California’s businesses create millions of jobs.

• In 2024, California had over 1.8 million private-sector businesses, accounting for 85% (15.5 million) of the state’s jobs and generating 90% of the state’s GDP. The public sector comprised 37,200 employers and accounted for the remaining 15% of jobs (2.6 million).
• The number of private-sector businesses in California with paid employees has grown by 52% since 2005, while the number of public employers has increased by 21%.
• Half of California’s private-sector jobs are in five sectors: health care and social assistance, accommodation and food service, retail trade, professional and technical services, and manufacturing.
• Over 3 million California businesses in 2023 were sole proprietorships—businesses with no employees that are the proprietor’s main economic activity or a supplement to a primary job.

Most California businesses are small, and most Californians are employed by small businesses.

• Over 90% of private business establishments (or physical sites) employ fewer than 20 employees while 6% have 20 to 99 employees. These smaller establishments with fewer than 100 employees account for about six in ten jobs across the state. This mix of business size has held steady for the past two decades.
• Although only 0.1% of California’s businesses employ 500 or more workers, these large establishments account for 19%—or 2.8 million—of the state’s private-sector jobs.
• When multiple business locations owned by the same firm are combined, those with 500 or more employees make up 38% of private-sector jobs. In other words, about 2,900 large firms account for 6 million jobs in California.
• Large business establishments in California tend to be concentrated in five sectors: health care and social assistance, manufacturing, administrative support and waste management, transportation and warehousing, and professional and technical services.

Most jobs are in established businesses—but new businesses contribute heavily to job growth.

• About three-quarters of jobs in California are in well-established firms that have operated for over a decade. Only one in ten jobs are in new firms that are three years old or younger.
• Well-established businesses are responsible for most California jobs, but job growth is stronger among new businesses. In 2023, new firms created 280,000 more jobs than well-established firms.
• Some industries have higher shares of jobs (about 15%) in new firms, such as health care and social assistance, accommodation and food services, and agriculture, forestry, and fishing.

Business ownership does not mirror the demographic makeup of California workers.

• Women are underrepresented as business owners in California. In 2023, most California firms were male owned (62%). The rest were female owned (25%) or jointly owned by men and women (13%). By comparison, men make up 54% and women comprise 46% of the state’s workforce.
• Women are slightly more likely to own small businesses (92% of women-owned firms have fewer than 20 employees; 90% for men). Men own almost nine times as many firms with 500-plus employees.
• Latino and Black Californians are also underrepresented: about 15% of firms are owned by Latinos and 2% are Black owned. These groups comprise 40% and 5% of the state’s workforce, respectively. Conversely, Asian and white Californians are overrepresented. Although comprising 17% and 33% of the workforce, 24% of firms are owned by Asian Californians and 58% are owned by white Californians.
• Some industries have relatively large shares of minority-owned businesses: about 43% of firms in accommodation and food services are Asian owned, 26% of transportation and warehousing firms are Latino owned, and 8% of arts, entertainment, and recreation firms are Black owned.
• About 26% of California businesses were family owned in 2023. In some California metro areas, rates of family-owned businesses are even higher: more than 40% of businesses in Napa, Stockton-Lodi, and Visalia metro areas are family owned.