Tennessee small business statistics
Tennessee produced 103,220 business applications in 2025, up 14.3% from 2024 and 75.8% from the pre-pandemic 2019 baseline. The page shows the latest employer-likely application signal, county concentration after adjusting for population, private-sector labor growth, SBA lending, unincorporated receipts, bankruptcy filings, and federal contract demand.
Public source files covering Tennessee business formation, labor, lending, proprietor income, bankruptcy, and federal contracting.
What the data shows
The topline combines new filing volume, employer-likely application quality, county concentration, labor-market structure, lending, and business stress signals.
Tennessee logged 103,220 business applications in 2025, up 14.3% from 2024 and 75.8% from the pre-pandemic 2019 baseline.
Through May 2026, total applications were up 17.2% from the same months in 2025; high-propensity applications were up 3.6%.
Davidson filed 17,739 applications in 2025, the largest county total in Tennessee. Davidson also led the high-volume counties after adjusting for population.
Professional services added the most private-sector establishments since 2019. Health care and social assistance added the most private-sector jobs.
SBA 7(a) and 504 approvals to Tennessee businesses reached $593.5M in FY2025 across 1,046 loans, led by accommodation and food services, retail trade, other services, manufacturing, and professional services.
Business bankruptcy cases tied to Tennessee counties fell from 492 to 431 in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2026.
New business formation
Tennessee business applications reached 103,220 in 2025, up 14.3% from 2024. Through May 2026, applications were running up 17.2% from the same months in 2025.
The long comparison starts before the pandemic reset.
The 2019 comparison uses the last full pre-pandemic year. The shutdown period and the business churn that followed reshaped EIN filing patterns; high-propensity applications totaled 14,389 through May 2026, up 3.6% from Jan-May 2025. Projected business formations within eight quarters rose 31.2% over the same period.
Metric note: Census BFS counts applications for employer identification numbers. Applications are early filings; confirmed operating-business counts arrive later.
Where applications are concentrated
Davidson is the largest application market by raw volume. Among the high-volume counties shown below, Davidson stands out most after adjusting for population.
Population-adjusted filing volume changes the county read.
The chart uses 2025 Census BFS applications divided by Census Vintage 2025 resident population estimates. Davidson leads both the raw filing count and the population-adjusted rate among the high-volume counties shown below.
Metric note: Census BFS counts EIN applications. The denominator is 2025 resident population, not existing businesses, so this is a scale adjustment rather than a startup conversion rate.
| County | 2025 applications | Change vs 2024 | Change vs 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Davidson | 17,739 | +8.1% | +64.6% |
| Shelby | 16,497 | +13.6% | +48.2% |
| Knox | 8,486 | +19.6% | +131.5% |
| Rutherford | 5,575 | +10.9% | +84.1% |
| Hamilton | 5,561 | +17.1% | +66.6% |
| Williamson | 5,278 | +3.6% | +43.2% |
| Montgomery | 3,286 | +17.3% | +92.6% |
| Sumner | 2,883 | +14.8% | +80.2% |
| Wilson | 2,532 | +10.6% | +93.9% |
| Maury | 1,624 | +25.5% | +107.7% |
| Sevier | 1,592 | +29.9% | +78.1% |
| Blount | 1,548 | +34.7% | +102.9% |
Jobs, establishments, and wages
In 2024, Tennessee had 222,670 private-sector establishments and 2,838,835 private-sector jobs in the QCEW annual file. Establishments changed 37.5% from 2019 to 2024; jobs changed 8.6%.
Professional services is the establishment-growth story.
Professional services added 11,904 establishments from 2019 to 2024. Health care and social assistance added 44,035 jobs over the same period.
QCEW tracks employer establishments. It is the recurring source here for jobs, wages, payroll, and local industry structure.
| Industry | 2024 establishments | Change vs 2019 | 2024 jobs | Change vs 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Professional services | 31,391 | +11,904 (+61.1%) | 177,897 | +31,813 (+21.8%) |
| Health care and social assistance | 24,295 | +9,568 (+65.0%) | 420,698 | +44,035 (+11.7%) |
| Construction | 17,112 | +4,625 (+37.0%) | 163,374 | +33,248 (+25.6%) |
| Accommodation and food services | 16,596 | +2,789 (+20.2%) | 316,498 | +11,438 (+3.7%) |
| Wholesale trade | 15,007 | +2,131 (+16.6%) | 136,378 | +15,229 (+12.6%) |
| Other services | 14,868 | -1,063 (-6.7%) | 83,729 | +3,245 (+4.0%) |
| Finance and insurance | 14,025 | +3,828 (+37.5%) | 125,670 | +10,328 (+9.0%) |
| Administrative services | 13,882 | +4,068 (+41.5%) | 216,248 | -11,935 (-5.2%) |
| Information | 10,160 | +6,179 (+155.2%) | 54,420 | +9,378 (+20.8%) |
| Real estate and rental | 8,372 | +2,299 (+37.9%) | 44,774 | +2,728 (+6.5%) |
SBA lending
SBA 7(a) and 504 approvals to Tennessee businesses totaled $593.5M in FY2025 across 1,046 loans. The SBA files report 10,836 jobs supported for those approvals.
Accommodation and food services drew the most SBA capital.
Accommodation and food services drew $135.1M in FY2025 SBA approvals. retail trade, other services, manufacturing, and professional services also ranked among the top capital destinations.
SBA fiscal year 2025 ran from Oct. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2025. The source package was current as of April 28, 2026.
| Sector | FY2025 loans | FY2025 approvals | SBA jobs supported |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation and food services | 148 | $135.1M | 2,666 |
| Retail trade | 139 | $76.6M | 1,129 |
| Other services | 118 | $63.6M | 1,051 |
| Manufacturing | 58 | $51.9M | 815 |
| Professional services | 95 | $47.9M | 590 |
| Health care and social assistance | 66 | $41.6M | 794 |
| Construction | 113 | $34.8M | 770 |
| Administrative services | 97 | $27.5M | 942 |
| Wholesale trade | 31 | $23.3M | 279 |
| Arts and entertainment | 60 | $23.2M | 511 |
| County | FY2025 loans | FY2025 approvals | SBA jobs supported |
|---|---|---|---|
| Davidson | 201 | $120.5M | 2,307 |
| Shelby | 110 | $55.3M | 1,397 |
| Hamilton | 61 | $54.6M | 614 |
| Knox | 111 | $43.4M | 1,117 |
| Williamson | 75 | $33.7M | 664 |
| Rutherford | 58 | $29.9M | 467 |
| Sumner | 45 | $27.7M | 356 |
| Wilson | 31 | $24.3M | 440 |
| Montgomery | 44 | $21.2M | 519 |
| Sevier | 20 | $14.4M | 282 |
The unincorporated business economy
IRS SOI data show 701,255 Tennessee Schedules C and partnership returns/forms in Tax Year 2023. Those businesses reported $212.2B in gross receipts and $26.0B in the combined income/profit measure.
Sole proprietors account for most returns.
Tennessee had 623,129 nonfarm sole-proprietor Schedules C in Tax Year 2023, with $65.4B in gross receipts and $12.2B in net profit.
Partnerships reported more gross receipts.
Tennessee partnerships filed 78,126 Forms 1065 in Tax Year 2023 and reported $146.8B in gross receipts.
| County | Returns/forms | Gross receipts | Combined income/profit metric |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shelby | 113,212 | $25.1B | $2.2B |
| Davidson | 107,350 | $52.7B | $7.7B |
| Knox | 48,522 | $16.0B | $2.1B |
| Williamson | 40,534 | $29.3B | $3.7B |
| Rutherford | 37,499 | $8.1B | $928.6M |
| Hamilton | 36,405 | $11.7B | $1.0B |
| Sumner | 22,134 | $6.2B | $943.0M |
| Montgomery | 18,442 | $3.6B | $295.4M |
| Wilson | 17,767 | $3.7B | $484.0M |
| Blount | 11,635 | $2.1B | $307.2M |
Business stress signals
U.S. Courts F-5A shows 431 business bankruptcy cases tied to Tennessee counties in the 12 months ending March 31, 2026, fell from 492 in the prior 12-month period. Chapter 11 cases totaled 157.
County bankruptcy rows can move sharply.
Davidson had the largest business-bankruptcy count in the latest F-5A table. County bankruptcy rows can move when related business cases are filed in the same venue, so this table works best as a lead for follow-up reporting.
Definition: U.S. Courts classifies debt as business when the debtor is a corporation or partnership, or when business-related debt predominates.
| County | Business cases, 12 months ending Mar. 31, 2026 | Change vs prior 12 months | Chapter 11 cases | All bankruptcy cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davidson | 75 | -55 | 24 | 1,424 |
| Shelby | 60 | +12 | 32 | 6,565 |
| Williamson | 51 | +0 | 29 | 250 |
| Knox | 39 | +8 | 8 | 816 |
| Hamilton | 27 | -1 | 10 | 1,369 |
| Rutherford | 17 | -7 | 5 | 795 |
| Montgomery | 16 | +4 | 4 | 690 |
| Sumner | 14 | -2 | 1 | 429 |
| Bradley | 9 | +4 | 7 | 475 |
| Sullivan | 9 | -4 | 0 | 425 |
National credit backdrop
The 2026 Fed Small Business Credit Survey appendix reported that 94% of U.S. employer firms faced a financial challenge in 2025, 38% applied for financing, and 52% of applicants were fully approved.
Federal contract demand
USAspending reports $9.7B in FY2025 federal procurement obligations to recipients located in Tennessee. The filter covers procurement awards to TN recipients across award type codes A, B, C, and D.
| NAICS | Federal procurement category | FY2025 obligations |
|---|---|---|
| 561210 | Facilities Support Services | $3.2B |
| 561612 | Security Guards and Patrol Services | $948.2M |
| 562910 | Remediation Services | $892.1M |
| 492110 | Couriers and Express Delivery Services | $575.1M |
| 541715 | Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) | $420.4M |
| 541712 | Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology) | $388.0M |
| 236220 | Commercial and Institutional Building Construction | $304.0M |
| 325920 | Explosives Manufacturing | $264.5M |
| 541990 | All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | $225.9M |
| 325180 | Other Basic Inorganic Chemical Manufacturing | $211.2M |
Sources and methodology
The charts and figures on this page come from public source files or APIs. Annual sources use the most recent complete year available; partial-year figures are labeled in the text.
- Census BFS monthly CSV
Updated June 10, 2026, 14:00 GMT - Census BFS county workbook
Updated June 10, 2026, 14:22 GMT - Census county population estimates
Vintage 2025 county resident population estimates - BLS QCEW annual area files
2019 and 2024 annual API files - SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA package
Updated April 28, 2026, 14:42 GMT - IRS SOI Tax Year 2023 unincorporated tables
Tax Year 2023 county combined, sole proprietor state, and partnership state tables - U.S. Courts F-5A bankruptcy XLSX
12 months ending March 31, 2026 - Fed SBCS Main Street Metrics appendix
Last updated March 23, 2026 - USAspending API
FY2025 procurement obligations
Alex Morgan edits public business datasets for SMB Statistics, including Census, BLS, SBA, IRS, U.S. Courts, Fed SBCS, and USAspending files.