AUSTIN, Texas (Feb. 18, 2026) – A new Texas Small Business Economic Trends (SBET) report, produced by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Research Center and released today, highlights responses from Texas small business owners on a variety of issues compared to national averages from the NFIB’s monthly SBET surveys throughout the year.

“The Small Business Economic Trends survey has provided essential information about the small business economy for decades,” said Holly Wade, Executive Director of NFIB’s Research Center. “While this data is a useful tool for evaluating the economy on a national scale, no state can be defined by national numbers alone. This state-specific report allows us to better understand business conditions and the unique challenges and strengths owners’ face in Texas.”

The Small Business Optimism Index for Texas small businesses in summer (April-Sept.) 2025 was 101.1, which was 3.2 points ahead of the national average. Of the 10 components that make up the Index, small businesses in Texas reported higher sales expectations, as well as positive earnings trends and employment trends compared to NFIB’s overall U.S. data.

“Texas remains one of the best places to own, operate, and grow a small business,” said Jeff Burdett, NFIB’s State Director for Texas. “Our state’s practical approach to governing allows small business owners to do what they do best: serve their customers, create good-paying jobs, and invest in their communities. As Main Street struggles to fill open positions, NFIB will continue working with lawmakers on policy solutions that strengthen and sustain a skilled workforce.”

Business Health

When asked to evaluate the overall health of their business, Texas small business owners reported that they are performing modestly better than the rest of the country. In Texas, 17% of owners rated the health of their business as excellent (six points above the national average of 11%), 48% rated it as good (six points below the national average of 54%), 29% rated it fair (unchanged from the national average), and 6% rated it poor (up one points from the national average).

Single Most Important Problem

Compared to the U.S. overall, Texas small businesses have one problem that stands out as the most challenging operating issue for a substantial number of owners in the state: labor quality. Twenty-eight percent of owners in Texas reported labor quality as their single most important problem for summer 2025, compared to the national average of 19%. According to NFIB’s data, labor quality is the only issue that is meaningfully worse in Texas than in the rest of the states combined.

Conversely, Texas outperforms the rest of the country when it comes to government regulation, with just 3% of Texas small businesses reporting it as their single most important problem compared to an average of 8% nationwide.

Uncertainty Index

Unfortunately, small businesses in Texas and the U.S. as a whole experienced elevated levels of uncertainty throughout 2025, with many owners reporting “don’t know” or “uncertain” when asked a variety of questions about their plans for their business over the course of the year. That led to 2025 being the highest year on record for NFIB’s Small Business Uncertainty Index, with little difference between the numbers for the U.S. and Texas. This level of uncertainty greatly impacts the ability of small businesses to plan and operate, particularly affecting any potential capital investment plans.

The data for this report is sourced from NFIB’s Small Business Economic Trends (SBET) Survey. The NFIB Research Center has collected SBET data, polled from a random sample of NFIB members, with quarterly surveys since the fourth quarter of 1973 and monthly surveys since 1986. To create this new state-specific report, we pooled data from multiple surveys into a weighted average for a given season (Apr-Sep for summer and Oct-Mar for winter). This report analyzes data from Texas respondents from summer 2025.