Los Angeles Ranks Second Nationally for Small Businesses

According to Buffalo Business First, new federal data shows that Los Angeles ranks second nationally with 331,479 small businesses.

The U.S. Census Bureau counted 339,782 private-sector businesses in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, the latest year for which official statistics are available. The vast majority were the 331,479 businesses that had 99 or fewer employees.

Business First separated companies into three groups:

• Small businesses (1 to 99 employees)

• Medium businesses (100 to 999 employees)

• Large employees (1,000 or more employees)

Fifty-one metros have at least 25,000 small businesses, led by 526,063 in the New York City area, which sprawls across Downstate New York into parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Los Angeles was runner-up, followed by Chicago (235,700), Miami-Fort Lauderdale (170,762) and Philadelphia (144,593).