National Score 69.1

About seven in ten small businesses in the Northeast say their business is in good health or that they are comfortable with their cash flow (68% and 72%, respectively). Slightly fewer now say the U.S. economy is in good health compared to last quarter (33% vs. 44%, respectively), but other measures of the business environment—local economic health, competition, and compliance—are stable.

About one-fifth (22%) of Southern small businesses say they have increased staff, down from 31% who said they did so in Q3 2024. Southern small businesses remain more likely than those in the Northeast to say they plan to increase staff in the next year (47% vs. 32%, respectively). They are also more likely than those in the Midwest to say that the U.S. economy is in good health (35% vs. 25%, respectively).

Small businesses in the Midwest are more likely to say they have increased staff compared to last quarter (26% vs. 16%, respectively). About two-thirds say their business is in good health (63%), and nearly seven in ten (69%) say they are comfortable with their cash flow. However, small businesses in the Midwest are now slightly less likely to say the U.S. economy is in good health compared to last quarter (25% vs. 35%, respectively).

Sixty-three percent of small businesses in the West say their business is in good health, similar to last quarter (60%). Roughly one-third report that their local economy (36%) or the national economy (32%) is in good health this quarter, stable from Q3 2024 (28% and 26%, respectively). About seven in ten (73%) say they expect revenue to increase in the next year, aligned with the national average (72%) and stable from last quarter (71%).