But everyone knows running a business is difficult, and now there’s some new data to validate the sentiment.
This chart tracks the survival rate of all private American companies born in 2013, categorized by industry. Figures for this chart are rounded and sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), published 2024.
How Hard is it to Run a Business in America?
Unsurprisingly survival rates for new businesses depend on the industry they’re operating in.
From the data, Agriculture and Forestry businesses born in 2013 were the most resilient over the last decade. More than half were still in operation by 2023.
| Industry | 2013 | 2014 | 2021 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Agriculture & Forestry |
100% | 88% | 57% | 51% |
 Utilities |
100% | 81% | 48% | 46% |
 Manufacturing |
100% | 83% | 47% | 44% |
 Real estate |
100% | 84% | 48% | 42% |
 Retail trade |
100% | 84% | 47% | 42% |
 Construction |
100% | 76% | 45% | 40% |
 Education |
100% | 82% | 43% | 39% |
 Hospitality |
100% | 83% | 43% | 38% |
 Finance |
100% | 81% | 43% | 38% |
 Health |
100% | 83% | 44% | 36% |
 Entertainment |
100% | 81% | 39% | 35% |
 Transportation |
100% | 79% | 39% | 34% |
 Legal & Accounting |
100% | 77% | 36% | 31% |
 Technology |
100% | 75% | 34% | 29% |
 Mining, Oil & Gas |
100% | 79% | 28% | 25% |
Note: Only select years shown and industry labels lightly modified, both for readability.
In stark contrast, only one-fourth of Mining, Oil & Gas firms survived in the same time period.
Interestingly both industries are some of the largest subsidy receivers from the government. Estimates put federal agricultural support at $30 billion annually—heavily subsidizing five major crops: corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, and rice.
Meanwhile, the American energy sector receives about $20 billion a year, 80% of which goes to oil and gas.
It is possible that differences in ownership structure and business size are contributing to wildly different survival rates. For example, 97% of all U.S. farms are still family-owned and 88% of them are “small farms” which may need less capital investment than an oil & gas business.
One trend that is industry-agnostic is that the first year proved the most brutal for all businesses formed in 2013, with a 20 percentage point decline in survivors. As time passed, the declines continued at a slower rate.
Finally, the BLS found that for all private businesses incorporated in 2013, just over one-third (34.7%) were still functioning in 2023.
Credit: Visual Capitalist
