Study: O.C. Good Climate for Women-Owned Firms

Orange County is home to more women-owned businesses than most other metropolitan areas in the country.

That is among the findings of a study to be released today that also shows employment and revenue growth in the nation’s women-owned firms continues to outpace the overall economy.

Orange County, with 113,600 women-owned businesses employing 396,000 people and posting combined sales of more than $66.3 billion, ranks ninth out of the nation’s top 50 metro areas in terms of the number, employment and sales for women-owned firms, according to statistics from the National Foundation for Women Business Owners, which co-authored the study with Wells Fargo.

Women-owned businesses now represent 38% of all companies in the Orange County metropolitan area. Since 1996, the number of such companies has increased nearly 14%.

Mimicking national trends, women-owned firms multiplied fastest in manufacturing and construction, nontraditional industries for women. Women-owned businesses in those sectors increased 65% between 1992 and 1999 in Orange County, compared with a 39% increase in the total number of female-owned companies in Orange County over the same period.

Orange County women-owned firms eclipsed the state average in employment and sales increases between 1992 and 1999. Employment has grown 146% compared with 140%, while sales jumped 179% versus 164%. The county lagged slightly behind in the overall increase of women-owned firms, 39% versus 42%.

To the north, Los Angeles County has more women-owned businesses than any other metro area in the country, and those firms employ more than 1 million workers locally.

Nationwide there are more than 9.1 million women-owned businesses, employing a total of 15.5 million workers and generating sales topping $2.1 trillion. While the number of firms increased 42% between 1992 and 1999, revenue and employment at women-owned firms more than doubled over that same period. “The phenomenal growth in sales and employees underscores the real contribution these businesses are making to the economy,” said Bruce Rosenthal, spokesman for Silver Springs, Md.-based NFWBO.

“We’re seeing successful and growing women-owned firms across all industries and regions of the country.”

The analysis of the nation’s top 50 metro areas revealed that Los Angeles County leads the pack with an estimated 360,300 women-owned businesses, more than any other region. Those firms employ an estimated 1,056,600 people and generate sales of more than $181.5 billion.

However, NFWBO crowned New York City the nation’s capital of women-owned businesses based on that metro area’s superior sales and employment figures. While the Big Apple has fewer female-owned firms than L.A. at 282,200, those companies are bigger and more established, employing 1,077,900 workers and boasting combined sales of $193.6 billion.

Sacramento, No. 35 on NFWBO’s Top 50 list, emerged as the fastest-growing California home for female entrepreneurs. Its 62,200 women-owned firms represents a 50% increase over the last seven years alone.