BOSTON–New data released as part of Alignable’s September Rent Report indicates 40% of small business owners were not able to pay their rent in full and on time this month—a new record for 2023.
According to Alignable, that figure is up one percentage point from August, and 10 percentage points from the beginning of the year.
The findings are based on an Alignable survey of 4,523 randomly selected small business owners who responded to polls from Sept. 2-28, as well as input from another 40,000+ respondents earlier this year.
The Highlights
Other findings in the survey, according to Alignable, that are colliding at once and hurting the ability of small businesses to pay the rent include:
- Revenue Loss: 53% of businesses are now earning only half or less of their pre-COVID income (up 3% from Aug.), with even grimmer statistics for newer businesses.
- High Interest Rates: 50% reported that climbing interest rates have negatively impacted their financial health.
- Increased Rent Prices: 52% are paying more rent than they were six months ago.
- Inflated Gas Prices: 46% have been negatively affected by high gas prices in recent months.
- Retailers & Restaurants Hit Hard: Notably, 47% of retailers couldn't cover their rent in full, a record high for 2023 -- up eight percentage points from Aug. For restaurant owners, the number is 44%, up seven percentage points.
- State Insights: 55% of SMBs in New York couldn't make this month's rent, up 12 percentage points from Aug. In New Jersey, it was 54%, up 15 percentage points. Rounding out the top three with the biggest rent troubles was IL at 46%. However, some states are in much better shape, like Massachusetts and Virginia.
The full report can be found here.
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