\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tby Selena Hill <\/p>\n
July 6, 2026<\/p>\n
Cincinnati experienced the state’s strongest growth in Black-owned employer businesses.<\/p>\n
Black-owned businesses across Ohio are creating more jobs, paying higher wages, and expanding their share of the state\u2019s economy, according to a new analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.<\/p>\n
The report, published by the Health Policy Institute of Ohio, found that Ohio\u2019s more than 5,600 Black-owned businesses employed more than 64,000 workers in 2023<\/a>. During that same period, annual payroll grew from $1.3 billion in 2017 to $2 billion in 2023\u2014an 82% increase.<\/p>\n \u201cThe data on the economic impact of Black-owned businesses in Ohio demonstrates that the state\u2019s diversity is one of its greatest strengths and that the success of the Black community leads to success for the state overall,\u201d the Health Policy Institute of Ohio stated, according to Cincinnati CityBeat.<\/em><\/p>\n The findings also underscore the strong momentum<\/a> in several of Ohio\u2019s metropolitan areas. Drawing on data from the Brookings Institution, researchers found that the Cincinnati metro area recorded a 125% increase in Black-owned employer businesses between 2017 and 2023, with Black entrepreneurs now owning 3.5% of all employer businesses in the region. The Toledo metro area posted 85% growth, while Akron experienced a 27% increase over the same period.<\/p>\n Not every community experienced sustained gains, however. The report found that the Dayton and Youngstown metro areas saw declines in Black-owned businesses between 2017 and 2023. Researchers also noted that when narrowing the data to 2022 through 2023, Cincinnati was the only major Ohio metro area to post year-over-year growth, rising 18%, while Toledo, Akron, Dayton, and Youngstown all recorded declines. <\/p>\n The Ohio findings mirror broader national trends. According to the Brookings Institution\u2019s latest Black Business Parity Dashboard<\/a>, the number of Black-owned employer businesses nationwide surpassed 200,000 in 2023, up 62% since 2017. Together, those businesses generated $249 billion in revenue, supported more than 1.8 million jobs, and paid nearly $70 billion in salaries. Nevertheless, Black Americans\u2014who make up 14.4% of the U.S. population\u2014own just 3.4% of employer businesses.<\/p>\n Brookings researchers cautioned that continued progress is far from guaranteed, particularly as federal diversity-focused programs face increasing scrutiny.<\/p>\n \u201cRecent attacks on government programs that center on diversity, equity, and inclusion threaten continuing progress,\u201d the report states, pointing to the elimination of the Minority Business Development Agency and changes to U.S. Small Business Administration contracting programs. <\/p>\n The Brookings report also warned that systemic challenges remain.<\/p>\n \u201cWith numerous structural barriers to growth \u2013 such as credit access, intergenerational wealth gaps, and outsized levels of debt \u2013 Black-owned businesses will not magically grow without inclusive and intentional policy and investments,\u201d researchers Andre Perry and Hannah Stephens wrote. \u201cAs underrepresented race and ethnic groups own more employer businesses, their share of ownership moves closer to their share of the population. This growth is a tool to combat centuries of racial disparities in ownership and wealth.\u201d<\/p>\n RELATED CONTENT: The Village Market Got 35 Black-Owned Businesses Into The Busiest Airport In The World<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Selena Hill July 6, 2026 Cincinnati experienced the state’s strongest growth in Black-owned employer businesses. Black-owned businesses across Ohio are creating more jobs, paying higher wages, and expanding their share of the state\u2019s economy, according to a new analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. The report, published by the Health Policy Institute of Ohio, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33615,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/06\/magnific__a-local-black-business-owner-in-cincinnati-ohio-st__77520-1024x586.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10666],"tags":[23641,7751,3211,7504,5339,6380,5476],"class_list":["post-33614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reparations","tag-black-businesses","tag-blackowned","tag-businesses","tag-cincinnati","tag-increased","tag-ohio","tag-payroll"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/06\/magnific__a-local-black-business-owner-in-cincinnati-ohio-st__77520-1024x586.png",0,0,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/06\/magnific__a-local-black-business-owner-in-cincinnati-ohio-st__77520-1024x586.png",0,0,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/06\/magnific__a-local-black-business-owner-in-cincinnati-ohio-st__77520-1024x586.png",0,0,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/06\/magnific__a-local-black-business-owner-in-cincinnati-ohio-st__77520-1024x586.png",150,150,false],"medium":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/06\/magnific__a-local-black-business-owner-in-cincinnati-ohio-st__77520-1024x586.png",300,300,false],"large":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/06\/magnific__a-local-black-business-owner-in-cincinnati-ohio-st__77520-1024x586.png",1024,1024,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/06\/magnific__a-local-black-business-owner-in-cincinnati-ohio-st__77520-1024x586.png",1536,1536,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/06\/magnific__a-local-black-business-owner-in-cincinnati-ohio-st__77520-1024x586.png",2048,2048,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/06\/magnific__a-local-black-business-owner-in-cincinnati-ohio-st__77520-1024x586.png",370,265,false],"kava-thumb-s":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/06\/magnific__a-local-black-business-owner-in-cincinnati-ohio-st__77520-1024x586.png",150,85,false],"kava-thumb-s-2":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/06\/magnific__a-local-black-business-owner-in-cincinnati-ohio-st__77520-1024x586.png",230,230,false],"kava-thumb-m":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/06\/magnific__a-local-black-business-owner-in-cincinnati-ohio-st__77520-1024x586.png",400,400,false],"kava-thumb-m-vertical":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/06\/magnific__a-local-black-business-owner-in-cincinnati-ohio-st__77520-1024x586.png",370,500,false],"kava-thumb-m-2":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/06\/magnific__a-local-black-business-owner-in-cincinnati-ohio-st__77520-1024x586.png",570,450,false],"kava-thumb-l":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/06\/magnific__a-local-black-business-owner-in-cincinnati-ohio-st__77520-1024x586.png",1170,650,false],"kava-thumb-xl":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/06\/magnific__a-local-black-business-owner-in-cincinnati-ohio-st__77520-1024x586.png",1920,1080,false],"kava-thumb-masonry":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/06\/magnific__a-local-black-business-owner-in-cincinnati-ohio-st__77520-1024x586.png",600,999,false],"kava-thumb-justify":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/06\/magnific__a-local-black-business-owner-in-cincinnati-ohio-st__77520-1024x586.png",640,640,false],"kava-thumb-justify-2":["https:\/\/blackenterprise-prod.b-cdn.net\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2026\/06\/magnific__a-local-black-business-owner-in-cincinnati-ohio-st__77520-1024x586.png",1280,640,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"#RiseCelestialStudios","author_link":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/author\/ralph-c\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"REPARATIONS NEWS<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"by Selena Hill July 6, 2026 Cincinnati experienced the state’s strongest growth in Black-owned employer businesses. Black-owned businesses across Ohio are creating more jobs, paying higher wages, and expanding their share of the state\u2019s economy, according to a new analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. The report, published by the Health Policy Institute of Ohio,…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33614"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33616,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33614\/revisions\/33616"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}