Data
Boomer Business Owner Statistics
The demographic case behind small-business acquisition, with a source behind every figure.
52.3% of U.S. employer-business owners are 55 or older: 29.5% are 55 to 64, and 22.8% are 65 and older.
The United States is inside the "Peak 65" zone (2024 through 2027): a record 4.18 million Americans reach 65 in 2025, roughly 11,400 people per day.
Source: Alliance for Lifetime Income, Retirement Income Institute
Among owners of nonemployer businesses, only 35% plan to transfer ownership through a sale or gift; 27% plan to simply close, and 40% are uncertain.
Source: Gallup Pathways to Wealth Survey (JPMorganChase and the Kauffman Foundation), fall 2024
Owners of employer businesses plan ahead more often: 74% intend to sell or transfer the business rather than close it.
Buyer demand is not keeping pace with the ownership wave: SBA change-of-ownership approvals ran between 4,983 and 7,525 loans per year across FY2020 to FY2025.
What this means in practice: stage 1 of the Roadmap weighs the opportunity honestly, and Acquisition Statistics covers the transaction side. Free to cite with attribution and a link.
Everything here is educational information, not financial, legal, tax, or investment advice. Figures are estimates or cited third-party data; verify anything that matters against primary sources and your own advisors before acting on it.