Chart: In Which State are Most Businesses Sold?

Posted on May 16, 2023 by The BizBuySell Team in Business Trends

For the fifth year in a row, Florida tops the list of most businesses sold on BizBuySell. In 2022, 1,619 businesses were reported sold in Florida – 37% more than second place California.

Three major metro areas in Florida account for the majority of businesses sold – Tampa Bay Area (413), Miami-Fort Lauderdale (392), and Orlando Metro (194).

Which Sectors are Selling?

California has the reputation as the tech hub of the U.S., but among small business sales, Florida takes that title as well. More technology (primarily e-commerce) businesses were sold out of the Tampa Bay area than all of California in 2022.

What About Values?

While Florida and California top the list in terms of volume of businesses sold, they’re both near the bottom in terms of median sales price, at $250,000 and $275,000 respectively. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Vermont with a median sales price of $975,000 but only 16 businesses sold all year.

Why Florida?

Tampa's tech industry is growing at a rapid clip, and it appears many of the early entrepreneurs in this space are exiting while business values remain elevated.

Additionally, Florida is where money goes to retire, so it's likely that some business owners are moving to the state prior to retirement to take advantage of the state's more favorable tax treatment. The "Silver Tsunami" of Baby Boomers retiring is expected to continue growth in small business sales in 2023 and beyond.

For more on business sales trends, see our latest Insight Report and associated data tables.