SMB Ownership & Succession Data by Industry (2026)
Original statistics from Serava.AI's first-party registry dataset of 6M+ owner-operated companies across the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland. The 30 largest verticals below cover 5,820,347 companies. Median across verticals: 41% succession-ready (owner tenure 15+ years), 13 years average owner tenure.
Snapshot: 2026-07-21 · Refreshed monthly · CC BY 4.0 — free to cite with attribution + link · Full methodology on each page
All industries
| Industry | Companies | Avg owner tenure | Succession-ready | No website |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transport & Logistics | 1,333,910 | 7.8 yrs | 23% | 99% |
| Construction & Building | 763,024 | 13.1 yrs | 41% | 99% |
| Behavioral Health | 372,800 | 16.5 yrs | 66% | 99% |
| Manufacturing | 292,513 | 15.9 yrs | 56% | 96% |
| Dental Practices | 285,887 | 15.1 yrs | 55% | 99% |
| Property Management | 274,029 | 10.3 yrs | 27% | 96% |
| Software & IT Services | 271,384 | 9.1 yrs | 22% | 93% |
| Auto Repair | 251,465 | 15.3 yrs | 53% | 93% |
| Electrical | 162,185 | 10.4 yrs | 31% | 98% |
| Home Health / Hospice | 140,216 | 17.2 yrs | 68% | 99% |
| Law & Professional Services | 139,240 | 11.6 yrs | 35% | 88% |
| Concrete & Masonry | 136,829 | 10.7 yrs | 31% | 99% |
| Independent Pharmacy | 129,066 | 15.7 yrs | 60% | 97% |
| Physical Therapy | 116,714 | 14.5 yrs | 54% | 99% |
| HVAC | 105,852 | 10.3 yrs | 31% | 97% |
| Chiropractic | 105,730 | 17.2 yrs | 69% | 99% |
| Staffing & HR Services | 94,110 | 10.6 yrs | 30% | 99% |
| Janitorial / Cleaning | 91,156 | 12.1 yrs | 40% | 95% |
| Landscaping | 88,549 | 13.9 yrs | 48% | 97% |
| Healthcare Facilities | 85,386 | 10.2 yrs | 25% | 99% |
| Painting Contractor | 82,946 | 13 yrs | 44% | 99% |
| Veterinary Practices | 68,005 | 16.9 yrs | 67% | 99% |
| Restaurants & Bars | 63,296 | 6.9 yrs | 14% | 99% |
| Plumbing | 59,619 | 13.8 yrs | 47% | 92% |
| CPA / Accounting Firms | 56,164 | 13.5 yrs | 44% | 96% |
| Optometry / Eye Care | 53,233 | 17.2 yrs | 69% | 99% |
| RIA / Financial Advisory | 52,830 | 7.7 yrs | 11% | 94% |
| MSP / IT Services | 52,034 | 12 yrs | 36% | 75% |
| Roofing | 48,646 | 11.9 yrs | 37% | 95% |
| Engineering Consulting | 43,529 | 9.7 yrs | 25% | 96% |
Most succession-ready verticals
- Chiropractic — 69% at 15+ years
- Optometry / Eye Care — 69% at 15+ years
- Home Health / Hospice — 68% at 15+ years
- Veterinary Practices — 67% at 15+ years
- Behavioral Health — 66% at 15+ years
Longest owner tenure
- Home Health / Hospice — 17.2 years average
- Chiropractic — 17.2 years average
- Optometry / Eye Care — 17.2 years average
- Veterinary Practices — 16.9 years average
- Behavioral Health — 16.5 years average
Country datasets
New Zealand Business Ownership Data — 399,526 companies from the official Companies Register, 97.3% with a named director, refreshed monthly from the official bulk feed.
About this data
Every number is computed from Serava.AI's first-party dataset — government business registries, licensing boards, and public filings, compiled and refreshed monthly. Owner tenure uses verified owner tenure where known, otherwise years in business, capped at 60 years; succession-ready means 15+ years. These statistics are published for citation under CC BY 4.0: reuse them freely with attribution and a link. See the 2026 State of SMB Acquisitions report for the cross-market analysis, or how the dataset is built.
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