Number of Women-Owned Firms is Growing
There were 120,457 women-owned
firms in Missouri in 2002, up from 103,626 in 1997, according to
recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2002 Survey of
Business Owners. This was a 16.2 percent increase in the number of
women-owned firms in the state. These firms accounted for more than
$19 billion in sales and receipts in 2002.
In the U.S., there were 6.5
million women-owned firms in 2002, up 19.9 percent from 1997. Sales
and receipts from women-owned firms totaled $950.6 billion in 2002.
Women-owned firms made up 28.3 percent of all firms and 4.2 percent
of all sales and receipts in the U.S.
States with the largest number of women-owned businesses were California (871,617), New York (505,183), Texas (469,049), Florida (437,494), and Illinois (285,072). In addition, California also had the largest gross sales from women-owned firms. Missouri ranked 18th among the states in the total number of women-owned firms.
Twenty-two states, including Missouri, had more than 100,000 businesses owned by women. Eight states had more than 200,000 women-owned firms in 2002.
States with the highest percentage of women-owned businesses, as a percent of all firms, were spread throughout the United States. States with the largest percentage of women-owned businesses were the District of Columbia (33.2 percent), Maryland (31.0 percent), New Mexico (30.9 percent), Hawaii (30.1 percent) and California (30.0 percent). In Missouri, women owned 27.4 percent of all firms in 2002, up from 25.2 percent of all firms in 1997.
