Small businesses make up almost all U.S. exporters but a minority of export dollars. Of the 271,250 identified U.S. exporters in 2024, 97.1% were small and mid-sized enterprises, according to the Census Bureau, yet those firms accounted for 32.1% ($581 billion) of known export value, and most of them sold to a single foreign country.
How many U.S. exporters are small businesses?
Small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) were 263,455 of the 271,250 identified U.S. goods exporters in 2024, or 97.1%, according to the Census Bureau's Profile of U.S. Importing and Exporting Companies, 2023–2024. Large companies, those with 500 or more employees, numbered just 7,795. The pattern held in Census's preliminary 2025 profile: 254,820 of 262,529 exporters were SMEs.
One definition matters when you quote these numbers. Census counts as an SME any company with fewer than 500 employees, plus companies whose employment it could not match and companies with no employees, and in 2024 about 42.9% of exporters had no matched employee count. So "97% of exporters are SMEs" is accurate under the Census definition; "97% have fewer than 500 workers" is a slight overstatement.
Exporting is also less permanent than it looks. Of the 2024 exporters, 93,290, about a third, had not reported exports in 2023, and 87,016 companies both imported and exported. Many small firms export occasionally, filling a foreign order when one comes in, rather than running a steady export business.
How much of U.S. export value comes from small businesses?
Small and mid-sized firms shipped $581 billion, or 32.1%, of the $1,813 billion in known U.S. goods export value in 2024, while large companies shipped about $1,232 billion, over 67%, Census reported. Known value covers 87.9% of the $2,062 billion in total goods exports; the rest could not be matched to a specific company.
Worked example: the averages show the gap. $581 billion spread over 263,455 SME exporters is roughly $2.2 million per firm, while $1,232 billion over 7,795 large exporters is about $158 million per firm. Those are averages over very uneven groups, but they explain why a small exporter's buyers, payment terms and financing look nothing like a multinational's.
| 2024 (Census) | SME exporters | Large exporters |
|---|---|---|
| Number of exporters | 263,455 (97.1%) | 7,795 (2.9%) |
| Known export value | $581 billion (32.1%) | $1,232 billion (67.9%) |
| Average value per exporter (calculated) | About $2.2 million | About $158 million |
Where do small exporters sell, and how many markets do they reach?
Most exporters sell to only one foreign country: 60.0% of U.S. exporters reported a single destination in 2024, and together they shipped just 5.4% of known export value, according to Census. At the other end, the 2.0% of exporters selling to 25 or more countries accounted for 68.8% of export value.
Canada is the most common first market by a wide margin. Census counted 91,731 exporters shipping to Canada in 2024, ahead of Mexico (53,547), the United Kingdom (37,785), Germany (28,530) and China (27,921). In the preliminary 2025 data, nearly one-third of SME exporters, 76,919 firms, shipped goods to Canada. Proximity, shared language and simpler logistics make a neighbouring market the usual starting point.
If tariffs and supplier costs are shaping your import side as well, our small business supply chain statistics cover how small employer firms are absorbing higher input prices.
How do small exporters finance international sales?
Most small exporters finance the gap between paying for production and getting paid by a foreign buyer, and the SBA runs three loan programs built for it: Export Express (up to $500,000), the Export Working Capital Program (up to $5 million) and International Trade loans (up to $5 million), with SBA guaranties of up to 90%, according to the SBA's lender program pages.
For Export Express, the SBA guaranty is 90% on loans of $350,000 or less and 75% above that, and International Trade loans carry a maximum guaranty of 90% or $4.5 million. These loans are made by participating lenders, so approval still depends on the lender's credit standards and the time an SBA loan takes to close; see our SBA loans guide for how the process works.
When an order arrives faster than an SBA loan can close, exporters typically turn to purchase order financing to pay suppliers, invoice factoring to turn a 60- or 90-day foreign invoice into cash, or a business line of credit to cover the working-capital swing. The Broker Shop is a broker, not a lender: one application is matched to the funders whose guidelines you meet, it is free to apply, and checking your options won't affect your credit score.
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One 2-minute application is matched to the funders whose guidelines you meet. It's free, and checking your options won't affect your credit score.
See What I Qualify For →The bottom line: Small firms are 97% of U.S. exporters but ship about a third of export value, most sell to just one country, usually Canada, and the real constraint is financing the months between paying for an order and getting paid for it.
Frequently asked questions
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau — A Profile of U.S. Importing and Exporting Companies, 2023–2024 (271,250 exporters; 263,455 SMEs, 97.1%; $581 billion SME and $1,232 billion large-firm known value of $1,813 billion; 60.0% one-country exporters, 5.4% of value; 2.0% to 25+ countries, 68.8% of value; exporters by destination; 93,290 new to exporting; 87,016 importers and exporters) · U.S. Census Bureau — Preliminary Profile of U.S. Exporting Companies, 2025 (262,529 exporters, 254,820 SMEs; 76,919 SMEs shipping to Canada) · U.S. Small Business Administration — SBA lender loan programs (Export Express, Export Working Capital and International Trade loan maximums and guaranties). Per-firm averages and the 67.9% large-firm share are calculated from the Census figures.
Found these figures useful? You are welcome to cite or link to this page. Suggested attribution: “Small Business Export Statistics 2026,” The Broker Shop — thebrokershopinc.com/small-business-export-statistics.html. Every figure links to the U.S. Census Bureau exporter profiles or SBA program pages.