Most Black-Owned Firms in the Field of Educational Services Have a Very Small Revenue Stream

Last week JBHE reported that according to U.S. Census data, in 2002 there were 1.2 million black-owned businesses in the United States. This was an increase of 45 percent from the previous survey in 1997.

Of the 1.2 million black-owned businesses in this country, there are 25,256 firms that are involved in what the Census Bureau calls educational services. These would include private tutors, test coaches, and college admissions counselors. Of the more than 25,000 black-owned educational services firms, slightly more than 24,000 firms are sole proprietorships with no paid employees. The average annual revenue for these black-owned educational service firms is only $9,266.

Copyright © 2006. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.