What does the US Chamber Small Business Index measure?

It measures the overall health, economic outlook, cash flow comfort, investment plans, and staffing expectations of American small businesses in the United States.

How frequently is the index published and what is the historical coverage?

The index is published on a quarterly basis by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Ipsos, with historical data available starting from 2017.

What specific categories or breakdowns are included in the survey?

Available breakdowns cover business health, local and national economic health, cash flow comfort, competition, investment plans, staffing size, and expected challenges like inflation.

How are the index results expressed?

The survey results are expressed using index values and percentage proportions representing respondents' answers across various sentiment and operational categories.

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US Chamber Small Business Index

Name: US Chamber Small Business Index
Creator: U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

US Chamber Small Business Index tracking American small business sentiment quarterly.

Source: U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business IndexLast updated: Sep 21, 2026, 15:16Curated by Bui Thanh PhucAbout this data ↓

Indicator	Q2-2026	Q1-2026	Q4-2025	Q3-2025	Q2-2025	Q1-2025	Q4-2024	Q3-2024	Q2-2024	Q1-2024	Q4-2023	Q3-2023	Q2-2023
Headline Index	66.5	67	68.4	72	65.2	62.3	69.1	71.2	69.5	62.3	61.3	69.2	63.1
BUSINESS HEALTH5
Very good	27	32	34	36	34	31	31	31	30	30	27	31	27
Somewhat good	43	37	35	36	34	31	36	35	36	35	37	35	33
Average	22	23	21	20	23	26	21	24	25	24	26	25	27
Somewhat poor	7	6	7	6	6	7	11	7	7	9	10	7	11
Very poor	2	1	2	2	2	4	1	2	1	2	0	2	3
UNITED STATES ECONOMIC HEALTH5
Very good	8	9	16	19	14	9	11	14	11	10	7	13	9
Somewhat good	23	19	22	21	20	20	21	21	25	23	18	20	15
Average	17	22	18	17	21	23	20	16	16	19	22	23	19
Somewhat poor	32	35	28	29	31	34	33	32	33	33	34	30	37
Very poor	20	15	16	13	14	12	15	15	14	15	19	13	20
LOCAL ECONOMIC HEALTH5
Very good	9	11	17	20	15	11	12	12	13	12	10	14	10
Somewhat good	24	25	25	26	26	26	26	26	30	26	21	23	20
Average	28	33	29	29	31	32	31	28	30	32	38	31	35
Somewhat poor	26	25	18	18	22	22	22	26	20	23	22	23	25
Very poor	13	7	10	6	6	7	8	8	7	7	10	8	9
COMPETITION FROM SMALL OR LOCAL BUSINESSES3
Increased competition	31	28	34	38	36	29	34	36	35	30	27	34	36
Decreased competition	13	14	15	12	14	13	14	14	14	14	14	18	16
About the same	53	57	49	50	48	57	51	50	50	55	56	48	47
COMFORT LEVEL WITH CURRENT CASH FLOW4
Very comfortable	16	20	24	31	23	21	23	21	26	21	21	26	19
Somewhat comfortable	54	52	50	45	49	46	48	47	47	46	46	46	44
Not very comfortable	23	22	20	17	20	24	23	25	22	26	26	21	27
Not at all comfortable	7	6	6	7	6	9	5	8	4	7	5	7	8
INVESTMENT PLANS FOR THE COMING YEAR3
Increase investment	38	37	44	47	47	43	46	45	46	36	42	42	42
Invest about the same as last year	42	45	38	35	37	40	37	36	41	44	43	44	41
Decrease investment	11	9	10	9	9	11	9	9	6	11	8	7	9
RESOURCES DEVOTED TO PROCEDURES AND COMPLIANCE3
Increase	37	29	37	42	40	33	39	33	35	29	34	38	37
Decrease	6	7	7	8	7	8	7	10	6	8	9	10	10
Unchanged	55	61	54	48	51	58	53	56	56	60	57	51	51
STAFFING SIZE OVER THE PAST YEAR3
Increase staff	19	16	23	28	28	20	22	22	22	16	17	23	23
Maintain staff	69	73	68	64	62	71	68	65	68	72	72	68	64
Decrease staff	11	10	9	8	8	9	10	13	9	12	11	9	13
STAFFING EXPECTATIONS FOR THE COMING YEAR3
Increase staff	35	30	42	44	42	37	41	44	41	34	40	40	47
Maintain staff	53	60	49	46	47	54	50	47	52	57	54	51	46
Decrease staff	6	5	6	5	6	5	4	4	4	4	3	4	3
REVENUE EXPECTATIONS FOR THE COMING YEAR3
Increase	66	61	65	69	65	69	72	73	73	67	65	71	71
Decrease	9	8	8	10	12	7	5	5	6	8	5	6	8
Unchanged	21	27	22	18	20	19	20	18	18	21	27	20	19
Largest Challenge10
Inflation costs	57	53	45	46	48	58	55	56	55	52	53	52	54
Revenue	26	30	30	26	27	35	25	28	26	29	22	22	20
Employee retention	12	9	17	13	16	11	12	13	13	12	12	15	12
Supply chain issues	15	16	16	15	17	13	15	14	14	16	17	23	23
Employee health or benefits costs	20	19	16	15	13	14	17	16	18	17	17	14	13
Talent attraction	12	10	14	14	13	11	6	8	9	9	9	8	9
Interest rate	12	11	13	13	11	12	17	15	18	20	19	17	23
Access to credit or loans	9	11	12	12	13	14	11	9	12	10	11	10	12
Mental health and morale	9	9	9	9	9	5	7	6	11	8	12	11	9
Family care	7	7	7	8	8	6	5	7	5	6	6	7	5

Latest reading

Headline Index stood at 66.5 in Q2 2026. That is −0.7% from Q1 2026 and +2.0% from a year earlier. The series on this page is quarterly and runs from Q2 2017 to Q2 2026. Source: U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index.

Latest: 66.5; Q2 2026
vs previous period: −0.7%; Q1 2026
vs a year earlier: +2.0%

About this data

US Chamber Small Business Index tracking American small business sentiment quarterly. It measures business health, economic outlook, cash flow comfort, and staffing plans in the United States. Published quarterly by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce since 2017. Results are reported in percentage shares and index points.

Frequently asked questions

What does the US Chamber Small Business Index measure?: It measures the overall health, economic outlook, cash flow comfort, investment plans, and staffing expectations of American small businesses in the United States.
How frequently is the index published and what is the historical coverage?: The index is published on a quarterly basis by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Ipsos, with historical data available starting from 2017.
What specific categories or breakdowns are included in the survey?: Available breakdowns cover business health, local and national economic health, cash flow comfort, competition, investment plans, staffing size, and expected challenges like inflation.
How are the index results expressed?: The survey results are expressed using index values and percentage proportions representing respondents' answers across various sentiment and operational categories.