A new Illinois Small Business Economic Trends (SBET) report, produced by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Research Center and released today, highlights responses from Illinois 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 U.S. small business economy for decades,” said Holly Wade, Executive Director of NFIB’s Research Center. “However, no state can be defined by national numbers alone. This state-specific report allows us to better understand business conditions and the unique challenges owners face in Illinois.”

The Small Business Optimism Index for Illinois small businesses in Winter (October-March) 2025-26 was 97.3, 1.2 points below the national average. Of the 10 components that make up the Index, five components are roughly the same between the state and the country, four are more negative, and one is more positive. Illinois has a 4-point advantage on current inventory, a positive indicator of recent sales. On the other hand, there are significant deficits in job openings and earnings.

“This data confirms what I hear from small business owners across the state,” said NFIB Illinois State Director Noah Finley. “While they love their communities, many small business owners are discouraged by Illinois’s tax-and-spend policies and growing regulatory burdens, making them less likely to hire or create jobs here in Illinois.”

Illinois small business owners also continue to struggle with high taxes, often feeling nickel-and-dimed by the government and paying some of the highest property taxes in the nation. 23.2% cited taxes as their single most important problem, compared to 17.3% of small business owners across the country.

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, NFIB 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 Illinois respondents from October 2025 to March 2026.