40.5
Index Value
42.9
Previous month
-2.4
Month-over-month
-11.0
Year-over-year
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.
Experian Small Business Index™
The Experian Small Business Index™ assesses the financial health of small business owners and their businesses across the U.S. by combining personal and commercial data. This holistic approach reveals industry trends, state-level insights, and overall financial well-being, making it a valuable tool for identifying growth opportunities and risks.
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. Favorable environment indicates overall health and ease of access to and usage of credit in the region by a small business owner.
December 2024 Summary
The Experian Small Business Index™ 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.
About the Index
Setting the standard: A leading index for small business insights
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.
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.
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. 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 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.
What makes the Experian Small Business Index™ unique?
By integrating diverse data sources of personal and commercial attributes, the Experian Small Business Index™ offers several key advantages: it enables a holistic view of small business financial health, credit access, historical trends over time, and provides insights at both the state and industry levels. Therefore, the Experian Small Business Index™ plays a critical role in further driving small business growth by providing a holistic, nationwide picture on access to credit conditions for small business owners.
This blended index stands out in the market by focusing on the interconnectedness of personal and business finances, allowing stakeholders to identify growth opportunities and potential risks more effectively. Unlike traditional indices that may focus solely on one aspect of financial health, the Experian Small Business Index's comprehensive framework ensures that all relevant factors are considered, making it an invaluable tool for understanding the overall well-being of small businesses and their owners.
With historic business creation trends being reported by the current administration, 20 million since 2021, business ownership is a crucial stop along the credit lifecycle of consumers that Experian can be a part of reporting in greater detail.
How often is the index updated?
The Experian Small Business Index™ is updated on a monthly basis. Make sure to subscribe to our Economic Commercial Insight Program and bookmark the page!
Meet the Experts
Want to learn more about the insights presented here? Connect with our subject matter experts from the Commercial Data Sciences team for a deeper dive.
Brodie Oldham
Vice President, U.S. Commercial Data Science
As Vice President of U.S. Commercial Data Science, Brodie Oldham leads a team made up of statistical consultants, scientists, modelers, and engineers with diverse skills who provide clients with leading edge analytic-driven information solutions, services, and data visualizations of actionable insights. In addition, he writes and speaks on behalf of Experian about trends in credit markets and how small businesses can grow successful ventures and gain access to funding through strong credit fundamentals.
Emily Garrett
Manager of Commercial Decision Sciences for Ascend Platform
Emily leads a team of analytical consultants with strong statistical and decision science skills who focus on bringing the rich and diverse data contained within the Ascend platform. She brings a strong analytical background, including in small business lending, and uses this experience to lead innovation within the small business lending space.
Javier Rodriguez-Paiva
Strategic Analytic Consultant
Javier leads fraud analytics consulting in the Commercial Decision Sciences team at Experian. In his role, he assists clients with comprehensive fraud management strategies, with an eye on both loss mitigation and business growth. Javier has 10+ years of experience in the analytics consulting role and the financial industry, with a wide breadth of hands-on experience in risk, financial, sales, and marketing data-driven strategy development.
Marsha Silverman
Strategic Analytic Consultant
Marsha leads strategic analytic solutions within Experian’s US Commercial Data Sciences team. In her role, she consults with various clients to drive comprehensive businesses strategies through use of Experian data and analytics across the product lifecycle from prospecting, account acquisition and underwriting through account management. Marsha is an industry expert with 30 years of experience in Financial Services focusing on both risk and marketing analytics for consumer and commercial lending.
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The Small Business Matters blog focuses on topics relevant to small business owners. Here we post about business advice and credit education in addition to the latest news and trends impacting small businesses.