Summary
In this research brief, we provide back-of-the-envelope calculations showing that, as of 2022, about 140,000 firms employing around 33 million workers would have been suitable candidates for ESOP employee buyouts, and nearly 1.1 million firms employing over 25 million workers suitable candidates for cooperative employee buyouts. Collectively, these firms accounted for roughly $25 trillion in total revenues (in 2024 dollars). The data used in this exercise were drawn from several different sources, including the US Census Bureau’s Annual Business Survey, County Business Patterns, and Economic Census. Notably, we find that even under alternative modeling assumptions the resulting estimates would still point to substantial scope for expansion of employee ownership in the US today.