As originally published by GoDaddy’s Venture Forward research initiative
Behind GoDaddy Venture Forward
Venture Forward quantifies the presence and impact of over 20 million online microbusinesses on their local economies, providing a unique view into the attitudes, demographics, and needs of the entrepreneurs who create and operate them.
GoDaddy knows that to truly advocate and empower entrepreneurs, you first have to really understand them. In 2018, we began analyzing millions of microbusinesses, which we defined as an entity with a discrete GoDaddy domain and an active website, and the majority of whom have fewer than 10 employees. We measured their effect on household incomes and unemployment, together with renowned academics at the University of Iowa and University of Arizona, and established they had an outsized impact on these and other economic health indicators.
In 2019, we began surveying the entrepreneurs who own these ventures, nationally and across cities, at least once a year, to better understand their mindsets and circumstances.
In 2020, we built a proprietary Microbusiness Activity Index and established causality with economists at the UCLA Anderson Forecast. We also created a data hub to update and share our data publicly so those advocating for and studying entrepreneurs could access more information, including measurements of microbusiness density by geography, down to the ZIP code. We update this data on a quarterly basis.
In 2021, we expanded our research to the United Kingdom, and this year, in 2024, we added Australia and Canada to our regularly updated data sets including regional and survey insights.
For more details on our research methodology and other findings, please read About Us on the Venture Forward website.
“Microbusinesses are creating jobs. They’re hiring directly as they grow, they’re hiring indirectly, orthey’re bringing that money back into the community.”
— Fox Business May 2024
Microbusinesses have major impact
-.11: Each additional microbusiness per 100 people in a county can decrease the unemployment rate by .11 percentage points.7+: Over seven new jobs are created by each microbusiness entrepreneur on a county-level. In 2021, it was just over two jobs.1
Microbusinesses demonstrate major growth in numbers2
1 Year Microbusiness Count % Growth5 year
Microbusiness Count % GrowthMicrobusiness Density* (MD)
July/Aug ‘24% of all countiesRural
Less than 70 ppl. / square mile8%24%2.763%Suburban
70-250 ppl. / square mile7%19%3.522%Urban
More than 250 ppl. / square mile22%35%7.615%
*Microbusiness Density is defined as the number of microbusinesses per 100 people
Top 20 States By Microbusiness Count Growth
State1 year
Microbusiness
Count % Growth5 year
Microbusiness
Count % GrowthActive
Microbusinesses
July/Aug ’24Microbusiness Density
July/Aug ’24Delaware65%359%381,54338.4Montana45%61%83,1327.6Nevada36%44%601,05819.4Washington31%50%720,8369.4Colorado24%30%598,24910.4New York21%29%1,832,2989.2California14%19%4,026,19710.2Florida14%32%2,471,41211.4Oklahoma14%57%289,6667.3Wyoming14%212%112,42119.5Idaho11%40%127,1966.9North Carolina8%26%614,7065.9New Hampshire8%6%93,5676.8Utah8%17%285,8358.7Virgina7%15%525,9686.1South Carolina7%30%264,5085.1Pennsylvania7%31%724,3605.6Arkansas7%7%89.3673.0Texas7%26%1,934,6656.6Indiana7%17%270,2594.0
Cities of all sizes are booming2
1 Year
Microbusiness
Count % Growth5 Year Microbusiness
Count % GrowthMicrobusiness Density*
July/Aug’24% Of
All CountiesSmall Cities
0-50k pop7%22%6.776%Mid-sized Cities
50 – 400k pop13%27%7.522%Large Cities
400K+ pop9%22%9.51%
*Microbusiness Density is defined as the number of microbusinesses per 100 people
Top 20 Cities by Microbusiness Count Growth
City,
State
1 year Micro-
business Count
% Growth
5 year
Micro-
business
Count
% GrowthActive
Micro-
business
July/
Aug ’24Micro-
business
Density
July/
Aug ’24
San Francisco,
CA
142%123%329,06038.7
Denver, CO
96%106%215,87919.6
Oklahoma City,
OK
82%140%81,38311.7
Los Angeles, CA
61%32%477,06119.8
Pittsburgh, PA
16%217%162,46123.4
Sacramento, CA
15%21%51,6136.1
Staten Island, NY
11%32%29,9256.1
Tampa, FL
10%17%94,64711.5
Fort Worth, TX
10%24%50,1825.2
Indianapolis, IN
10%17%55,8425.7
Spring, TX
9%33%42,74310.2
San Antonio, TX
9%64%122,0536.6
Raleigh, NC
9%32%66,92712.0
Miami, FL
8%43%353,59919.1
Nashville, TN
8%18%62,43513.1
Salt Lake City, UT
8%8%50,64810.1
Aurora, CO
7%8%27,0225.9
Charlotte, NC
7%28%90,0159.4
Philadelphia, PA
7%29%85,4565.4
Fresno, CA
7%17%20,5993.3
Partner research excerpt
GoDaddy Venture Forward and UCLA Anderson Forecast economists developed another way to capture microbusiness activity since 2019 via the Microbusiness Activity Index (“MAI”), which is comprised of three sub-indices:
Infrastructure Index
Measures how ready for microbusiness entrepreneurship an area is, as indicated by the level of physical infrastructure (internet) and intellectual capital available in the area.
Participation Index
The number and growth rate of both GoDaddy online microbusinesses in the area and the entrepreneurs who create them.
Engagement Index
A combination of 7 measures of activity, such as economic footprint and website traffic levels.
The latest 2024 report is available to download.
TAKEAWAYS
Figure 1. Microbusiness Activity Index Score by State, March 2024 (above). The darker the purple color, the higher the activity index. Washington DC (110.4), Utah (108.2), Colorado (108), Oregon (106.6), Maryland (106.6), and Washington (106.3) had the highest levels on the index. Arkansas (100.4), West Virginia (99.8), and Mississippi (98.6) had the lowest levels.
Figure 2. Microbusiness Activity Index Change by State, March 2023 to March 2024 (above) with the intensity of the blue color indicating a larger increase or a smaller decline. We can see Rhode Island (+1.3), Alaska (+1.1), Massachusetts (+1), Nebraska (+1), and Wyoming (+1) experienced largest increases in the index over the past year.
For full report and extended explanation, please go to section 04 – New Research.
Which industries saw the greatest change in online orders received?
Year-Over-Year Average Revenue Change by Industry (Aug 2023 – Aug 2024)Top 5 Industries (by % Gain)Bottom 5 Industries (by% Loss)IndustryY/Y ChangeIndustryY/Y ChangeReligion286%Personal Services-51%Business25%Food and Drink-28%Home Services16%Professional Services-27%Events14%Writing-23%Law12%Photography-18%
Industry Glossary as Self-Reported by Website Owner
Religion: Churches, spiritual events, faith-based books and merchandisePersonal Services: Includes accountants and assistants, services for individualsBusiness: General business catch-all category, may include advisors and consultantsWriting: Writers for hire and professional authorsHome Services: Home cleaning services, lawn care services, powerwashing servicesPhotography: Photographers, their portfolios, and photography equipmentLaw: Lawyers and legal-related services and informationMarketing: Marketing companies, lead generators, marketing consultantsProfessional Services: Technical assistance, consultants, grant writing Real Estate: Real estate agents, companies, listing aggregators
Which industries saw the greatest change in online revenue growth?
Year-Over-Year Average Revenue Change by Industry (Aug 2023 – Aug 2024)Top 5 Industries (by % Gain)Bottom 5 Industries (by % Loss)IndustryY/Y ChangeIndustryY/Y ChangeFinancial142%Writing-77%Marketing42%Personal Services-50%Software/IT29%Business-50%Religion24%Food and Drink-45%Home Services14%Wedding-23%
Industry Glossary as Self-Reported by Website
Financial: Finance companies, banks, credit unions, investment firmsWriting: Writers for hire and professional authorsMarketing: Marketing companies, lead generators, marketing consultantsPersonal Services: Includes accountants and assistants, services for individualsSoftware/IT: Software companies, cybersecurity firms, cloud computingReligion: Churches, spiritual events, faith-based books and merchandisHome Services: Home cleaning services, lawn care services, power washing servicesWedding: Wedding planners, bridal shops, some venuesFood and Drink: Bakeries, confectioners and food manufacturers
GoDaddy Venture Forward 2024 Annual Report | U.S. Edition
This report is powered by the latest data from Venture Forward, GoDaddy’s research initiative to quantify the presence and impact of over 20 million global online microbusinesses on their local economies, while shining a light on the entrepreneurs behind them.
We’re here to support entrepreneurs.
Contact GoDaddy Venture Forward at VentureForward@GoDaddy.com
1Source: GoDaddy Venture Forward and 2023 – Bureau of Labor Statistics
2Source: GoDaddy Venture Forward 2019-2024