Business Buyer School Research · Short version · Version 2026.1
Which Small Business Industries Have the Oldest Owners?
Business Buyer School 2026 Owner Age Study, short version · Version 2026.1 · Published October 6, 2026. These are shares of working people, not counts of businesses, and they include owners with no employees. Age does not show that an owner intends to sell: an owner aged 65 or older might sell, hand the business on or close it.
Every number is on the open full study: Short version · Full study · Methodology · Data.
The short answer
Business Buyer School analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data found that 13% of people who run their own incorporated business are aged 65 or older, about twice the 6% among all workers, and 38% are 55 or older. Across 76 industries where buying a small business is plausible, the share aged 65 or older runs from 4.8% to 29.2%. The oldest owners are in death care services; wholesale trade agents and brokers; machinery equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers; accounting tax preparation bookkeeping and payroll services. The youngest are in nail salons and other personal care services; landscaping services; beverage manufacturing; motion pictures and video industries.
These are shares of working people, not counts of businesses for sale. The source is an American Community Survey proxy because the Annual Business Survey does not publish owner age, and it includes solo owners with no employees. An older owner might sell, hand the business on or close it.
Three things worth knowing
- Owners are older than workers everywhere. In 74 of 76 ranked industries the owner group is older than the workforce, and industries with older workforces have older owners too (correlation 0.61).
- The oldest owners are in professional, wholesale and service practices. Accounting (23.1% aged 65 or older), legal (21.2%) and insurance agencies (17.6%) are well above construction (9.9%) and landscaping (5.8%).
- A single score does not hold up. Half of the ranked industries change rank a lot when the weights change, so use the age shares themselves.
Oldest owners (top 10 of 76)
| Industry | Owners 65 or older | Owners 55 or older |
|---|---|---|
| Death care services (8122) | 29.2% | 60.3% |
| Wholesale trade agents and brokers (4251) | 25.2% | 60.8% |
| Machinery, equipment, and supplies merchant wholesalers (4238) | 24.5% | 58.8% |
| Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services (5412) | 23.1% | 52.1% |
| Machine shops; turned product; screw, nut, and bolt manufacturing (3327) | 22.7% | 62.6% |
| Activities related to real estate (5313) | 22.6% | 51.6% |
| Miscellaneous durable goods, except recyclable material, merchant wholesalers (4239Z) | 22.1% | 54.6% |
| Legal services (5411) | 21.2% | 47.0% |
| Lawn and garden equipment and supplies retailers (4442) | 21.1% | 49.2% |
| Miscellaneous nondurable goods merchant, except farm supplies, wholesalers (4249Z) | 20.6% | 49.4% |
Youngest owners (bottom 10)
| Industry | Owners 65 or older | Owners 55 or older |
|---|---|---|
| Nail salons and other personal care services (8121M) | 4.8% | 17.8% |
| Landscaping services (56173) | 5.8% | 27.6% |
| Beverage manufacturing (3121) | 5.9% | 22.7% |
| Motion pictures and video industries (5121) | 6.1% | 22.2% |
| Beauty salons (812112) | 6.4% | 23.1% |
| Truck transportation (484) | 7.3% | 29.8% |
| Computer systems design and related services (5415) | 7.5% | 30.3% |
| Food services and drinking places, except alcoholic beverages (722Z) | 7.6% | 26.3% |
| Other amusement, gambling, and recreation industries (713Z) | 8.1% | 24.7% |
| Other personal services (8129) | 8.2% | 26.7% |
Common acquisition targets
| Industry | Owners 65 or older | Owners 55 or older |
|---|---|---|
| Construction (23) | 9.9% | 36.4% |
| Services to buildings and dwellings, except landscaping services (5617Z) | 8.3% | 31.9% |
| Landscaping services (56173) | 5.8% | 27.6% |
| Automotive repair and maintenance, except car washes (8111Z) | 11.2% | 40.3% |
| Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services (5412) | 23.1% | 52.1% |
| Agencies, brokerages, and other insurance related activities (5242) | 17.6% | 43.9% |
| Veterinary services (54194) | 13.2% | 38.0% |
| Offices of dentists (6212) | 12.2% | 35.0% |
| Food services and drinking places, except alcoholic beverages (722Z) | 7.6% | 26.3% |
| Barber shops (812111) | 8.8% | 20.2% |
| Drycleaning and laundry services (8123) | 19.4% | 53.1% |
Construction is one group, so HVAC, plumbing and electrical cannot be split. The figures include owners with no employees.
What this does and does not tell you
- It shows the age mix of owners by industry, not who is selling.
- Age is not intent: owners over 65 may not plan to sell.
- There is no price, profit or listing data here.
- Small samples make some industry shares uncertain. The full study shows an interval for each.
Read the full study
Every table, the key statistics, what is and is not measured and the method. It is open to read, with no sign up.
How this was measured
Business Buyer School calculated, from the American Community Survey 2019 to 2023 microdata, the age mix of workers who are self employed in their own incorporated business in each of 265 industry groups, with standard errors from the survey replicate weights. Firm counts and sizes come from Census SUSB 2022. The Succession Pressure Index combines four percentile components among the 76 ranked groups and moves with the weights, so read the age shares first. The methodology has the sources, formulas, exclusions and limits, and the data page has the table and downloads.
How to cite
Cite as: Business Buyer School, America's Small Business Succession Opportunity: Owner Age by Industry, https://businessbuyerschool.com/research/business-owner-age/. Version 2026.1. Published October 6, 2026.
A data license has not been published; short quotations with attribution and a link are welcome.
Take this into your own search
Industry research is context, not a verdict on any one business. These free parts of the school show how to use it.
- Write your Buy Box: set the type of business, size and hard exclusions before you search.
- Cleaning, landscaping and HVAC compared: how the same principles show up in three trades.
- See the curriculum or start free with Business Buyer School.