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Asian-owned businesses undoubtedly have a critical role to play in New York City's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, a data analysis by the Center for an Urban Future finds that Asian-owned businesses now account for nearly a quarter of all businesses in the city—a far greater share than their share of the city’s population—and drove a disproportionate share of the overall growth in businesses citywide.
The analysis finds that prior to the pandemic there were more than 47,000 Asian-owned firms across the five boroughs, 23 percent of all businesses citywide. And during the previous five years, the number of Asian-owned firms in the city increased by 14.3 percent—nearly double the increase among white-owned businesses (8.6 percent) and all minority-owned businesses (7.4 percent).
The report uses data from U.S. Census 2017 Annual Business Survey, the most recent data available on small business ownership by race and ethnicity.
Key findings include:
| Table 5: Counties in the U.S. with the Most Asian-owned Businesses by Growth in Number of Asian-owned Businesses, 2012-2017 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 Rank | 2017 Rank | County | State | # of Asian-owned firms in 2012 | # of Asian-owned firms in 2017 | % Growth in Asian-owned Firms | # Growth in Asian-owned firms |
| #1 | #1 | Los Angeles | CA | 50,069 | 55,036 | 9.9% | 4,967 |
| #3 | #2 | Orange | CA | 15,110 | 18,961 | 25.5% | 3,851 |
| #2 | #3 | New York | NY | 15,139 | 15,873 | 4.8% | 734 |
| #4 | #4 | Queens | NY | 13,111 | 15,776 | 20.3% | 2,665 |
| #6 | #5 | Santa Clara | CA | 11,518 | 13,095 | 13.7% | 1,577 |
| #5 | #6 | Harris | TX | 11,856 | 12,808 | 8.0% | 952 |
| #7 | #7 | Cook | IL | 10,835 | 11,540 | 6.5% | 705 |
| #9 | #8 | Kings | NY | 9,203 | 11,323 | 23.0% | 2,120 |
| #8 | #9 | Alameda | CA | 9,542 | 10,544 | 10.5% | 1,002 |
| #10 | #10 | Honolulu | HI | 9,086 | 8,705 | -4.2% | -381 |
| #11 | #11 | San Diego | CA | 7,570 | 8,391 | 10.8% | 821 |
| #12 | #12 | King | WA | 7,447 | 8,265 | 11.0% | 818 |
| #14 | #13 | Dallas | TX | 5,938 | 7,445 | 25.4% | 1,507 |
| #13 | #14 | San Francisco | CA | 6,444 | 7,242 | 12.4% | 798 |
| #17 | #15 | Fairfax | VA | 5,051 | 6,053 | 19.8% | 1,002 |
| #31 | #38 | Bronx | NY | 2,864 | 3,031 | 5.8% | 167 |
| #95 | #86 | Richmond | NY | 963 | 1,211 | 25.8% | 248 |
Source: Economic Census, 2012 Survey of Business Owners and 2017 Annual Business Survey, U.S. Census Bureau
| Table 8: Share and Number of Employer Businesses in Queens by Race/Ethnicity, 2012 & 2017 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race / Ethnicity | # of firms in 2012 | Share of total firms in 2012 | # of firms in 2017 | Share of total firms in 2017 | # Growth | % Growth |
| Hispanic | 3,782 | 9.3% | 3,476 | 7.7% | -306 | -8.1 |
| Black or African American | 1,136 | 2.8% | 1,633 | 3.6% | 497 | 43.8 |
| Asian | 13,111 | 32.3% | 15,776 | 35.1% | 2,665 | 20.3 |
| Minority | 18,154 | 44.7% | 20,423 | 45.4% | 2,269 | 12.5 |
| White | 22,610 | 55.6% | 23,899 | 53.2% | 1,289 | 5.7 |
Source: Economic Census, 2012 Survey of Business Owners and 2017 Annual Business Survey, U.S. Census Bureau
| Table 9: Share and Number of Employer Businesses in Brooklyn by Race/Ethnicity, 2012 & 2017 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race / Ethnicity | # of firms in 2012 | Share of total firms in 2012 | # of firms in 2017 | Share of total firms in 2017 | # Growth | % Growth |
| Hispanic | 2,689 | 5.8% | 2,813 | 5.3% | 124 | 4.6 |
| Black or African American | 2,097 | 4.5% | 2,445 | 4.6% | 348 | 16.6 |
| Asian | 9,203 | 20.0% | 11,323 | 21.4% | 2,120 | 23.0 |
| Minority | 13,981 | 30.3% | 16,025 | 30.2% | 2,044 | 14.6 |
| White | 30,937 | 67.1% | 36,545 | 69.0% | 5,608 | 18.1 |
Source: Economic Census, 2012 Survey of Business Owners and 2017 Annual Business Survey, U.S. Census Bureau
| Table 10: Share and Number of Employer Businesses in the Bronx by Race/Ethnicity, 2012 & 2017 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race / Ethnicity | # of firms in 2012 | Share of total firms in 2012 | # of firms in 2017 | Share of total firms in 2017 | # Growth | % Growth |
| Hispanic | 2,933 | 19.6% | 2,259 | 14.4% | -674 | -23.0 |
| Black or African American | 847 | 5.7% | 1,124 | 7.2% | 277 | 32.7 |
| Asian | 2,864 | 19.1% | 3,031 | 19.4% | 167 | 5.8 |
| Minority | 6,505 | 43.5% | 5,889 | 37.7% | -616 | -9.5 |
| White | 8,630 | 57.7% | 10,435 | 66.7% | 1,805 | 20.9 |
Source: Economic Census, 2012 Survey of Business Owners and 2017 Annual Business Survey, U.S. Census Bureau
| Table 11: Share and Number of Employer Businesses in Staten Island by Race/Ethnicity, 2012 & 2017 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race / Ethnicity | # of firms in 2012 | Share of total firms in 2012 | # of firms in 2017 | Share of total firms in 2017 | # Growth | % Growth |
| Asian | 963 | 12.3% | 1,211 | 14.8% | 248 | 25.8 |
| Minority | 1,571 | 20.0% | 1,684 | 20.6% | 113 | 7.2 |
| White | 5,988 | 76.3% | 6,291 | 76.8% | 303 | 5.1 |
| Hispanic | 399 | 5.1% | N/A* | N/A* | N/A* | N/A* |
| Black | 407 | 5.2% | N/A* | N/A* | N/A* | N/A* |
Source: Economic Census, 2012 Survey of Business Owners and 2017 Annual Business Survey, U.S. Census Bureau
| Table 7: Share and Number of Employer Businesses in Manhattan by Race/Ethnicity, 2012 & 2017 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race / Ethnicity | # of firms in 2012 | Share of total firms in 2012 | # of firms in 2017 | Share of total firms in 2017 | # Growth | % Growth |
| Hispanic | 3,592 | 4.1% | 3349 | 3.9% | -243 | -6.8 |
| Black or African American | 1,255 | 1.4% | 1,824 | 2.1% | 569 | 45.3 |
| Asian | 15,139 | 17.4% | 15,873 | 18.4% | 734 | 4.8 |
| Minority | 19,927 | 22.9% | 20,596 | 23.9% | 669 | 3.4 |
| White | 59,414 | 68.4% | 59,831 | 69.3% | 417 | 0.7 |
Source: Economic Census, 2012 Survey of Business Owners and 2017 Annual Business Survey, U.S. Census Bureau
Notes
1. This report analyzes data from the U.S. Census 2017 Annual Business Survey, released in May 2020. We compare this data to the U.S. Census 2012 Survey of Business Owners, which was the most recent prior survey. The data only samples firms with employees.
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