US SMALL-BUSINESS SALE DATA · UPDATED AUGUST 2026
The sale market, in numbers.
Current sale prices, cash-flow multiples, price outcomes, and timelines—each labeled, sourced, and ready to cite.
COPYABLE EVIDENCE DESK
Use the number. Keep its context.
Copy any statistic with a source-linked citation. Public-source cards link to the original report or our full explorer; independent-index coverage never exposes a transaction row.
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2,117 US small-business transactions were reported sold in Q2 2026.
The median reported US small-business sale price was $349,250 in Q2 2026.
Reported US small-business sales averaged 2.7 times annual cash flow in Q2 2026.
Reported US small-business sales represented $1.8B of enterprise value in Q2 2026.
24 of 25 US business types with at least 10 reported sales had an average sale-to-asking-price ratio below 100% in 2025.
The median of 25 category-level average sale-to-asking-price ratios was 91% in 2025.
Across 25 adequately sampled US business types, the median of category median days on market was 169 days in 2025.
Supported business-type medians ranged from 85 days for websites & ecommerce businesses to 250 days for electrical & mechanical contractors in 2025.
Reported average cash-flow multiples across 26 specific US business types ranged from 1.74 times SDE for nail salons to 4.87 times SDE for car washes for sales reported from Q3 2021–Q2 2026.
Applying the reported average cash-flow multiples for 26 US business types to $250,000 of annual SDE produces market indications from $435,000 to $1,217,500, with a $665,000 median.
The businessvaluation.fyi independent sanitized transaction index contained 4,359 records as of 2026-08-14; 392 included usable valuation-multiple evidence after quality screening.
THREE DIFFERENT QUESTIONS
Price, multiple, and timeline are not interchangeable.
What did a business sell for?
Use reported closed-sale prices. A national median describes the market, not your company.
Compare price outcomesHow did buyers price earnings?
Compare like business models and the same earnings definition. SDE is common for owner-operated businesses.
Model any SDEHow long did reported sales stay listed?
Days on market excludes preparation time and businesses that never completed a reported sale.
Compare timelinesMETHOD & PROVENANCE
Aggregated on purpose.
Quarterly market figures, trailing-five-year valuation multiples, and full-year asking-versus-sold data come from BizBuySell's public, reported closed-sale tables. We preserve its definitions and periods.
Quarterly report Multiple table 2025 transaction tableApproved transaction records are copied into separate infrastructure, sanitized, deduplicated, screened for usable valuation evidence, and published only as threshold-protected aggregates. Individual transactions remain private.
Read the index methodologyImportant: Category statistics do not account for an individual company's normalized earnings, growth, customer concentration, recurring revenue, owner dependence, assets, working capital, or deal terms. They are market references, not certified appraisals.
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QUICK ANSWERS
Reading valuation statistics
What is the average valuation multiple for a small business?
In Q2 2026, reported closed sales averaged 2.7 times annual cash flow. Across 26 specific business types in the trailing-five-year benchmark, averages ranged from 1.74× to 4.87×. A company-specific multiple depends on size, growth, transferability, concentration, recurring revenue, and earnings quality.
What is the median sale price of a small business?
The median reported sale price was $349,250 in Q2 2026. That market-wide median is context, not a valuation for an individual company.
Do small businesses usually sell for their asking price?
Not at the category level in the 2025 public table. 24 of 25 business types with at least 10 reported sales had an average sale-to-ask ratio below 100%; the median of those category averages was 91%.
How long does it take to sell a small business?
The median of supported category medians was 169 days in 2025, with category medians ranging from 85 to 250 days. This excludes preparation time and listings that never closed.
Can I cite these statistics?
Yes. Each card has a copyable citation that links to this report and names the underlying source. Preserve the period, definition, and limitations when quoting a number.