For Women-Owned Businesses, Metro Detroit Is In The Top Ten

Metro Detroit and Michigan are among the top metropolitan areas and states when it comes to seeing growth in the number of women-owned businesses.

According to a report by American Express OPEN, the number of women-owned firms grew dramatically after the recession – by 45 percent from 2007 to 2016, to be exact. Compare that to a nine percent increase in all businesses, and women-owned firms are becoming a larger factor in the business sector.

Currently, Michigan ranks eighth in the nation in terms of the number of women-owned businesses – 389,800. Detroit also ranks eighth in the nation for metropolitan areas, coming in at 256,400 women-owned businesses. However, Michigan, and probably Detroit, will likely move up a few spots this year.

Additionally, Metro Detroit holds the number two spot among U.S. cities for the growth percentage of women-owned businesses. The state of Michigan boasts an impressive percent growth in women-owned businesses during the 2007 to 2016 time frame. Michigan saw an increase of 56.9 percent, ranking fourth in the nation for growth and exceeding the national growth rate of women-owned businesses by over 10 percent.

That’s great news, especially when it comes to employment. In total, women-owned firms grew their number of employees by 18.4 percent from 2007 to 2016. All firms in the U.S. saw a negative growth of 1.2 percent.