The pandemic has been tough on pretty much everyone, but — no surprise here — small business owners have borne the economic brunt of more than a year of quarantines, lockdowns, and other COVID-19 measures.
- Alabama | Arizona | Arkansas
- California | Colorado | Connecticut
- Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii
- Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas
- Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine
- Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan
- Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri
- Nevada | New Hampshire
- New Jersey | New Mexico | New York
- North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio
- Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island | South Carolina
- Tennessee | Texas | Utah
- Vermont | Virginia | Washington
- West Virginia | Wisconsin
Cheapism partnered with data visualization company HiGeorge to track the extent of small business closings nationwide since January 2020, based on data from the Opportunity Insights Economic Tracker created by Harvard and Brown universities. As of early June 2021, every state has lost more than a quarter of its small businesses. In the states hit the hardest, more than 40% of small businesses have shut down.
The interactive map above offers a live look at how the number of small businesses in each state has been affected. Read on to see the impact on small businesses in your state county by county, in real time.
Note: Data was unavailable for Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
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Maine
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 44.3%
While small businesses have closed across the state, the areas hit hardest have been on Maine's western border, which it shares with New Hampshire.
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Michigan
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 43%
While Michigan does have one county where small businesses grew from January 2020 to early June 2021 — Monroe, where the number was up 6.28% — it was one of the states with the most closings during that time.
Related: 18 Ways to Help Small Businesses Survive Right Now
Rhode Island
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 42.1%
Related: 21 Financial Lifelines to Help Small Businesses Stay Afloat
Massachusetts
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 41.7%
The areas that saw the biggest number of small business closings in the Bay State through early June 2021 are also where a lot of seasonal tourism takes place.
Related: 15 Ways It's Become Tougher Than Ever to Run a Small Business
Connecticut
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 40.8%
That figure of nearly 41% was up a lot just from December, when the Connecticut Business & Industry Association reported that more than one-third were gone.
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New Mexico
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 39.9%
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Illinois
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 39.8%
The industries in Illinois that saw the biggest declines include leisure and hospitality and food and accommodation.
Related: People Are Abandoning These 3 States
California
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 39.1%
According to an April update on a story in The New York Times, California's "stop-start" approach to lockdowns has resulted in a lot of anger — not to mention debt — among small business owners.
New Jersey
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 38.6%
Many of the Garden State's small business closings have been concentrated in its northern half. According to Opportunity Insights' Track the Recovery page, the industry most affected has been leisure and hospitality.
New York
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 38.3%
Faring slightly better than neighboring states, New York actually saw small business increases in Lewis, Cattaraugus, and Schuyler counties from January 2020 to early June 2021. But the New York metro area and the Hudson Valley were not so fortunate.
Georgia
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 38.3%
One Georgia county, Harris, experienced slight small business growth through early June 2021. According to Track the Recovery, the leisure, hospitality, retail, and transportation industries were hit the hardest in the Peach State.
Louisiana
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 37.9%
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Delaware
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 37.3%
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Texas
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 37.1%
Although two counties, Reeves and Reagan, saw slight growth through early June 2021, closings happened throughout the Lone Star State. The largest number were concentrated northwest of Dallas/Fort Worth and southwest of San Antonio, where the second-worst rate of shutdowns in the United States was recorded.
Virginia
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 36.9%
Florida
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 36.9%
As in other states, small business health in Florida was hit hardest in the hospitality, leisure, retail, and transportation industries.
Related: Black Americans Who Broke Barriers in the Business World
Colorado
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 36.4%
The communities hardest hit by small business shutdowns include those in the southwestern part of the state — with Archuleta County having the unfortunate distinction of the highest small business shutdown rate in the entire country through early June 2021. (There are only about 14,029 residents in its 1,356 square miles.)
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Kentucky
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 35.5%
Arizona
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 35.5%
Kansas
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 35.3%
Mississippi
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 34.8%
Oklahoma
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 34.6%
Related: Top 15 Affordable Cities for Starting a Business
Iowa
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 34.3%
One Iowa county's small businesses landscape grew by more than 3% from January 2020 to early June 2021: Washington. Most, however, saw no growth at all.
Ohio
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 33.9%
While Hocking County grew its number of small businesses by more than 12% from January 2020 to early June 2021, most of the Buckeye State saw widespread small business closings.
South Carolina
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 33.8%
Dillon County's small business growth increased nearly 5% from early 2020 to early June 2021, but the rest of the state saw pretty high rates of shutdowns.
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Indiana
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 33.5%
Three Indiana counties — Tipton, Park, and Vigo — saw relatively high numbers of new small businesses open between January 2020 and early June 2021: 22.9%, 15.8%, and 31.2%, respectively.
Nevada
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 33.4%
Las Vegas' county, Clark, fared 5 to 10 percentage points better than the counties where the rates were highest through early June 2021.
Maryland
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 33.3%
Related: Expert Tips to Grow Your Business Without Stressing Out
Washington
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 33%
One of the hardest-hit states in the early days of the pandemic, Washington has actually done fairly well since. One county, Whitman, even saw a slight small business bump as others suffered.
Wisconsin
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 32.7%
Most of the places hardest hit by small business closings were in the northern part of Wisconsin.
Pennsylvania
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 31.7%
Most counties in Pennsylvania have reported small business shutdowns, but those in the central part of the state have fared best.
Related: 19 Small Businesses You Can Start With Less Than $1,000
North Carolina
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 31.5%
West Virginia
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 31.4%
Most of the counties affected more heavily by small business shutdowns in West Virginia were along the state's eastern border. The hardest-hit industries were leisure and hospitality.
Oregon
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 30.5%
Two of Oregon's biggest counties experienced small business growth from early 2020 to early June 2021 — Harney (up 27.3%) and Lake (up 9.3%) — but much of the state did not.
Related: 13 Small Business Tips to Borrow From 'Shark Tank'
Missouri
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 30%
Hawaii
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 29.9%
Hawaii's Garden Island, Kauai, was by far the hardest hit by small business closings through early June 2021.
Alabama
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 29.8%
Related: 24 Successful Businesses Launched During Economic Downturns
Minnesota
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 29.7%
The counties of Becker, Aitkin, and Pine saw growth in their small business communities from January 2020 to early June 2021, but many parts of Minnesota saw shutdowns.
Vermont
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 29.6%
Arkansas
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 29.6%
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Tennessee
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 29.3%
Two eastern Vol State counties — Sevier and Cocke — grew their small business landscapes by around 20% while the rest of the state suffered.
North Dakota
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 28.9%
New Hampshire
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 26.6%
While the northern half of New Hampshire added more small businesses, the southern half suffered setbacks — especially Rockingham County, which lost more than half from January 2020 to early June 2021.
Related: 25 Emerging Businesses That Nobody Saw Coming
Utah
Small businesses lost as of early June 2021: 26.5%
Utah already leads the nation with the lowest number of small business closings on this list through early June 2021, but there was more good news recently when the Census Bureau's Small Business Pulse Survey noted that 45% of small businesses are already operating at pre-pandemic levels, while 26% are expected to return to normal within six months.
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