Black Business Capital

Los Angeles County contains more businesses owned by blacks than any other county in the nation, according to a survey released recently by the Census Bureau.

Blacks owned 23,520 businesses in Los Angeles County in 1982, a 60% increase from the previous economic census in 1977. The local black-owned firms had receipts of $775.4 million, a 41.1% increase.

Nationwide in 1982, there were 339,239 black-owned firms, up nearly 47% from 1977. Those firms had $12.4 billion in receipts, a nearly 44% increase.

The Census Bureau conducts its economic census of minority-owned businesses every five years.

There is a considerable lag between when the survey is taken and when the results are released. During the next several months, the Census Bureau will release information on the number, types and geographic distribution of businesses owned in 1982 by women, Latinos and other minorities.

Among the states, California had the most black-owned firms in 1982 with 44,658 companies doing $1.6 billion in gross receipts. The number of black-owned firms in California grew almost 67% between 1977 and 1982 while gross receipts jumped 43.5%.