Sparking Prosperity: Insights on Small Business Owners and Credit Access
Experian is excited to announce the availability of a new monthly index on small business credit health. The Experian Small Business Index™ is a pioneering monthly index that uniquely blends business owner and small business elements to provide an indicator of the financial health among small business owners and their businesses across the U.S. This innovative index bridges the gap between personal and commercial finance, helping to reveal key trends and opportunities for growth within the small business sector.
December 2024 Index
The Experian Small Business Index (SBI) declined two points in December to 40.5, following an uptick in November 2025 to 42.9, as business owners grappled with balancing inventory and slow consumer retail sales, growing only 4% during the holidays. This is a return to the level businesses saw in March of 2019, prior to the pandemic and subsequent inflationary pressures of the recovery. In December, consumer 30+ delinquencies rose 1.4% and utilization rates remained flat MoM. Small business lenders grappled with loosening credit while seeing an increase in commercial delinquency rates leading into the holidays. According to the US Census Bureau, 458K new businesses opened in the U.S. in December, up 1.5% from November. The Experian Small Business Index will capture the challenges these emerging business and their owners will face in obtaining credit and avoiding delinquency in their first 24 months in business. The large number of new businesses opening in the southern regions have higher than average utilization and more difficulty accessing credit in traditional credit markets. Small business cashflows remain positive, aligning with NFIB owner optimism at 105.1, a level not seen since May 2019. This will place upward pressure on the index in 2025.
What to expect to see in Experian’s new index
Powerful view of business owner & small business data
By integrating personal and commercial financial data, the Experian Small Business Index provides a comprehensive view of industry trends, state-level dynamics, and overall financial health, making it a valuable tool for uncovering growth opportunities, identifying potential risks, and supporting informed decision-making.
Insights pulled from millions of Experian commercial profiles
The Experian Small Business Index monitors the small business environment by tracking trends such as the number of emerging businesses, delinquency rates, credit utilization, and new credit approval rates. Index values range from 0 to 100, with a normal range between 40-60, where values trending below 40 indicate a less favorable business environment than average for owners, and values above 60 indicate a more favorable business environment than average. A favorable environment indicates overall health and ease of access to and usage of credit in the region by a small business owner. If a region is below 40, it indicates a more difficult environment in gaining credit for small business owners based on a variety of factors such as age of business, delinquency rates, and other attributes used in the index. The Experian Small Business Index also compares state performance to the national average and evaluates industry performance within each state.
