Self-Employment Statistics 2026: How Many Americans Work for Themselves

16.5 million Americans were self-employed in June 2026: 9.5 million ran unincorporated businesses and 6.9 million ran incorporated ones, according to Table A-9 of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Employment Situation report. That equals 10.1% of all employed Americans. Count by tax filings instead and the figure nearly doubles: the IRS received 31.1 million nonfarm sole proprietorship returns for tax year 2023, and the Census Bureau counted 30.4 million nonemployer businesses in 2023.

Key takeaways:

• 16.5 million Americans were self-employed in June 2026 (BLS Table A-9, not seasonally adjusted): 10.1% of everyone employed
• 31.1 million nonfarm sole proprietorship (Schedule C) returns were filed for tax year 2023, reporting $2.06 trillion in business receipts (IRS SOI)
• 30,427,808 nonemployer establishments operated in 2023 (Census Bureau Nonemployer Statistics)
• 11.9 million people (7.4% of total employment) were independent contractors on their main job in July 2023 (BLS Contingent Worker Supplement)
• Incorporated self-employment grew 19% from 2017 to 2025; unincorporated grew only 3%

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How Many Americans Are Self-Employed in 2026?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 16.5 million self-employed Americans as of June 2026, split between 9,531,000 unincorporated and 6,929,000 incorporated self-employed workers (not seasonally adjusted). The seasonally adjusted count of unincorporated self-employed workers, BLS series LNS12027714, stood at 9,431,000 in June 2026, down from 9,677,000 in June 2025.

These figures come from the Current Population Survey (CPS), published monthly in Table A-9 of the Employment Situation report. The CPS asks each employed person about their main job only. A W-2 employee who freelances on weekends counts as an employee here, not as self-employed, which is the single biggest reason BLS numbers run far below IRS filing counts (more on that below).

Against total employment of 162.7 million in June 2026, self-employed workers made up 10.1% of all employed Americans. Roughly 1 in 10 working Americans works for themselves as their main job.

Self-Employment Grew 9% Since 2017 — All of It Incorporated

Total self-employment rose from an annual average of 15.4 million in 2017 to 16.8 million in 2025, a 9.1% increase, based on BLS CPS annual averages (series LNU02027714 and LNU02048984). The composition shifted sharply: incorporated self-employment grew 19% while unincorporated grew just 3%.

Source: BLS Current Population Survey, series LNU02027714 (unincorporated) and LNU02048984 (incorporated), annual averages; June 2026 from Employment Situation Table A-9.

The incorporated share tells a real story: more self-employed Americans are formalizing into LLCs taxed as corporations and S corporations rather than staying sole proprietors. The June 2026 monthly reading sits about 2% below June 2025, so the post-pandemic self-employment boom has plateaued rather than accelerated.

How Many Sole Proprietors File Schedule C?

Americans filed 31,125,909 nonfarm sole proprietorship returns for tax year 2023, according to IRS Statistics of Income Table 1 (Nonfarm Sole Proprietorships: Business Receipts, Selected Deductions, Payroll, and Net Income). That is up 4.9% from 29,683,691 returns for tax year 2022, reported in the SOI Bulletin sole proprietorship article.

Those 31.1 million Schedule C businesses reported:

• $2.06 trillion in business receipts
• $377.2 billion in net income (income less deficits), an average profit of about $12,100 per return
• 21.4 million returns with a profit, meaning 68.8% of Schedule C businesses were profitable in 2023 and 31.2% reported no net income

A sole proprietorship, in IRS terms, is an unincorporated business owned by one person and reported on Schedule C of Form 1040. One person can file more than one Schedule C, and a full-time employee with a side business files one too, so this count captures every business activity, not every full-time business owner.

Schedule C Businesses by Industry (Tax Year 2023)

Four industries account for nearly half of all US sole proprietorships, per IRS SOI Table 1:

Transportation's 3.9 million returns reflect the rideshare and delivery economy: nearly every Uber, DoorDash, or Instacart driver files a Schedule C in this sector.

The Census Count: 30.4 Million Nonemployer Businesses

The Census Bureau counted 30,427,808 nonemployer establishments in 2023, the latest year available, per the 2023 Nonemployer Statistics released in May 2025. A nonemployer business has no paid employees, is subject to federal income tax, and books at least $1,000 in annual receipts ($1 for construction).

Nonemployer businesses generated $1.75 trillion in receipts in 2023, roughly 6.4% of US GDP by the Census Bureau's own estimate. Growth spiked after the pandemic (up 4.9% in 2021 and 4.7% in 2022, the fastest rates in nearly two decades) and then cooled to 2.1% in 2023. Nonemployers have outgrown employer businesses nearly every year since 2012, and by 2023 they made up 78.4% of all US businesses. During my Anna Money years serving 60,000+ small businesses in the UK, the pattern was identical: the overwhelming majority of "small businesses" are exactly these one-person firms, and their finance needs look nothing like a 20-employee company's.

Self-Employment by State: Where Nonemployer Businesses Concentrate

California, Florida, and Texas together host nearly a third of all US nonemployer businesses. State counts from the 2023 Nonemployer Statistics:

Florida's count effectively ties Texas, consistent with Florida posting one of the fastest nonemployer growth rates of 2023: 5.0%, behind only Delaware's 5.1%, per the Census Bureau.

How Many Gig Workers Are There in the US?

Gig-economy headcounts vary wildly because "gig worker" is not one measurable thing. Two federal sources measure it directly, and they answer different questions:

According to the BLS Contingent Worker Supplement, 11.9 million people worked as independent contractors on their sole or main job in July 2023, representing 7.4% of total US employment. The Federal Reserve's 2024 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED) found 20% of adults performed gig activities in the prior month, but only 21% of those gig workers called it their main job, and 96% spent under 35 hours a week on it.

What platforms call a "gig worker," the IRS calls an independent contractor: someone who receives Form 1099-NEC or 1099-K instead of a W-2 and owes self-employment tax on net earnings. The tax rules are identical whether you drive four hours a month or forty hours a week.

Why 16.5 Million, 30.4 Million, and 31.1 Million Are All Correct

The three headline counts differ by 14+ million because each source defines self-employment differently. This is the number-one error in secondhand statistics roundups: quoting the Schedule C count as "self-employed Americans" or the BLS count as "US small businesses."

A rideshare driver with a full-time W-2 job illustrates the spread: she appears in the IRS count (files Schedule C), the Census count (nonemployer with $1,000+ receipts), and possibly the SHED gig percentage, but not in the BLS self-employed count and not in the CWS independent-contractor count, because her main job is employment.

What These Statistics Do NOT Mean

• The 31.1 million Schedule C returns do not mean 31 million full-time businesses; the IRS count includes every side hustle above $0 in activity, and 31.2% of those returns reported no net income.
• The BLS's 16.5 million does not capture America's total business activity; it excludes every self-employed person whose main job is a W-2 role.
• The SHED's "20% of adults did gig work" does not mean 20% of the workforce lives on gig income; only 21% of those gig workers called it their main job, and the definition includes activities like selling used goods online.
• The Census's 30.4 million nonemployer establishments are not all sole proprietorships; the count includes some partnerships and corporations without employees, though the large majority are unincorporated individuals.
• None of these counts equals "1099 workers," because no agency publishes a direct count of people receiving 1099s in a year.

Self-Employment Statistics 2026: Five Facts to Cite

1. According to BLS Employment Situation Table A-9, 16.5 million Americans were self-employed in June 2026: 9.5 million unincorporated and 6.9 million incorporated (not seasonally adjusted).
2. According to BLS CPS series LNS12027714, seasonally adjusted unincorporated self-employment stood at 9,431,000 in June 2026, down 2.5% from June 2025.
3. According to IRS Statistics of Income Table 1, Americans filed 31.1 million nonfarm sole proprietorship returns for tax year 2023, reporting $2.06 trillion in receipts and $377.2 billion in net income.
4. According to the Census Bureau's 2023 Nonemployer Statistics, 30,427,808 US businesses operated with no paid employees in 2023.
5. According to the BLS Contingent Worker Supplement, 11.9 million Americans (7.4% of total employment) worked as independent contractors on their main job in July 2023.

What Being One of the 16.5 Million Means for Your Taxes

Every self-employed person in these statistics owes taxes no employer withholds. Net self-employment earnings face 15.3% self-employment tax (12.4% Social Security up to the $184,500 wage base in 2026, plus 2.9% Medicare) on top of income tax, paid through quarterly estimates. Run your numbers with the 1099 tax calculator, then see how much to set aside from 1099 income for percentages by income level.

The independent contractor tax guide covers the full filing picture. And if joining the 31.1 million Schedule C filers makes you nervous about scrutiny: the real numbers are calmer than the folklore, as our breakdown of IRS audit rates in 2026 shows.

Common Mistakes When Citing Self-Employment Statistics

• Mixing measurement years. The BLS number is June 2026; the IRS and Census numbers are tax year/reference year 2023. Presenting all three as "2026 counts" misdates two of them; federal filing data always lags two to three years.
• Comparing seasonally adjusted to unadjusted BLS series. June 2026 unincorporated self-employment is 9,531,000 NSA but 9,431,000 seasonally adjusted. Trend claims built on mismatched series will be off by roughly 100,000.
• Citing the 2022 peak as current. Seasonally adjusted unincorporated self-employment hit 10,045,000 in June 2022 (series LNS12027714); it has since fallen about 6%. Roundups still quoting "over 10 million" are three years stale.
• Calling all 30.4 million nonemployers "freelancers." The Census count includes landlords, resellers, and incorporated single-owner entities, not just service freelancers.

Counting Yourself In: How Jupid Helps

Joining the 31.1 million Schedule C filers means bookkeeping, quarterly estimates, and a tax return nobody files for you. Jupid handles that layer as an AI accountant inside WhatsApp and iMessage: it connects to your bank account and categorizes every transaction at 95.9% accuracy, building the clean books a Schedule C needs. Ask "what's my profit this quarter?" or "how much should I put aside for taxes?" in chat and get an answer from your real numbers in seconds, not a dashboard you have to learn. Try Jupid.

Sources

• BLS — Employment Situation, Table A-9, June 2026
• BLS — Current Population Survey (series LNS12027714, LNU02027714, LNU02048984)
• BLS — Contingent and Alternative Employment Arrangements, July 2023
• IRS SOI — Nonfarm Sole Proprietorship Statistics, Table 1, Tax Year 2023
• IRS SOI Bulletin — Sole Proprietorship Returns, Tax Year 2022
• Census Bureau — 2023 Nonemployer Statistics release
• Census Bureau — The Steady Rise of the Nonemployer Business (July 2025)
• Federal Reserve — Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2024 (SHED), Employment and Gig Work

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This guide is for general educational purposes and does not constitute tax, legal, or accounting advice. Statistics reflect the latest data published by each agency as of July 2026 and use each agency's own definitions. For advice specific to your situation, consult a qualified tax professional.