Tennessee has an estimated 165,900 women-owned firms, employing 117,300 and attributing to roughly $25,150,400,000 according to the fourth annual American Express OPEN State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, a comprehensive report analyzing the 1997, 2002, and 2007 data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s quinquennial business census, the Survey of Business Owners.
Similar to previous annual reports released this time last year, the unique analysis, reported by industry, revenue and employment size at the national and state levels, shares a new and nuanced investigation into the growth trends among the 9.1 million women-owned enterprises over the past 17 years.
Nationally, the number of women-owned businesses has increased 68% since 1997. Tennessee is ranked 14th (66.3 %) in growth of number of firms over the past 17 years and 26th (73.0%) in growth of firm revenue between 1997 and 2014.
Below is a table comparing Tennessee’s women-owned firms data to the national numbers
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Trend in Growth of Women-Owned Firms by State, 1997-2014
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Women-Owned Firms
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% Change, 1997-2014
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1997
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2002
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2007
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2014 (est.)
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Total US
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Number of Firms
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5,417,034
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6,489,483
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7,793,139
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9,087,200
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67.8%
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Employment
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7,076,081
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7,146,229
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7,579,876
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7,854,200
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11.0%
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Sales ($000)
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$818,669,084
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$940,774,986
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$1,202,115,758
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$1,410,940,800
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72.3%
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Tennessee
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Number of Firms
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99,772
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117,935
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142,451
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165,900
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66.3%
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Employment
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142,080
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116,955
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126,083
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117,300
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-17.4%
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Sales ($000)
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$14,538,315
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$17,640,826
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$21,387,001
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$25,150,400
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73.0%
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