesses with 20 - 99 employees since 2016 ( Exhibit 4):
As per the U.S. Small Business Administration, the businesses with 100 - 499 employees are the largest businesses eligible to be classified under the category of being called as a small business. In Santa Barbara County, CA the number of such businesses changed from 154 in 2014 to 185 in 2022.
An increase in the number of these businesses is a good economic indicator for a county. With an increase of 31 such businesses between 2014 and 2022 shows that this is a great county for business growth.
Full set of data related to the number of small businesses with 100 - 499 employees is shown in the below chart ( Exhibit 5):
Data used for the report on number of small business in the Santa Barbara County, CA was sourced from the following programs, surveys and reports within the US Census Bureau:
1) Annual small business profile published by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy.
2) Nonemployer Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau
3) County Business Patterns, U.S. Census Bureau
4) Statistics of US Businesses, U.S. Census Bureau