About the Biz2Credit Women-Owned Business Study
Biz2Credit’s 2024 Women-Owned Business Study is an annual review of the financial performance of women-owned small to midsized companies in the United States. Released on International Women's Day during Women's History Month, the study evaluates tens of thousands of applications from small to midsized businesses across the country for the entire preceding year (2023). Results from the study are a trusted source of insight into the performance of women-owned private companies over the past 12 months. The study is frequently cited in major publications covering finance and the American economy.
Executive Summary
The annual Biz2Credit Women-Owned Business Study found that revenues and expenses rose while earnings remained steady for women-owned businesses in 2023.
Average earnings (Annual Revenue - Operating Expenses) across all businesses decreased by 0.9% i.e., $129,097 in 2023 from $130,211 in 2022. Women-owned businesses' average earnings* remained unchanged ($87,953 in 2022 and $87,634 in 2023), while average earnings for men-owned businesses decreased by 3% (from $152,054 in 2022 to $147,522 in 2023).
Average annual revenue of women-owned companies increased by 15.5% from $391,582 in 2022 to $452,446 in 2023. However, compared to their male counterparts, women-owned companies trailed behind men-owned businesses which had a higher average annual revenue of $689,949 in 2023. The average annual revenue gap between women-owned and men-owned businesses was $237,503, a 34% difference.
Florida emerged as the leading state for financing applications among women-owned companies, with California and Texas following closely behind. Services (except Public Administration) maintained its position as the predominant industry category among women-owned businesses, a trend consistent with the findings from the previous year.
*Average earnings is calculated by annual revenue minus operating expenses.
**Average credit score is derived from the personal FICO credit score of business owners.
OVERALL GROWTH OF WOMEN BUSINESSES
According to the National Women's Business Council's (NWBC) 2023 Annual Report, women-owned firms are creating about half of new businesses for the third year in a row. The most recent statistics (2023) stated that 1.4 million of all enterprises with workers are owned and operated by women. The share of all women-owned employers increased from 9.8% in 2019 to 10.2% in 2023, a contrast from the decrease from 19.4% to 18.3% that men-owned employers saw.
Women-owned businesses had an estimated $2.1 trillion in receipts, 10.5 million employees, and $499.4 billion in annual payroll according to Census Bureau (Nov. 2023).
Source: Census Bureau, NWBC
Women-owned businesses performed very well in 2023 with significant increases in average annual revenue.
One major finding of the report this year is the narrowing of the revenue gap between male-owned and female-owned firms. With a 15.5% jump in the average revenue for a woman-owned business, the gap is slowly shrinking. However, women-owned firms still make about 66 cents for every one dollar that a male-owned firm brings in. 
Rohit Arora
CEO & Co-Founder Of Biz2credit
KEY FINDINGS: BUSINESS PERFORMANCE FOR WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS
Average annual revenue for women-owned businesses increased by 15.5%, from $391,582 in 2022 to $452,446 in 2023. But still showed a 34% gap as compared to men-owned.
Average earnings of women-owned businesses held steady from 2022 ($87,953) to 2023 ($87,643).
Average personal credit score for women-owned businesses increased by 11 points from 629 in 2022 to 640 in 2023.
The funding acceptance rate for women-owned businesses was at 35%, reflecting an 18% year-over-year increase in their average funding size, reaching $52,779.
Florida led in financing applications for women-owned businesses at 12.5%, surpassing Texas, the leader from last year.
Services (except Public Administration) remained the largest industry of financing applications since last year, representing nearly 18.4% of all women-owned businesses.
AVERAGE ANNUAL REVENUES: WOMEN-OWNED VS MEN-OWNED BUSINESSES
In 2023, women-owned businesses generated an average annual revenue of $452,446, an increase of 15.5%, from $391,582 in 2022.
Women-Owned companies trailed behind men-owned businesses which had a higher average annual revenue of $689,949 in 2023.
The average revenue gap in 2023, between women-owned and men-owned businesses was $237,503, a 34% difference.
AVERAGE EARNINGS: WOMEN-OWNED VS MEN-OWNED BUSINESSES
Women-owned businesses reported an average earning of $87,634 in 2023, which was 40.5% less than the average earning of men-owned businesses at $147,522.
Average earnings (Annual revenue - Operating expenses) of women-owned businesses remained stable year over year, whereas men-owned businesses experienced a 3% decrease.
Average operating expenses of women-owned businesses increased by 20%, from $303,629 in 2022 to $364,812 in 2023, similar to men-owned businesses which saw an increase of 12.0%.
AGE OF BUSINESS AND CREDIT SCORE*: WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES VS MEN-OWNED BUSINESSES
Women-owned businesses demonstrated growth year over year in both the Age of business and Average credit score, reflecting similar trends observed in men-owned businesses.
Average age of business (in months) for women-owned businesses increased 11 months YoY, and 10 months lower than men-owned businesses in 2023.
Average credit score* for women business owners slightly increased YoY, but 17 points lower than men business owners in 2023.
*Average credit score is derived from the personal FICO credit score of business owners.
FUNDING ACCEPTANCE RATE: WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES VS MEN-OWNED BUSINESSES
The funding acceptance rate* was higher for women-owned business applicants (35%) vs. men-owned business applicants (29%), indicating that women were more likely to take funding compared to men.
Average Funding Size for women-owned businesses was $52,779, vs. $74,544 for men-owned businesses in 2023.
Women-owned businesses showed a year-over-year growth of 18.4%, while men-owned businesses experienced a 16% increase in average funding size.
*Funding acceptance rate is the number of funded application divided by approved application
TOP 5 STATES FOR FINANCING APPLICATIONS
Florida had the highest rate (12.5%) of women-owned applicants in the nation, followed by California (11.7%), Texas (10.3%), Georgia (7.6%), and New York (5.3%) in 2023.
TOP 5 INDUSTRIES FOR FINANCING APPLICATIONS
Services (except Public Administration) is the largest industry category represented by women-owned companies (18.4%) in the Biz2Credit study. The industries that followed were Retail Trade (14.0%) Healthcare and Social Assistance (11.9%), Accommodation and Food Services (10.3%) and Professional, Scientific, and Technical Service (7.9%).
Industry Category Source: 2022 NAICS Manual https://www.census.gov/naics/
WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES VS. MEN-OWNED BUSINESSES (YEAR-OVER-YEAR COMPARISONS)
On average, both women-owned and men-owned businesses experienced year-over-year growth across categories including annual revenue, personal credit score, and funding size. However, while average earnings remained constant for women-owned businesses, there was a slight decrease observed in men-owned businesses.
| Key Categories | Women YoY Difference | Men YoY Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Average Annual Revenue | +15% | +8% |
| Average Operating Expenses | +20% | +12% |
| Average Earnings | 0% | -3% |
| Average Age of Business (in Months) | +11 | +12 |
| Average Personal Credit Score (in points) | +11 | +10 |
| Average Funding Size | +18% | +16% |
We must examine this and all the data we can find in order to shed a light on the true barriers for women to access capital.
Navigating the places where economics and society meet is a journey of discovery with the responsibility to act upon our findings in order to grow our economy for all.
Corinne Goble, CEO of AWBC
(Association of Women's Business Centers)
About Biz2Credit
About Biz2Credit Founded in 2007, Biz2Credit has arranged more than $8 billion in small business financing and has several times been named to Crain's New York's Fast 50 and was ranked among the fast-growing companies on Deloitte's 2023 Technology Fast 500. Biz2Credit is expanding its industry-leading technology in custom digital platform solutions for leading banks and other financial institutions, investors and service providers in the U.S.
