How Many Small Businesses Are in Pennsylvania? 2026

Pennsylvania is home to 1.2 million small businesses in 2026, which make up 99.6% of all firms in the state and employ 2.5 million people. The numbers on this page trace the state’s business base, from the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh metros to its industry mix, filing fees, and tax rates.

How Many Small Businesses Does Pennsylvania Have?

Pennsylvania’s 1.2 million small businesses make up 99.6% of the state’s employers and supply roughly 45% of its private-sector jobs, as reported in the latest SBA state profile for Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania has 1.2 million small businesses, which is 99.6% of all businesses in the state.
Small businesses employ 2.5 million people in Pennsylvania, about 45.2% of the state’s workforce.
The state is home to 938,764 nonemployer businesses, solo ventures with no paid staff, which together took in $54.8 billion in receipts.
The small business count grew from about 1.1 million in the 2024 profile to 1.2 million, reflecting steady formation.

Pennsylvania Wages by Industry

Management is Pennsylvania’s best-paid field at over $160,000 a year; food service and hospitality sit near $25,000.

The state’s 5.3 million private-sector workers earned an average of $71,760 in 2024.
The highest-paying sectors are management of companies ($161,331) and professional, scientific and technical services ($123,490).
Manufacturing remains a major employer, paying $77,198 a year on average across 563,001 jobs.
The lowest-paying major sector is accommodation and food services, at $25,513 a year.
Private employment grew 0.8% between 2023 and 2024, led by health care.

Industries That Employ Pennsylvania

The state’s 375,291 private establishments employ about 5.3 million people. Health care is the largest employer, with retail trade and Pennsylvania’s manufacturing base close behind.

Health care and social assistance is the largest employer, with 1,114,823 jobs across 51,953 establishments.
Retail trade supports 589,435 jobs across 39,844 establishments.
Manufacturing remains a Pennsylvania mainstay, with 563,001 jobs across 14,584 establishments.
Professional, scientific and technical services spans 53,742 establishments and 391,142 jobs.
Accommodation and food services employs 464,668 workers, and transportation and warehousing adds 300,601 jobs.

Where Pennsylvania Added Jobs Fastest

One sector pulled ahead on hiring in 2024: health care, which added more jobs than any other part of the economy.

Health care and social assistance added 45,794 jobs between 2023 and 2024, a 4.3% gain and the fastest among major sectors.

Small Business Hubs: Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Montgomery County

Pennsylvania’s employers cluster in the southeast around Philadelphia and out west near Pittsburgh. The county counts below include every private establishment, small and large.

Allegheny County (Pittsburgh) leads with 35,481 establishments and 607,271 jobs.
Philadelphia County has 32,840 establishments and 609,807 jobs.
Montgomery County hosts 28,450 establishments and 470,410 jobs.

New Business Filings Across Pennsylvania

Startup activity in Pennsylvania has held above its pre-2020 pace, and 2025 brought the most applications of any recent year.

Pennsylvanians filed about 161,000 new business applications in 2025, up from roughly 128,000 in 2020.
Applications peaked near 159,000 in 2021, dipped to about 139,000 in 2022, and have stayed above 147,000 each year since 2023.

SBA Loans and Exports in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania’s smaller firms lean on federal loans and export sales to reach past the local market.

SBA Lending in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania’s small firms took on just over a billion dollars in SBA-backed loans during fiscal year 2024, based on SBA loan approval data.

SBA 7(a) loans totaled 2,452 loans for $931.8 million.
SBA 504 loans added 90 loans for $78.5 million, and the Microloan program provided 272 loans for $4.0 million.

Pennsylvania’s Export Businesses

Nearly nine in ten Pennsylvania exporters are small firms, though they bring in a smaller share of total export dollars.

13,338 small firms exported from Pennsylvania, 87.9% of all identified exporters.
Small businesses generated $15.0 billion in exports, 30.5% of the state’s identified-firm export value.

Who Runs Pennsylvania’s Businesses?

Pennsylvania is home to 214,407 employer firms, run by a mix of women, veterans, and minority owners.

Women own 42,550 Pennsylvania employer firms, the largest ownership group tracked.
Asian-owned employer firms number 18,294, followed by Black-owned (5,925) and Hispanic-owned (4,943).
Veteran-owned employer firms total 9,012, and American Indian or Alaska Native-owned firms add 493.
In all, 28,975 Pennsylvania employer firms are minority-owned.

Pennsylvania GDP and the Tourism Economy

Pennsylvania’s output tops a trillion dollars a year, a large home market for its small firms.

Pennsylvania’s GDP reached $1.06 trillion in 2025 in current dollars.
Adjusted for inflation, real GDP was $818.8 billion, up from 2024.
Nonemployer businesses alone generated $54.8 billion in receipts in 2022.

Tourism’s Role in Pennsylvania

Out-of-state visitors are steady customers for Pennsylvania’s hospitality sector, and the Pennsylvania Tourism Office reports the yearly totals.

Travelers spent $49.9 billion in Pennsylvania in 2024, part of a $83.9 billion total economic impact.
The state drew 201.6 million visitors and tourism supported 514,261 jobs.
Travel activity generated $5 billion in state and local tax revenue.

Pennsylvania Filing Fees and Business Taxes in 2026

Getting set up in Pennsylvania means a filing fee plus a new yearly report for LLCs. Our step-by-step guide to starting an LLC in Pennsylvania covers each step.

What It Costs to Register a Pennsylvania Business

The Department of State handles Pennsylvania business filings and their fees.

Filing a Certificate of Organization for a Pennsylvania LLC costs $125.
A new annual report fee of $7 applies to LLCs and corporations as of 2025, replacing the old decennial report.
Filing Articles of Incorporation for a corporation also costs $125. Every entity must appoint a Pennsylvania registered agent.

Pennsylvania Taxes and the Minimum Wage

Pennsylvania taxes personal income at a single flat rate and charges a 6% state sales tax, with Philadelphia and Allegheny County adding their own.

Pennsylvania’s flat individual income tax rate is 3.07%, unchanged since 2004.
The state sales tax rate is 6%, with Philadelphia adding 2% and Allegheny County adding 1%.
Pennsylvania’s minimum wage remains $7.25 per hour in 2026, matching the federal rate.

Common Questions About Small Business in Pennsylvania

These are the questions people most often ask when sizing up small business in Pennsylvania, each answered from current state and federal figures.