U.S. Business Landscape | 2026 Edition
Franchising in Perspective
How franchise locations compare with the U.S. small-business population
Headline comparison
2.3%Approximate Count Ratio
845,000 franchise locations compared with 36.2 million small businesses
The U.S. franchise sector is projected to include about 845,000 locations in 2026, equivalent in count to roughly 2.3% of the nation’s 36.2 million small-business firms. Locations and firms are different units of measurement.
How the Estimate Is Calculated
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| U.S. franchise establishments, 2026 projection | 845,000 |
| U.S. small businesses, SBA 2026 publication | 36,207,130 |
| Franchise locations ÷ small-business firms (845,000 ÷ 36,207,130 × 100) | 2.33% ≈ 2.3% |
Two data series. Different reference periods. IFA / FRANdata projects franchise locations for 2026. The SBA’s February 2026 publication reports 36,207,130 small-business firms using 2022 Census data. This is a scale comparison, not a same-year market-share measurement.
Why the Definitions Matter
01 Locations Are Not Companies
IFA counts franchise establishments; SBA counts firms. One franchise company can operate multiple locations. Therefore, the 2.3% ratio is not the exact share of small-business companies or owners that are franchises.
Most franchises are small businesses, but the franchise sector is not identical to the small-business population.
02 Most Small Businesses Have No Employees
82.3% of small businesses, 29.8 million firms, have no paid employees. Only about 6.4 million small businesses have employees.
Using only the small-employer denominator gives 845,000 ÷ 6.4 million ≈ 13.2%. This is illustrative, not evidence that 13.2% of small employer firms are franchises, because locations and firms remain different units.
- Small Businesses With No Employees82.3%29.8 million firms have no paid employees; about 6.4 million have employees.
- Employment Count Ratio~14%Nearly 8.9 million franchise jobs compared with 62.3 million small-business employees (8.9M ÷ 62.3M ≈ 14.3%).
- Projected Franchise Output, 2026$921.4BProjected franchise economic output for 2026 (IFA / FRANdata).