How Much Do Business Owners Make?
Having a clear understanding of earnings potential is important, especially if you are researching career paths or considering changing jobs. If you're one of those people, and you're curious what kind of salary business owners make, you've come to the right place.
Using data from Lightcast,™ the Best Adult Colleges and Careers Guide has compiled rich information about salary for business owners and related jobs, including details about average compensation, salary trends and job growth. We've also gathered advertised salaries from actual job postings to provide insight into what employers of business owners are offering as compensation.
Keep reading to learn more about how much business owners can expect to make in the United States.
At a Glance: Salary & Jobs for Business Owners
According to data from 2022, there were about 247,060 positions for business owners in the United States. In terms of salary, the national median salary for business owners was reported to be $103,334. Additionally, when examining job demand, employers across the country posted 67,949 job postings related to positions for business owners.
How Much Money Do Business Owners Make?
Median salary is just one data point. To build a better understanding of how much money business owners and related positions can expect to make in the United States, it can be helpful to look at the full range of compensation for those jobs.
Let's look more deeply at data that was reported to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for detail into the lowest and highest salary earnings for business owners.
Annual Salary for Business Owners
According to the BLS, the lowest earners for business owners and related professions earned about $59,072 per year in 2022. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, the highest earners made about $178,859 annually.
As mentioned previously, the median salary for business owners in the United States in 2022 was $103,334.
Annual Salary Range For Business Owners In 2022
Hourly Salary for Business Owners
The BLS also breaks down compensation for business owners by hourly salary, and the median average hourly pay for business owners in 2022 was $50. Lowest hourly earners took home $28 while the highest reported hourly salaries for business owners was $86.
Hourly Salary Range For Business Owners In 2022
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Advertised Compensation for Business Owners
Data from the BLS is one way to dig into compensation for business owners, but another way to build a more real-time understanding of salary is to look at actual job postings and see what compensation organizations are currently providing to fill open positions for business owners.
Keep in mind that salary data is not included in every job posting, so the information compiled here is reflective of the data available through Lightcast.™
Annual Salary from Job Postings for Business Owners
Advertised Annual Salary
During a review of 94,242 job postings related to business owners, advertised salary was included in 20,637 of them, which was 22%. Based on those postings, the median advertised salary for business owners was $78,208 per year.
Hourly Salary from Job Postings for Business Owners
Advertised Hourly Salary
A similar analysis of job postings provides insight into advertised hourly salary for business owners. Based on 30% of postings with advertised compensation, the median hourly salary for open positions for business owners in the United States is about $38.
Salary Trend for Business Owners
If you're thinking about pursuing a career in the field, you may want to understand how compensation has changed over time for business owners. The chart below provides a snapshot of advertised salaries over the past three years.
Based on compensation data that was included in job postings for business owners dating back to September 2019, advertised salaries for business owners have increased 7%.
Advertised Wage Trend For Business Owners
What's the Job Growth for Business Owners?
Another data point that someone thinking about a career path should consider is whether or not jobs are expected to see growth in the future. The chart below looks at projected employment for business owners over the next 10 years.
According to the data obtained through Lightcast,™ there were 247,595 jobs for business owners in the United States in 2022. By 2032, it is expected that about 31,616 jobs will be added. That's a 12.8% increase over the next 10-year period.
Employment Projections For Business Owners
Additional Links
Ready to dig deeper into career information about business owners? Visit our other pages focused on salary and education for business owners.
What do business owners do?
Business Owners: How do you become one?
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