Women Entrepreneur Growth: Data, Trends, and What the Numbers Show
Women-owned businesses are growing at roughly twice the rate of all U.S. businesses. Explore the latest data on women entrepreneur trends, top cities and states, and what's driving the growth.
Bizee Editorial Staff
Editorial Team
Introduction
Women entrepreneurs are one of the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. economy. Bizee's own formation data — covering more than 330,000 entrepreneurs from January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2021 — showed women-led business formation growing 48% year-over-year, outpacing male counterparts by 22 percentage points. Broader research confirms the trend is continuing.
Bizee data: women entrepreneur growth (2020–2021)
Bizee's formation data — drawn from more than 330,000 entrepreneurs who formed businesses between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2021 — showed women-led business formation growing 48% year-over-year. That growth outpaced male counterparts by 22 percentage points over the same period.
Women aged 25–34 made up the largest group of female entrepreneurs in the dataset. But the strongest growth came from two other age groups: women aged 18–24 grew by 73%, and women over 65 grew by 76%. The oldest and youngest cohorts are driving the most momentum — that's a pattern worth watching.
- Women entrepreneur formation grew 48% year-over-year (January 2020 – December 2021)
- Women outpaced male counterparts by 22 percentage points
- Women aged 18–24: up 73%
- Women aged 25–34: largest group overall
- Women over 65: up 76%
Broader trends in women's entrepreneurship
Women-owned businesses in the United States have been growing at roughly twice the rate of all businesses nationwide, according to research from MIT's entrepreneurship program. Women of color are growing even faster — at approximately 4.5 times the rate of all businesses nationally.
Global data from the GEM 2025 Women's Entrepreneurship Report shows that women's startup activity rates across 30 countries rose from an average of 6.1% in 2001–2005 to 10.4% in 2021–2023. Women now represent approximately 1 in 3 high-growth entrepreneurs worldwide, and nearly 2 in 5 export-oriented startups globally are led by women.
Looking ahead, a 2026 survey from Intuit QuickBooks found that 58% of women said they either plan to or would consider starting a business within the next 12 months. About 25% said they plan to start a new business in the coming year specifically. The pipeline of new women-owned firms is large.
Where women entrepreneurs are growing fastest
Bizee's 2020–2021 formation data identified the cities and states with the highest year-over-year growth in women-led business formation. The rankings below reflect that specific data window.
In the United States, women entrepreneurs are more concentrated in urban areas than rural ones. Women-owned firms account for a growing share of all businesses nationally, but the National Women's Business Council's data show that the concentration and growth of women-owned firms remain higher in cities than in rural markets.
Top 10 cities by year-over-year growth (2020–2021)
- Cypress, CA
- Boston, MA
- Dayton, OH
- Conroe, TX
- Frisco, TX
- Cleveland, OH
- Miami, FL
- Milwaukee, WI
- Arlington, VA
- Atlanta, GA
Top 10 states by year-over-year growth (2020–2021)
- Nevada
- Louisiana
- Alabama
- Massachusetts
- Minnesota
- Oregon
- Tennessee
- Oklahoma
- Iowa
- Virginia
Sectors, barriers, and what's changing
Women entrepreneurs are still concentrated in consumer-facing sectors. According to the GEM 2023/2024 Women's Entrepreneurship Report, 48.6% of women early-stage entrepreneurs operate in wholesale and retail trade, compared with 40.1% of men. Women remain under-represented in STEM and knowledge-intensive industries, though that gap is narrowing.
Two persistent barriers stand out: access to capital and access to networks. Women entrepreneurs continue to face a gender financing gap, with lower access to formal finance and venture capital than men. Limited mentorship and professional networks are also widely identified as constraints on growth.
Technology is shifting the picture. AI use among women entrepreneurs in low- and middle-income countries more than doubled in one year, rising from 38% in 2024 to 82% in 2025, according to the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women. Women-owned businesses are increasingly using AI tools for customer support, data-driven marketing, and process automation to close competitive gaps. A gender gap in AI adoption still exists — women adopt AI tools at roughly a 25% lower rate than men on average — but the direction of travel is clear.
Women entrepreneurs are also increasingly founding climate-focused businesses. Recent analyses find that many women-led ventures position climate mitigation or adaptation as their core business model — not a side commitment — operating in clean energy, sustainable agriculture, circular-economy waste solutions, and nature-based solutions.
FAQ
Women-owned businesses in the United States have been growing at roughly twice the rate of all businesses nationwide. Women of color are growing even faster — at approximately 4.5 times the rate of all businesses nationally. Bizee's own formation data showed women-led business formation growing 48% year-over-year between January 2020 and December 2021, outpacing male counterparts by 22 percentage points.
The data show strong and accelerating growth. Women now represent approximately 1 in 3 high-growth entrepreneurs globally, and nearly 2 in 5 export-oriented startups worldwide are led by women. In the United States, a 2026 survey found that 58% of women said they either plan to or would consider starting a business within the next 12 months. Global startup activity rates for women across 30 countries rose from 6.1% in 2001–2005 to 10.4% in 2021–2023.
Women entrepreneurs are most concentrated in wholesale and retail trade. According to the GEM 2023/2024 Women's Entrepreneurship Report, 48.6% of women early-stage entrepreneurs operate in that sector, compared with 40.1% of men. Women remain under-represented in STEM and knowledge-intensive industries, though a growing number of women-led ventures are entering clean energy, sustainable agriculture, and climate-focused sectors.
The 2 most consistently cited barriers are access to capital and access to networks. Women entrepreneurs face a gender financing gap — lower access to formal finance and venture capital than men — and limited mentorship and professional networks. Targeted support programs that combine financing, mentorship, and capacity-building have shown the most impact in helping women entrepreneurs move past these constraints.
Yes, and the pace is accelerating. AI use among women entrepreneurs in low- and middle-income countries more than doubled in one year, rising from 38% in 2024 to 82% in 2025. A gender gap still exists — women adopt AI tools at roughly a 25% lower rate than men on average — but women-owned businesses are increasingly using AI for customer support, marketing, and process automation to improve competitiveness.
Based on Bizee's 2020–2021 formation data, women aged 25–34 made up the largest group of female entrepreneurs overall. But the fastest growth came from women aged 18–24 (up 73%) and women over 65 (up 76%). The youngest and oldest cohorts are growing faster than the middle — a pattern that suggests entrepreneurship is becoming a path people are choosing at both ends of their working lives.
Yes. In the United States, women-owned firms are more concentrated in urban areas than rural ones, and growth rates are higher in cities. Globally, lower-income economies often show higher rates of women's early-stage entrepreneurial activity than high-income economies, though those businesses tend to be smaller and more necessity-driven. In high-income countries, women's participation has been gradually increasing and is more likely to be opportunity-motivated.
