New Entrepreneurship Data Provide Rare Look at How Entrepreneurial Journeys Evolve
Most first-time aspiring entrepreneurs had not started a business one to two years later, 2026 Entrepreneurship in the Population survey data show.
CHICAGO, November 12, 2026 — NORC at the University of Chicago has published the fifth wave of data from the Entrepreneurship in the Population (EPOP) survey, a publicly available resource for understanding entrepreneurial activities across the United States. The EPOP Survey tracks entrepreneurial behavior over time, offering new information on past, present, and future business ownership and self-employment.
EPOP:2026 also includes a longitudinal follow-up of past participants to assess how their entrepreneurial activities have evolved since their last interview. These data offer a rare look at how entrepreneurial efforts emerge, develop, and change.
Initial findings from EPOP:2026 show that for first-time aspiring entrepreneurs, the path from aspiration to business ownership can be far from certain. One to two years later, 16 percent owned a business, while more than 70 percent had stopped pursuing business ownership. The findings underscore the challenges of moving from aspiration to business ownership in the United States and highlight how longitudinal data can help identify the factors that contribute to business formation, persistence, and success.
“Following nearly 10,000 people over time gives researchers and policymakers a unique opportunity to understand the entrepreneurial journey. These longitudinal data offer important insights into the barriers, supports, and decision points that shape entrepreneurial ventures over time,” said Quentin Brummet, EPOP’s principal investigator and a principal research methodologist at NORC. “By seeing what happened to people who were trying to start or already owned a business, we can better understand the factors associated with entrepreneurial persistence and success.”
“Following nearly 10,000 people over time gives researchers a unique opportunity to understand the entrepreneurial journey.”
Funded and guided by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the EPOP Survey is an annual, nationally representative study of U.S. adults, including existing and former business owners, prospective entrepreneurs, freelancers, and gig workers. The survey seeks to understand the pathways people take toward business ownership and self-employment and the factors that support or inhibit entrepreneurship. NORC has conducted the survey annually since 2022, with EPOP:2026 adding a longitudinal component.
Methodology
The EPOP:2026 Survey’s target population is noninstitutionalized U.S. adults age 18 or older. The survey was completed by 9,999 adults selected from NORC’s AmeriSpeak® panel, a probability-based panel with explicit stratification and known sample selection probabilities.
EPOP:2026 data collection took place from February 20 to March 11, 2026.
Data were primarily collected online, with computer-assisted telephone interviewing available as a secondary mode based on panelists’ preferences. The survey was available in English and Spanish. All participants were compensated for their participation.
About NORC at the University of Chicago
NORC at the University of Chicago conducts research and analysis that decision-makers trust. As a nonpartisan research organization and a pioneer in measuring and understanding the world, NORC has studied almost every aspect of the human experience and every major news event for more than eight decades. Today, NORC partners with government, corporate, and nonprofit clients around the world to provide the objectivity and expertise necessary to inform the critical decisions facing society.
Contact: For more information, please contact press@norc.org or (877) 832-0392.
About the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a private, nonpartisan foundation based in Kansas City, Missouri, which seeks to prepare people for success in their jobs and careers, so that everyone has the opportunity to achieve economic stability, mobility, and prosperity. Their work is grounded in the principles of racial equity, diversity, and inclusion and is consistent with the aspirations of their founder, Ewing Marion Kauffman. For more information, visit Kauffman.org and connect with us.
