Moving from the military to Main Street challenges a younger generation of veteran entrepreneurs

As a graying workforce of veterans who own small businesses in America retires, fewer younger veterans are stepping up to replace them, according to the Small Business Administration.

There are nearly 2 million veteran-owned small businesses across the United States that provide an annual payroll of $256 billion and employ 5.5 million workers, administration officials said.

But veteran-owned small businesses are on a steady decline, dropping by more than a half in a decade. They also represent a dwindling share of the nation’s small businesses — decreasing from 11% in 2014 to just more than 5% in 2021, the SBA said.

Ownership is concentrated among older workers who are aging out of the workforce. More than half of veteran business owners were 65 and older, while less than 10% were younger than 45, according to an SBA study published in May 2023.