What business has a 90% success rate? None. Here's how long 26,000+ businesses actually last
Google's AI answer says laundromats have a 95% success rate, citing Instagram and TikTok. Government data says no sector beats about 60% at five years. Here is what survival really looks like, and how long 120 types of business have lasted.
The short answer
No business has a measured 90% success rate. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics follows every new private establishment, and across every cohort since 1994 about 79% survive one year, about 50% survive five years and about 34% survive ten. No sector clears about 60% at five years.
What you can measure is how long businesses of each type have already lasted. Among 26,000+ U.S. businesses for sale that state a founding year, the median has been running 12 years, 58% have run 10+ years and 34% have run 20+. Garden centres, hardware stores and metal fabrication shops skew oldest. Cafes, food trucks and gyms skew youngest. Buyers pay about 25% more per dollar of earnings for a business that has lasted 30 years.
Where the “90% of businesses fail” figure comes from
The number most people repeat comes from startups, not from small businesses. In 2012 the Wall Street Journal reported Harvard Business School research by Shikhar Ghosh on 2,000+ venture-backed companies: about three in four did not return investors' capital, 30% to 40% were liquidated, and more than 95% missed their projected return. Those companies were built to grow fast or die, and most died.
Somewhere between that research and a thousand motivational posts, “venture-backed startups mostly fail” became “90% of businesses fail”. It is now said about bars, small towns and anything new, usually with no source. Even careful writers slip: Failory separates startups from small businesses in its body text, then repeats the 90% figure in its own FAQ.
“Other businesses have the same stigma, first 20% of business close the first year(not 90%).”r/wealth
“Even in large cities that can support an idea, well over 50% of businesses fail. I'd say that close to 90% of businesses fail in small towns.”r/Idaho
“...it's very difficult to get a bank to approve a startup loan for a bar because (and she kept coming back to this point) “90% of bars fail.””r/smallbusiness
Startups and small businesses are different populations
A venture-backed startup is a bet on a large outcome; most bets lose by design. A plumbing company, a laundromat or a dental practice is built to pay its owner every month. Mixing the two is how a bank officer ends up telling a would-be bar owner that 90% of bars fail. If you are choosing a business to start or buy, the population you care about is the second one, and the government measures it directly.
If you are deciding between the two paths, our guide to side hustles versus real businesses and the analysis of why startups fail in 2026 cover the startup side. This page is about the businesses that pay rent and payroll.
What percentage of small businesses survive 5 years?
About half. The BLS Business Employment Dynamics program tracks every private-sector establishment by the year it opened. Taking the median across 31 annual cohorts from 1994 to 2025:
| Years since opening | Share still operating (median cohort) | Latest cohort |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 79.1% | 77.9% (opened 2024) |
| 2 years | 68.4% | - |
| 5 years | 49.9% | 51.4% (opened 2020) |
| 10 years | 33.9% | 34.7% (opened 2015) |
| 15 years | 25.5% | - |
| 20 years | 20.4% | 19.5% (opened 2005) |
The SBA Office of Advocacy reports nearly the same curve for 1994 to 2021: 67.9% survive two years, 49.2% five years, 33.8% ten years and 25.6% fifteen years. Of the 569,000+ establishments that opened in March 1994, 12.6% were still operating in March 2025.
The first year varies with the economy. BLS analysis in The Economics Daily found the best one-year survival on record at 84.6% (Pacific states, businesses born in 2021) and the worst at 71.4% (South Atlantic states, 2008). Even in a recession, roughly seven in ten made it through year one. That is a long way from 90% failing.
Which sectors survive best?
BLS publishes survival by sector, not by business type. No sector beats about 60% at five years in any recent cohort, and the spread between the best and worst sectors is under ten points.
| Sector | 1 year | 5 years | 10 years | 20 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 82.7% | 55.5% | 36.8% | 22.1% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 82.1% | 55.1% | 39.8% | 23.4% |
| Retail Trade | 83.7% | 54.2% | 39% | 24.3% |
| Other Services (incl. laundromats, repair, salons) | 81.8% | 53.4% | 37.4% | 21.9% |
| Accommodation and Food Services | 81.6% | 52.8% | 37.6% | 24.6% |
| Construction | 77.1% | 47.7% | 31.8% | 16.8% |
| Professional, Scientific and Technical | 78.4% | 47% | 30.8% | 17.9% |
| Administrative and Waste Services | 77% | 46.1% | 30.7% | 18.2% |
Two things stand out. Restaurants are not the worst bet the internet says they are: accommodation and food services sits at 52.8% five-year survival, slightly above the all-business median of 49.9%. And construction, professional services and administrative services trail, at 46% to 48%, because they are cheap to open and easy to close.
Do laundromats really have a 95% success rate?
Search “what business has a 90% success rate” and Google's AI Overview answers with laundromats at 95%, self-storage at 92% to 96%, vending at 90% to 92% and HVAC, pest control and senior care in the same range. Its sources are Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn and Medium posts. The top-ranking article repeats “92% to 95% survive five years” with no citation.
No dataset we could find supports it. The BLS does not publish laundromat survival. Laundromats sit inside Other Services, where median five-year survival is 53.4% and the latest cohort reached 60.0%. A single business type inside that sector would need to be almost twice as durable as its neighbours to reach 95%.
What is true is that the laundromats that make it are long-lived. In our data the median laundromat or dry cleaner for sale has been running 23 years, and 60% have run 20+ years. That is durability among survivors, which is useful if you are buying an established one. It is not a success rate for opening a new one. If you are weighing a laundromat, the Main Street numbers on what they earn compared with other businesses matter more than a viral percentage.
What our data measures, and what it does not
BigIdeasDB's Main Street Index captures businesses for sale from BizBuySell and 28 BusinessesForSale country sites. For this study we used the 26,000+ U.S. listings that state the year the business was founded, with businesses listed on two marketplaces counted once. That is 54% of the 48,800+ U.S. listings.
Every business in this data is a survivor that reached a sale. Businesses that closed are not in it. So the numbers below answer “how long do businesses of this type last when they last?” and “how often does a business of this type get sold young?”. They do not give a failure rate. We treat them the way a buyer would: as evidence about which kinds of business keep going.
How old are businesses for sale?
The median U.S. business for sale was founded 12 years ago. 79.9% have run five years or more, 57.7% ten or more, 34.3% twenty or more, 19.0% thirty or more and 4.6% fifty or more. Only 14.7% are three years old or younger.
Compare that with the BLS curve. Only about a third of new businesses reach ten years, yet nearly six in ten businesses on the market have. The market for businesses is mostly a market for businesses that already survived the hardest years.
How long each of 120 business types has lasted
| Industry | Sector | Median age (yrs) | 10+ yrs | 20+ yrs | 0-3 yrs | Median ask | Ask / SDE | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garden Centres | Retail | 39.0 | 77.4% | 64.5% | 3.2% | $900K | 4.06 | 30+ |
| Hardware & DIY Retail | Retail | 33.0 | 78% | 64% | 4% | $515K | 4.03 | 50+ |
| Plastics & Glass Manufacturing | Manufacturing & Industrial | 31.0 | 90.3% | 74.2% | 0% | $1.1M | 3.57 | 30+ |
| Metal Fabrication & Machining | Manufacturing & Industrial | 31.0 | 89.7% | 77% | 1.7% | $1.2M | 3.96 | 170+ |
| Real Estate Development | Construction & Property | 30.0 | 81.8% | 57.6% | 0% | - | n<30 | 30+ |
| Wood Products Manufacturing | Manufacturing & Industrial | 28.5 | 83.3% | 69.4% | 2.8% | $1.1M | 3.26 | 70+ |
| Tire Shops | Automotive & Transport | 27.0 | 79.6% | 71.4% | 8.2% | $600K | 3.04 | 45+ |
| Accountancy & Bookkeeping | Business & Professional Services | 26.0 | 87.4% | 67.1% | 2.6% | $504K | 2.46 | 230+ |
| Antiques & Art Retail | Retail | 26.0 | 85.7% | 65.3% | 6.1% | $250K | 2.77 | 45+ |
| Construction Supply | Construction & Property | 26.0 | 86.1% | 62% | 2.5% | $1.7M | 4.31 | 75+ |
| Dental Practices | Health & Medical | 26.0 | 83.1% | 63.6% | 3.9% | $550K | 1.99 | 75+ |
| General Manufacturing | Manufacturing & Industrial | 26.0 | 81.7% | 59.8% | 2.8% | $950K | 3.90 | 240+ |
| Printing & Signage | Business & Professional Services | 26.0 | 81.2% | 63.9% | 4.9% | $350K | 2.86 | 280+ |
| Surveying & Architecture | Construction & Property | 25.5 | 87.9% | 65.5% | 3.4% | $500K | 2.58 | 55+ |
| Jewellery Retail | Retail | 25.0 | 72.6% | 56.5% | 12.9% | $299K | 2.41 | 60+ |
| Legal Services | Business & Professional Services | 25.0 | 93.5% | 65.2% | 0% | $500K | 2.52 | 45+ |
| Fuel Stations | Manufacturing & Industrial | 25.0 | 72.2% | 58.6% | 14.8% | $900K | 2.57 | 160+ |
| Civil Engineering | Construction & Property | 23.5 | 79.6% | 55.6% | 0% | $2.9M | 3.79 | 50+ |
| Plumbing | Home & Trade Services | 23.0 | 84.9% | 59.9% | 4.7% | $400K | 2.36 | 210+ |
| Laundry & Dry Cleaning | Consumer Services | 23.0 | 83.3% | 60.3% | 4.8% | $350K | 2.98 | 430+ |
| Wholesale & Distribution | Manufacturing & Industrial | 23.0 | 85.1% | 58% | 3.6% | $775K | 3.40 | 270+ |
| Engineering Services | Manufacturing & Industrial | 23.0 | 79.8% | 58.1% | 1.6% | $650K | 2.91 | 120+ |
| Hotels | Leisure, Hospitality & Events | 22.5 | 66.7% | 52.9% | 7.8% | $2.5M | 9.42 | 100+ |
| Chiropractic Clinics | Health & Medical | 22.5 | 75% | 56.7% | 3.3% | $250K | 1.87 | 60+ |
| Carpentry & Joinery | Home & Trade Services | 22.0 | 71.4% | 55.7% | 7.1% | $450K | 2.67 | 70+ |
| Electrical Contracting | Home & Trade Services | 21.5 | 85.7% | 56% | 2.4% | $713K | 2.92 | 160+ |
| Veterinary Clinics | Health & Medical | 21.0 | 78% | 58.5% | 9.8% | $1.0M | 3.41 | 40+ |
| Glazing | Home & Trade Services | 21.0 | 65.2% | 51.8% | 5.7% | $350K | 2.76 | 140+ |
| Auto Repair | Automotive & Transport | 21.0 | 74.6% | 53.2% | 6% | $460K | 2.80 | 810+ |
| Auto Parts Retail | Automotive & Transport | 21.0 | 70.4% | 56.8% | 2.5% | $637K | 3.91 | 80+ |
| Liquor Stores | Retail | 20.0 | 71.1% | 51.9% | 12.2% | $513K | 3.07 | 400+ |
| Postal & Shipping Services | Consumer Services | 20.0 | 74.8% | 54.8% | 14.2% | $335K | 3.02 | 150+ |
| Optical Practices | Health & Medical | 20.0 | 75% | 54.5% | 11.4% | $375K | 2.49 | 40+ |
| Finance & Lending | Business & Professional Services | 20.0 | 73.9% | 54.3% | 2.2% | $350K | 2.33 | 45+ |
| Florists | Retail | 20.0 | 81.4% | 53.1% | 7.1% | $199K | 2.38 | 110+ |
| Aviation | Automotive & Transport | 20.0 | 70.3% | 51.4% | 13.5% | $419K | 1.05 | 35+ |
| Commercial Property | Construction & Property | 19.0 | 67.3% | 49.1% | 15.1% | $700K | 7.62 | 150+ |
| Medical Practices | Health & Medical | 19.0 | 76.6% | 48.8% | 8% | $750K | 2.60 | 290+ |
| General Contracting | Construction & Property | 19.0 | 67.8% | 49.4% | 7.4% | $750K | 2.85 | 390+ |
| Insurance Agencies | Business & Professional Services | 18.0 | 77.6% | 46.6% | 6.9% | $675K | 2.78 | 170+ |
| Publishing & Media | Technology & Media | 17.0 | 72.7% | 45.5% | 14.3% | $300K | 3.00 | 75+ |
| Grocery & Supermarkets | Retail | 17.0 | 63.6% | 43% | 21.5% | $600K | 2.73 | 120+ |
| Gift & Card Shops | Retail | 17.0 | 67.8% | 44.1% | 11.9% | $244K | 2.60 | 55+ |
| Other Personal Services | Consumer Services | 17.0 | 64.1% | 38.5% | 7.7% | $150K | 1.70 | 35+ |
| Care Homes & Home Care | Health & Medical | 17.0 | 68.4% | 42.3% | 8.6% | $275K | 1.83 | 470+ |
| Marine & Boating | Automotive & Transport | 16.5 | 60.6% | 44.7% | 7.4% | $797K | 3.75 | 90+ |
| Interior Design | Home & Trade Services | 16.5 | 67.3% | 46.2% | 1.9% | $360K | 2.73 | 50+ |
| Management Consulting | Business & Professional Services | 16.0 | 66% | 42.6% | 17% | $275K | 2.35 | 45+ |
| IT Services | Technology & Media | 16.0 | 84.3% | 37.3% | 2% | $1.1M | 3.53 | 50+ |
| Convenience Stores | Retail | 16.0 | 62.4% | 49.7% | 22.3% | $250K | 2.26 | 150+ |
| Furniture & Home Furnishing Retail | Retail | 15.0 | 65.5% | 40.1% | 10.2% | $312K | 2.63 | 170+ |
| HVAC | Home & Trade Services | 15.0 | 66.9% | 41% | 4.9% | $498K | 2.42 | 400+ |
| Kitchen & Bathroom Fitting | Home & Trade Services | 15.0 | 66.7% | 40% | 5% | $650K | 2.69 | 60+ |
| Car Dealerships | Automotive & Transport | 15.0 | 70.8% | 44.1% | 8.1% | $900K | 2.96 | 160+ |
| Medical Supply & Manufacturing | Health & Medical | 14.5 | 66.7% | 43.1% | 13.9% | $398K | 3.60 | 70+ |
| Roofing | Home & Trade Services | 14.0 | 65.8% | 40% | 5% | $700K | 2.93 | 120+ |
| Recruitment & Staffing | Business & Professional Services | 14.0 | 70.8% | 29.2% | 5.6% | $217K | 2.72 | 85+ |
| Agriculture & Farming | Manufacturing & Industrial | 14.0 | 59.7% | 43.5% | 1.6% | $1.4M | 4.97 | 60+ |
| Delicatessens | Food & Beverage | 14.0 | 59.3% | 41.8% | 7.7% | $259K | 2.20 | 90+ |
| Vocational & Corporate Training | Education & Childcare | 14.0 | 69.3% | 36% | 5.3% | $349K | 2.86 | 75+ |
| Property Management | Construction & Property | 13.0 | 63.2% | 27.6% | 2% | $199K | 1.43 | 150+ |
| Car Washes | Automotive & Transport | 13.0 | 60% | 38.9% | 14.3% | $1.5M | 5.64 | 170+ |
| Clothing & Apparel Retail | Retail | 13.0 | 63.9% | 32.6% | 12% | $225K | 2.77 | 290+ |
| Equipment Rental | Business & Professional Services | 13.0 | 60.5% | 37.9% | 13.7% | $475K | 3.22 | 120+ |
| Food & Beverage Manufacturing | Food & Beverage | 13.0 | 62.1% | 31.8% | 9.3% | $700K | 3.65 | 210+ |
| Landscaping & Lawn Care | Home & Trade Services | 13.0 | 60.2% | 41.4% | 7.3% | $405K | 2.50 | 440+ |
| Nightclubs & Adult Venues | Food & Beverage | 13.0 | 53.7% | 38.9% | 13% | $900K | 3.00 | 50+ |
| Painting & Decorating | Home & Trade Services | 13.0 | 64.7% | 29.4% | 14% | $299K | 2.26 | 130+ |
| Security Services | Home & Trade Services | 13.0 | 68.7% | 43.3% | 7.5% | $500K | 2.96 | 65+ |
| Sporting Goods Retail | Retail | 13.0 | 60.4% | 30.9% | 5.8% | $305K | 2.87 | 130+ |
| Sandwich Shops | Food & Beverage | 12.0 | 57.7% | 34.4% | 12.6% | $175K | 2.56 | 210+ |
| Marketing & Advertising | Business & Professional Services | 12.0 | 55.3% | 35.1% | 14% | $499K | 3.14 | 110+ |
| Pizzerias | Food & Beverage | 12.0 | 57.9% | 33.1% | 16.8% | $250K | 2.38 | 670+ |
| Electronics & Appliance Retail | Retail | 12.0 | 61% | 37.5% | 13.2% | $287K | 2.49 | 130+ |
| Trucking & Freight | Automotive & Transport | 12.0 | 57.1% | 37.1% | 9.7% | $1.0M | 3.33 | 170+ |
| Commercial & Industrial Cleaning | Home & Trade Services | 12.0 | 55.9% | 28.2% | 13.6% | $255K | 1.71 | 380+ |
| Hair Salons & Barbers | Personal Care & Wellness | 11.0 | 60% | 29.8% | 14.1% | $120K | 2.00 | 450+ |
| Catering | Food & Beverage | 11.0 | 55.8% | 35.8% | 15% | $279K | 2.38 | 120+ |
| Energy Services | Business & Professional Services | 11.0 | 55.8% | 16.3% | 4.7% | $613K | 2.58 | 40+ |
| Other Home Improvement | Home & Trade Services | 11.0 | 53.5% | 30.4% | 8% | $395K | 2.29 | 290+ |
| Cosmetics & Beauty Supply | Retail | 11.0 | 54.2% | 18.1% | 19.4% | $200K | 2.41 | 70+ |
| Taxi & Chauffeur | Automotive & Transport | 11.0 | 54.8% | 24.7% | 8.2% | $435K | 3.06 | 70+ |
| Childcare & Nurseries | Education & Childcare | 11.0 | 57.4% | 33% | 17.8% | $849K | 3.61 | 230+ |
| Flooring & Tiling | Home & Trade Services | 11.0 | 51.6% | 42.6% | 15.3% | $310K | 2.26 | 190+ |
| Moving & Storage | Automotive & Transport | 10.0 | 52.6% | 25.4% | 11.4% | $399K | 2.45 | 110+ |
| Nail Salons | Personal Care & Wellness | 10.0 | 51.4% | 14% | 15.2% | $150K | 1.45 | 310+ |
| Other Business Services | Business & Professional Services | 10.0 | 51.9% | 27.8% | 13.5% | $274K | 2.97 | 130+ |
| Pharmacies | Health & Medical | 10.0 | 51.6% | 22.6% | 20.4% | $476K | 3.00 | 90+ |
| Building & Property Maintenance | Home & Trade Services | 10.0 | 50.5% | 18.5% | 11.8% | $253K | 1.39 | 370+ |
| Swimming Pool Services | Home & Trade Services | 10.0 | 51.1% | 27.5% | 15.9% | $128K | 1.09 | 180+ |
| Food & Beverage Wholesale | Food & Beverage | 10.0 | 51.9% | 35.9% | 11.7% | $189K | 1.96 | 230+ |
| Bars & Pubs | Food & Beverage | 9.5 | 50% | 26.5% | 22.6% | $375K | 2.92 | 750+ |
| Other Health Services | Health & Medical | 9.5 | 50% | 22.9% | 15.9% | $483K | 2.76 | 310+ |
| Restaurants | Food & Beverage | 9.0 | 49.9% | 25.3% | 21.6% | $300K | 2.39 | 2,600+ |
| Schools & Tutoring | Education & Childcare | 9.0 | 47.8% | 21.4% | 14.9% | $168K | 2.47 | 200+ |
| Pet Services | Consumer Services | 9.0 | 47.3% | 21.7% | 23.1% | $210K | 2.70 | 280+ |
| Software & SaaS | Technology & Media | 9.0 | 47.4% | 20% | 22.2% | $1.1M | 4.41 | 130+ |
| Pest Control | Home & Trade Services | 9.0 | 47.5% | 23% | 21.3% | $244K | 2.27 | 60+ |
| Events & Venues | Leisure, Hospitality & Events | 9.0 | 48.2% | 24.1% | 22.3% | $700K | 3.41 | 220+ |
| Seafood & Sushi Restaurants | Food & Beverage | 8.0 | 46.2% | 20.5% | 15.8% | $250K | 1.97 | 230+ |
| Bakeries & Confectioners | Food & Beverage | 8.0 | 44.1% | 22.6% | 24.4% | $280K | 2.66 | 390+ |
| Fast Food & Takeaway | Food & Beverage | 8.0 | 45.4% | 22.5% | 22.4% | $255K | 2.56 | 680+ |
| E-commerce & Online Retail | Technology & Media | 8.0 | 37% | 17.8% | 17% | $161K | 2.80 | 130+ |
| Specialty Food Retail | Retail | 8.0 | 46.5% | 19.9% | 23% | $250K | 2.31 | 440+ |
| Sports & Recreation | Leisure, Hospitality & Events | 8.0 | 41.7% | 24.4% | 22.6% | $295K | 3.10 | 160+ |
| Alternative Health | Health & Medical | 8.0 | 47.3% | 23.6% | 18.2% | $260K | 2.33 | 55+ |
| Beauty Services | Personal Care & Wellness | 7.0 | 30.8% | 7.6% | 23.2% | $235K | 2.81 | 230+ |
| Environmental & Waste Services | Business & Professional Services | 7.0 | 36.1% | 21% | 9.8% | $385K | 2.97 | 200+ |
| Courier & Delivery | Automotive & Transport | 7.0 | 43.8% | 29.8% | 23.1% | $1.3M | 3.14 | 120+ |
| Domestic Cleaning | Home & Trade Services | 7.0 | 39.4% | 21.1% | 16.9% | $200K | 2.32 | 70+ |
| Ice Cream & Dessert Shops | Food & Beverage | 7.0 | 36.1% | 14.1% | 29.4% | $190K | 2.82 | 260+ |
| Spas & Massage | Personal Care & Wellness | 7.0 | 35.9% | 9.2% | 25.8% | $299K | 2.61 | 300+ |
| Amusements & Attractions | Leisure, Hospitality & Events | 6.5 | 28.5% | 9.1% | 30.1% | $310K | 2.78 | 180+ |
| Gyms & Fitness Studios | Personal Care & Wellness | 6.0 | 25.3% | 4.6% | 26.9% | $188K | 2.66 | 390+ |
| Websites & Digital Assets | Technology & Media | 6.0 | 30.3% | 9.1% | 21.2% | $175K | 3.04 | 30+ |
| Pet Retail | Retail | 6.0 | 29.9% | 16.4% | 14.9% | $115K | 2.51 | 65+ |
| Vehicle Rental & Leasing | Automotive & Transport | 5.5 | 30% | 10% | 27.5% | $600K | 3.20 | 40+ |
| Food Trucks & Vending | Food & Beverage | 5.0 | 29% | 13.5% | 34.7% | $130K | 1.84 | 190+ |
| Cafes & Coffee Shops | Food & Beverage | 5.0 | 26.9% | 9.6% | 34.1% | $180K | 2.50 | 620+ |
| Toy & Hobby Shops | Retail | 5.0 | 17.4% | 10.1% | 8.7% | $103K | 1.88 | 65+ |
Showing 120 of 120. Source: BigIdeasDB Main Street Index, U.S. business-for-sale listings stating a founding year, cross-site duplicates removed, industries with 30+ such listings, verified October 1, 2026. Median ask and ask/SDE from USD listings on an SDE basis (scoring 1.2.0). Survivors that reached a sale, not success rates.
What business has the highest rate of success? The longest-running types
Measured by how long listed businesses have lasted, these 15 types lead. Each has 30+ listings with a stated founding year.
| Business type | Median age | Running 20+ years | Median asking price | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garden Centres | 39 yrs | 64.5% | $900K | 30+ |
| Hardware & DIY Retail | 33 yrs | 64% | $515K | 50+ |
| Metal Fabrication & Machining | 31 yrs | 77% | $1.2M | 170+ |
| Plastics & Glass Manufacturing | 31 yrs | 74.2% | $1.1M | 30+ |
| Real Estate Development | 30 yrs | 57.6% | - | 30+ |
| Wood Products Manufacturing | 28.5 yrs | 69.4% | $1.1M | 70+ |
| Tire Shops | 27 yrs | 71.4% | $600K | 45+ |
| Accountancy & Bookkeeping | 26 yrs | 67.1% | $504K | 230+ |
| Antiques & Art Retail | 26 yrs | 65.3% | $250K | 45+ |
| Printing & Signage | 26 yrs | 63.9% | $350K | 280+ |
| Dental Practices | 26 yrs | 63.6% | $550K | 75+ |
| Construction Supply | 26 yrs | 62% | $1.7M | 75+ |
| General Manufacturing | 26 yrs | 59.8% | $950K | 240+ |
| Surveying & Architecture | 25.5 yrs | 65.5% | $500K | 55+ |
| Legal Services | 25 yrs | 65.2% | $500K | 45+ |
The pattern is not glamour. It is equipment, skill and repeat customers: machine shops, hardware stores, tire shops, accountancy and dental practices, printing and signage. Several of these are among the boring businesses that people dismiss and then quietly run for decades.
Why those business types last
Four traits show up again and again among the oldest types. They sell something customers need repeatedly (tires, accounting, dental care). They need equipment or a licence that keeps casual competitors out. They rely on local relationships that compound. And they are rarely trend products. Our decision table for what business to start scores licences, recurring revenue and staff needs for 55 types if you want to filter on those traits directly.
“Selling insurance. BORING. But a cash cow. You can sell a policy one time and get paid a commission every year it renews.”r/Entrepreneur
“Painting is difficult to scale because very few people paint their homes every year. Window cleaning is repeat revenue for life if you do a good job”r/sweatystartup
Where businesses for sale are youngest
At the other end, some types reach the market young. A high share of listings under three years old suggests owners often exit early, whether by choice or not.
| Business type | Listed at 0-3 years old | Median age | Median asking price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food Trucks & Vending | 34.7% | 5 yrs | $130K |
| Cafes & Coffee Shops | 34.1% | 5 yrs | $180K |
| Amusements & Attractions | 30.1% | 6.5 yrs | $310K |
| Ice Cream & Dessert Shops | 29.4% | 7 yrs | $190K |
| Vehicle Rental & Leasing | 27.5% | 5.5 yrs | $600K |
| Gyms & Fitness Studios | 26.9% | 6 yrs | $188K |
| Spas & Massage | 25.8% | 7 yrs | $299K |
| Bakeries & Confectioners | 24.4% | 8 yrs | $280K |
| Beauty Services | 23.2% | 7 yrs | $235K |
| Pet Services | 23.1% | 9 yrs | $210K |
Cafes, food trucks and gyms: one in three listed within three years
About a third of food trucks and cafes for sale are three years old or younger, and the median cafe for sale is five years old. Gyms, spas and ice cream shops follow the same pattern. These are low-barrier, high-passion businesses: easy to open, hard to keep profitable once the novelty fades, and often sold by owners who discover they bought a job.
None of that makes them bad businesses. It means the population includes many short attempts. If you want one, buying an established cafe with five years of books is a different risk from opening a new one, and our budget guide shows what each price band actually buys.
What is the cheapest successful business to start or buy?
We cannot rank success, but we can find business types that both last and are affordable. These industries have half or more of their listings past 20 years and a median asking price of $350K or less.
| Business type | Median asking price | Running 20+ years | Median age | Ask / SDE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florists | $199K | 53.1% | 20 yrs | 2.38x |
| Antiques & Art Retail | $250K | 65.3% | 26 yrs | 2.77x |
| Chiropractic Clinics | $250K | 56.7% | 22.5 yrs | 1.87x |
| Jewellery Retail | $299K | 56.5% | 25 yrs | 2.41x |
| Postal & Shipping Services | $335K | 54.8% | 20 yrs | 3.02x |
| Finance & Lending | $350K | 54.3% | 20 yrs | 2.33x |
| Printing & Signage | $350K | 63.9% | 26 yrs | 2.86x |
| Laundry & Dry Cleaning | $350K | 60.3% | 23 yrs | 2.98x |
| Glazing | $350K | 51.8% | 21 yrs | 2.76x |
Florists stand out: a median ask under $200K with more than half of listed shops past 20 years. Laundromats, print shops and postal and shipping stores all land at $335K to $350K. For the cheapest end of the market, below $100K, our guide to what it costs to start a business is the better starting point, because almost no established business asks that little.
Which sectors produce the longest-lasting businesses?
Grouped by sector, manufacturing and industrial businesses for sale have a median age of 25 years and 60.7% have run 20+ years, with only 4.3% under three. Construction and property follows at 19 years. Retail sits at 13, and food and beverage, personal care and leisure are the youngest, where cafes, gyms and attractions pull the medians down.
Our sector view lines up with the BLS in one place and departs in another. Both agree that manufacturing and established trades last. But where the BLS shows food service surviving at the median, our data shows food businesses reaching the market younger. The likely reason: food businesses that close often sell their equipment and lease, not the business, and those that do sell are often sold early.
Once a business survives five years, the odds change
This is the most useful fact for anyone buying a business, and the one almost no article mentions. Survival is not a flat risk. It falls with age.
- Of the businesses that survive five years, about 68% reach ten (BLS medians: 33.9% of 49.9%).
- Of those that reach ten, about 60% reach twenty (20.4% of 33.9%).
- The SBA reports the same shape: 69.5% of five-year survivors reach ten, and 76.5% of ten-year survivors reach fifteen.
A buyer of a 12-year-old business is not taking the 50% five-year bet a founder takes. They are buying something that has already beaten most of the curve. That is what they pay for, and the next section shows how much.
Older businesses ask more for the same earnings
Among U.S. listings with an asking price and stated SDE, the median asking multiple climbs with age.
| Business age | Listings with a founding year | Median asking multiple of SDE |
|---|---|---|
| 0-3 years | 3,800+ | 2.36x |
| 4-9 years | 7,300+ | 2.30x |
| 10-19 years | 6,200+ | 2.52x |
| 20-29 years | 4,000+ | 2.60x |
| 30+ years | 5,000+ | 2.94x |
A business that has lasted 30 years asks about 25% more per dollar of earnings than one that is three years old. That premium is the market pricing in the survival curve. Whether a particular listing's premium is earned is a separate question, and the free Business Price Checker answers it against similar listings in the same industry and price range. Our guide to valuation methods covers the same multiple logic for software businesses.
Why owners sell young businesses
Among listings that give a reason for selling, the stated reason changes sharply with age.
| Business age | Retirement | Other business | Relocation | Burnout or health | Financial distress |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-3 years | 8.4% | 32.4% | 20.0% | 9.2% | 1.3% |
| 4-9 years | 21.0% | 31.0% | 16.9% | 5.9% | 0.8% |
| 10-19 years | 44.6% | 21.3% | 10.4% | 5.1% | 1.0% |
| 20-29 years | 61.3% | 13.3% | 7.1% | 4.3% | 0.9% |
| 30+ years | 72.0% | 10.1% | 4.2% | 2.8% | 1.2% |
Young businesses are sold by owners moving on: a third say they are leaving for another venture and a fifth say they are relocating. Burnout and health are three times as common as among 30-year businesses. Old businesses are sold by owners retiring. For a buyer, that means a young listing deserves the harder question: is the reason real, or is the business not working? Our study of why owners sell their businesses breaks the reasons down by industry.
Almost no seller admits money trouble
Financial distress or being undercapitalized is stated in only about 1% of listings in every age group. That is not because businesses never struggle; it is because sellers do not advertise it. Owners on Reddit say the opposite about why businesses end:
“Can you start a business with no money or practically none? Yes. But running out of money will be The Top Reason you end that business.”r/Entrepreneur
“Running out of cash is always one of the top three reasons -- but isn't selling something hardly anybody wants to buy a really good way to do that?”r/Entrepreneur
Read every stated reason as the seller's framing, and verify it in the books. Our due diligence guide lists the documents to ask for.
Startups are far younger than businesses for sale
We measured founding dates across four BigIdeasDB datasets. The gap shows why startup failure statistics do not describe main street businesses.
| Population | Companies with a founding date | Median age | Share 10+ years old |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main street businesses for sale (U.S.) | 26,000+ | 12 years | 57.7% |
| Venture and angel-funded companies | 6,400+ | 5 years | 23.0% |
| SaaS and online businesses for sale | 800+ | 3 years | 11.7% |
| Indie startups with verified revenue | 7,400+ | 1 year | 0.6% |
Funded companies and online businesses are young because they are new categories built to grow or be sold quickly. Main street businesses are old because the ones that survive keep going for decades. If you browse funded startups or SaaS acquisitions, you are looking at a different life cycle from a laundromat or a plumbing company.
What percentage of startups fail?
For venture-backed startups, the best-known estimate is Ghosh's: about three in four do not return investors' money and 30% to 40% are wound up with investors losing everything. For any new business, the BLS says about one in five closes in its first year. Both are real numbers. Neither is “90% of businesses fail”. For software, our startup failure statistics measure revenue outcomes for 8,600+ startups, and lessons from failed business ideas cover what went wrong. If you are building software, our pages on validating a startup idea and idea validation cover the steps that move those odds.
What is the #1 reason businesses fail?
Running out of cash, usually because the business sells something too few people want at a price that covers its costs. The owners who have been through it describe the same handful of causes:
“I've seen a lot of businesses start and die here simply because the business they started isn't anything people wanted.”r/Idaho
“Out here, I see businesses fail when the owners get starry visions of what they think people want.”r/Idaho
“Failure to plan and foresee financial hardships. Being a business owner doesn't automatically make you good at managing finances.”r/Entrepreneur
“Lack of funds, people get a really good idea have a lack funds or investment and end up having to stop doing what they were doing because they didn't plan or foresee hidden fees and expenses”r/Entrepreneur
“Most businesses don't fail because the owner wasn't capable. They fail because they got stuck.”r/smallbusiness
“I would think the scaling phase is most likely to cause failure. It's a lot harder than people realize...”r/Entrepreneur
Those causes are why validating demand first matters. Our guide on how to validate a business idea in an industry you don't know and the idea validation checklist turn this into steps.
“The business sold next to nothing. $10,000 invested. $200 dollars revenue. An utter failure, right?”r/smallbusiness
“I went from generating $150,000+ annual revenue in 2019/2020 without doing much outbound marketing to going full-throttle on new customer acquisition and barely clocking $90,000 in 2024.”r/smallbusiness
“This has been 90 plus percent of our income because they required so much of our attention morning noon and night.”r/smallbusiness
How the 90% myth spreads
The figure shows up in loan meetings, small-town forums and motivational posts, usually as a reason not to try or as a reason to try harder. It is almost never sourced:
“that stat that claims 90% of businesses fail, is that during the startup phase? Or during the scale phase?”r/Entrepreneur
“90% of businesses fail, but I wonder how many of those people quit before they really even got started.”r/business
“90% of business fails, since coming up with the right product or service is extremely difficult”r/unpopularopinion
“This is one thing people don't talk about in owning a business, probably why 90% of businesses fail.”r/smallbusiness
“Don't let the “90% of businesses fail” stat scare you because that number keeps going down every time you try something new.”r/QuitCorporate
“Consultants open businesses then convert to full time employees.”r/wealth
What survival actually looks like
Surviving is not the same as thriving. Many owners keep a business open for years on thin margins or long hours, and the decision to close is often about the owner, not the market:
“Im thinking of closing my business of 3 years too for the same reason: little to no income.”r/smallbusiness
“after almost 10 years of being a soloentrepenuer and working 12 hours days in a handmade clothing brand, I decided to close my business because even though I was able to scale it, I lost the passion for it”r/smallbusiness
“It's been 10 years, the team has grown, and we have lots of experienced guys, our products are used by tens of thousands of people, but still, we're often behind plan”r/smallbusiness
“I'm lucky that I'm able to cash out when my business is still functioning and that we didn't have to file for bankruptcy or anything like that.”r/smallbusiness
“My father was an immigrant entrepreneur who was a slave to his business. From this, I learned that I never wanted my business to own me.”r/sweatystartup
“So if you don't want your business to be your entire life, don't start a store in a small town.”r/Idaho
Businesses that last for decades
One in five businesses for sale has run 30 years or more, and 4.6% have run 50 or more. The owners of those businesses describe something closer to a family institution than a startup:
“Exterior home remodeling. 4th generation family owned & operated. Our 70th year of business.”r/Entrepreneur
“He ran it on instinct for 50 years and had no idea what he actually had.”r/smallbusiness
“I started my maint business almost 15 years ago. This customer has been steady money and they were my first big customer.”r/smallbusiness
“As of last month, August 2023, we invoiced $277k, have 101 facilities under contract and about 150 part-time and full-time employees/contractors working with us.”r/sweatystartup
“The existing business has been running for approx. 10 years ... During that time, it peaked at approx. $100k turnover, but for the past 4 years has made between 5 and 20k of losses.”r/smallbusiness
Is buying an established business the safer path?
On survival odds, buying a business that has run ten years means skipping the stretch where half of new businesses close. You pay a higher multiple for that, you inherit the seller's reasons for leaving, and you still need to verify the numbers. Buyers who have done it say the same:
“Closed July 1st on a commercial refrigeration business that's been around 50 years.”r/smallbusiness
“They said they had ~250 customers. I digitized 18 months of his invoices and there's closer to 550.”r/smallbusiness
“I bought an existing business from a retiring person complete with hand written ledger books.”r/smallbusiness
“If you take a $300k reported SDE, subtract a $120k GM salary, and you're left with $180k... you aren't buying a $300k cash-flowing asset.”r/buyingabusiness
“I have bought 2 businesses. They both went this way and took A LOT of seller “education”.”r/buyingabusiness
“I bought a mediocre performing storefront in Sun Valley and turned it into a successful operation by largely following the pieces you laid out.”r/Idaho
“In 2016 I came across an opportunity on bizbuysell.com to purchase a commercial cleaning “business” that consisted of three commercial cleaning contracts, which grossed about $7k per month.”r/sweatystartup
“Put 500k down, the rest was financed by the owner. He's been paying himself a lot. He just sold to a national company for 7.5mil.”r/smallbusiness
“...the vast majority of people buying a pest control business will be people that have worked in the industry”r/buyingabusiness
“I knew nothing about cardiology before acquiring a medical imaging company focused on stress testing. After six months of intensive research and learning from physicians and industry professionals, we doubled the business”r/buyingabusiness
If you are going this route, start with our guide to buying a business with Main Street Index, then compare industries in the most profitable small businesses study. For online businesses, finding SaaS acquisition targets and the acquisition due diligence checklist apply.
Business models that improve the odds
Owners who have watched businesses come and go point to the same models: repeat revenue, skills people need, and basics over aesthetics.
“A lot of the ideas I hear from recently arrived persons are very aesthetic when small towns really need basics.”r/Idaho
“If you were a mechanic, plumber, contractor, esthetician, childcare specialist, teacher, CDL, machinist, welder, appliance repairman, nurse, doctor, vet, or many of these other types of jobs, consider setting up shop”r/Idaho
Our collections of service business ideas, subscription business ideas and one-person business ideas are sorted with those traits in mind.
What is the average lifespan of a small business?
There is no honest single average, because survival is a curve. About a third of new establishments are open at ten years and about a fifth at twenty. The “8.5 years” figure that circulates online has no source we could verify. Among businesses that reach a sale, the median age is 12 years.
How likely is a small business to fail?
About one in five in year one, about half by year five and about two-thirds by year ten. The risk is concentrated early, which is why the conditional odds after five years look so much better. Location matters too: first-year survival ranged from 71.4% to 84.6% across U.S. regions and years in BLS data.
What kind of business is most likely to succeed?
Businesses with repeat customers, a barrier like a licence or equipment, and a local reputation that compounds. In our data that means manufacturing, professional practices, printing, laundromats and hardware, where 60% or more of listed businesses have run 20+ years, with plumbing and electrical contracting close behind. Pair that with a profitable niche and a clear customer problem, and you have the profile of businesses that last.
Is a 10 year old company still a startup?
No. By ten years, a business has outlived about two-thirds of the businesses that opened alongside it. In our data, 57.7% of businesses for sale are ten or older, and buyers price them as established, not as startups.
How to use this when choosing a business
- Separate startups from small businesses. The 90% figure comes from venture-backed startups. For ordinary businesses, use the BLS survival curve: about half survive five years.
- Look up your business type, not just the sector. Check how long businesses of that type have lasted before reaching a sale, and what share of them were listed within three years of opening.
- Price the survivors. Compare what a long-running business of that type asks and earns with what it would cost you to start one and wait out the first five years.
- Check the age of the specific business. A business that has already lived 10 years has beaten the hardest part of the curve. Ask why it is for sale now and test the stated reason.
- Run the numbers on the listing. Use the asking price and stated earnings to check the multiple against similar listings and the SBA debt test before you spend on diligence.
For the first step, our guide on starting a business while working full time and the list of business ideas backed by real earnings are good places to begin.
Check a specific listing's price
Found a business that has lasted? Check its price before you call the broker.
Enter the industry, asking price and stated cash flow. See how its multiple compares with 27,000+ U.S. listings in the same industry and price range, and whether an SBA loan still works after your salary. Free, no signup. For every listing behind the medians, use the Main Street Index, or query it from Claude with the Main Street MCP tools.
Open the free Business Price Checker →Methodology
| Figure | Source and method | Limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Survival at 1, 5, 10, 20 years | BLS Business Employment Dynamics Table 7, median of each annual cohort 1994-2025 | Establishments, not firms; a business that moves or changes ownership can be counted differently |
| Survival by sector | BLS Table 7 by NAICS sector, median across cohorts | Sectors only; no business-type survival exists in government data |
| SBA survival and conditional odds | SBA Office of Advocacy FAQ, July 2024, question 7 | Employer establishments only; nonemployer businesses are not covered |
| Business age by industry | Main Street Index U.S. listings stating a founding year (26,000+), duplicates removed, industries with 30+ listings | Survivors that reached a sale; closed businesses are absent, so these are not failure rates |
| Asking multiple by age | Median asking price ÷ stated SDE, USD listings, by age band | Asking prices, not closed sales; SDE is stated by the seller |
| Reasons for selling by age | Stated reason classified by AI, gated at 85%+ accuracy, non-answers excluded | The seller's framing; financial distress is almost certainly under-stated |
| Startup age ladder | Founding dates in Funded DB, SellSide DB and TrustMRR | Each dataset covers a different population; Stripe Index has no founding years |
| Laundromat 95% claim | Google AI Overview and top results for the query, checked October 1, 2026 | Search results change daily; we could not find a primary source for the figure |
What this data cannot tell you
- It is not a success rate. Every business we measured survived long enough to be listed. Ones that closed are invisible to us.
- Founding years are stated by sellers. 54% of U.S. listings give one; those that do may differ from those that do not.
- Young listings mix good and bad exits. A three-year-old business for sale may be a success being sold or a struggle being dumped.
- Industry labels are AI-classified and checked against the marketplace's own category, with 90%+ agreement on U.S. listings.
- Asking is not selling. Multiples are asking prices; sale prices are usually lower.
Keep reading
- 50 business ideas backed by what real businesses earn
- Why owners sell their businesses
- Best business to start or buy by budget
- What business should I start?
- Boring business ideas that make money
- Free Business Price Checker
- What business makes $10,000 a month?
- Find vertical SaaS gaps with Main Street Index
- Getting started with SellSide DB and TrustMRR
Frequently asked questions
What business has a 90% success rate?
None that anyone has measured. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks every new private establishment, and across cohorts since 1994 about half survive five years. No sector clears about 60% at five years. Claims that laundromats or vending routes have a 90% or 95% success rate trace back to social media posts, not to survival data. What you can measure is how long businesses of each type have already lasted: among 26,000+ U.S. businesses for sale, the median has been running 12 years.
Is it true that 90% of startups fail?
For venture-backed startups, failure rates are high: research by Harvard's Shikhar Ghosh reported in the Wall Street Journal found about three in four venture-backed companies do not return investors' capital. For ordinary small businesses, the government's numbers are far better: about 79% survive their first year, about 50% survive five years and about 34% survive ten. The 90% figure mixes up the two.
What business has the highest rate of success?
No government source measures success by business type, only by sector. Among sectors, real estate, health care and retail have the highest five-year survival, at about 54% to 56%. Among business types for sale, the longest-running are garden centres, hardware stores, metal fabrication shops, plastics and wood products manufacturers and tire shops, where the median business has been operating 27 to 39 years.
What percentage of small businesses survive 5 years?
About 50%. Across BLS cohorts of new private establishments since 1994, the median five-year survival rate is 49.9%, and the establishments that opened in 2020 reached 51.4%. The SBA Office of Advocacy reports 49.2% for 1994 to 2021.
What is the average lifespan of a small business?
There is no reliable single average because survival is a curve, not a fixed number. Government data shows about a third of new establishments are still open at ten years and about a fifth at twenty. Among businesses that reach the market for sale, the median age is 12 years and one in five has run 30 years or more.
How likely is a small business to fail?
In the first year, about one in five closes. By year five, about half have closed, and by year ten about two-thirds. The risk falls sharply with age: of the businesses that survive five years, about seven in ten reach ten years, and of those that reach ten, about three in four reach fifteen.
What kind of business is most likely to succeed?
Businesses that sell something people need repeatedly, need a skill or licence, and do not depend on a trend. In our data, manufacturing, accountancy, legal and dental practices, printing and laundromats skew old, with 60% or more of listed businesses past 20 years. Cafes, food trucks, gyms and ice cream shops skew young, with about a quarter to a third of listings three years old or less.
Do laundromats really have a 95% success rate?
No source supports that figure. The BLS does not publish laundromat survival; laundromats sit inside its Other Services sector, where median five-year survival is 53.4%. What our data does show is that laundromats that reach the market are long-lived: the median one for sale has run 23 years and 60% have run 20 years or more. That is evidence of durability among survivors, not a success rate for new openings.
What is the cheapest successful business to start?
Success is not measured by business type, but some long-lasting types are cheap to buy established. Among industries where half or more of listed businesses have run 20+ years, florists ask a median of about $199K, and antiques shops, chiropractic clinics, jewellery stores, postal and shipping stores, print shops and laundromats all ask $350K or less.
Why do older businesses ask higher prices?
Buyers pay for proof that the business lasts. Among U.S. listings with a stated asking price and SDE, businesses 0 to 3 years old ask a median 2.36 times their earnings, while businesses 30 years or older ask 2.94 times. That is about 25% more for the same dollar of earnings.
Why do people sell young businesses?
Owners of businesses three years old or younger most often say they are leaving for another business (32.4%) or relocating (20.0%). Retirement is only 8.4% for them, against 72.0% for businesses 30 years or older. Burnout and health are 9.2% for the youngest group and 2.8% for the oldest.
Is a 10 year old company still a startup?
By most definitions, no. A ten-year-old business has outlived about two-thirds of the businesses that opened alongside it, according to BLS survival data. In our data, 58% of businesses for sale are ten or more years old, which is why buyers treat them as established.
What is the #1 reason businesses fail?
Running out of cash, usually because the business is selling something not enough people want at that price. Owners on Reddit put it bluntly, and very few sellers admit it: only about 1% of business-for-sale listings that give a reason cite financial distress or being undercapitalized, in every age group.
Is it safer to buy an existing business than start one?
On survival odds alone, yes: a business that has already lived ten years has beaten most of the failure curve. You pay for that: older businesses ask higher multiples, and you inherit the reason the owner is leaving. Check the stated reason, the books and whether the price works with a loan after your own salary.
Which businesses fail the most?
By sector, BLS data shows administrative and waste services, professional services and construction have the lowest five-year survival, at about 46% to 48%. Restaurants are not the worst: accommodation and food services sits at 52.8%, slightly above the all-business median.
Where does this data come from?
Survival rates come from the BLS Business Employment Dynamics program (Table 7, establishment survival by opening year) and the SBA Office of Advocacy. Business ages come from BigIdeasDB's Main Street Index: U.S. business-for-sale listings that state the year the business was founded, with businesses listed on two marketplaces counted once.
Can I check whether a specific business for sale is priced fairly?
Yes. The free BigIdeasDB Business Price Checker compares a listing's asking multiple with similar listings in its industry and price range and tests it against an SBA-style loan, with no signup.
BigIdeasDB Research. (2026). What Business Has a 90% Success Rate? The Real Data (2026). BigIdeasDB. Retrieved from https://bigideasdb.com/business-success-rate