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2026 Main Street Metrics: Trends over Time from the Small Business Credit Survey

March 23, 2026
Download resources below: Full report Data appendix

What Are Main Street Metrics?

Main Street Metrics are trends over time for small employer firms—those that employ at least one person besides the owner(s)—in categories such as overall business conditions, financial health, and credit demand and outcomes. These key trends can be used to gauge the strength of the small business sector. Data for Main Street Metrics are time series from the annual Small Business Credit Survey (SBCS).

New Data from Small Businesses Included in This Edition of Main Street Metrics

Main Street Metrics now includes SBCS data from 2016 through 2025. This report provides a view of longer-term small business trends across 11 key indicators:

  • Small business revenue growth
  • Small business employment growth
  • Small business revenue growth expectations
  • Small business employment growth expectations
  • Small business profitability
  • Financial challenges
  • Use of personal funds in response to financial challenges
  • Financial condition
  • Small business debt outstanding
  • Application rate for new small business loans, lines of credit, or cash advances
  • Financing approvals

The accompanying appendix breaks down small business trends across these 11 indicators for many different firm categories:

  • Age of firm
  • Industry
  • Geography (urban/rural)
  • Credit risk
  • Race/ethnicity of owners
  • Gender of owners
  • Veteran ownership
  • Immigrant ownership
  • LGBTQ ownership

About the Small Business Credit Survey

The 2025 SBCS was fielded from September 3 to November 14, 2025. It yielded 6,525 responses from a nationwide convenience sample of small employer firms with 1–499 full- or part-time employees across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This report includes findings about the performance, challenges, and credit-seeking experiences of businesses across the United States.

The 12 Reserve Banks of the Federal Reserve System launched the SBCS to provide timely insights on small business conditions to policymakers, service providers, and lenders. The SBCS is an annual survey of firms with fewer than 500 employees. These types of firms represented 99.7% of employer establishments in the United States in 2023. Respondents are asked to report information about their business performance, financing needs and choices, and borrowing experiences. Responses to the SBCS provide insights into the dynamics behind lending trends and shed light on various segments of the small business population. The SBCS is not a random sample; results should be analyzed with awareness of potential biases that are associated with convenience samples. Get detailed information about the survey design and weighting methodology.

Suggested Citation

“2026 Main Street Metrics: Trends over Time from the Small Business Credit Survey.” 2026. Small Business Credit Survey. Federal Reserve Banks. https://doi.org/10.55350/sbcs-20260323