FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TRENTON, NJ (Feb. 26, 2026) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy association with thousands of members in the Garden State, has released its first energy survey of its membership, showing how energy costs impact their business operations.

“The value of this survey is the tool it provides New Jersey policymakers on how small businesses rank energy usage and cope with energy costs,” said NFIB New Jersey State Director Eileen Kean. “Energy costs play a critical and growing role in the operation of small businesses, and they are often one of the largest costs for owners in operating their business. Our members and small business owners across New Jersey hope the survey will contribute to better energy policy decisions in Trenton.”

The NFIB survey collected responses from 775 small business owners across a wide range of industries and across the country.

From Holly Wade, executive director of NFIB’s Research Center: “Small businesses are highly exposed to energy cost increases, have limited flexibility to reduce costs, and experience direct operational and financial impacts as a result. As owners work to absorb the impact of energy costs into their business, it can often limit their ability to hire, retain talent, and grow.”

The survey shows that small businesses are deeply impacted by energy use and its costs. The data highlights the complexities that small business owners face when managing cost increases and reliability issues for electricity, which is the most common energy source. Just 8% of small business owners reported that their energy costs had not increased in the last three years.

To download NFIB’s Small Business Energy Survey, click here. Key findings of the survey included:

• Across all major energy sources, about 80% of small business owners reported that energy costs significantly (very or moderately) impact the business.
• Energy costs related to heating and cooling are the most common primary energy cost, followed by operating equipment and/or processes, and in third place, vehicles.
• Two-thirds of small business owners report that energy efficiency is at least somewhat important when replacing vehicles. However, adoption of electric and hybrid vehicles remains very limited.
• Small businesses owners have few good ways to manage increased energy costs. Lower profits (58%) and higher prices (52%) are the most common ways small business owners are absorbing increased energy prices.

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For over 80 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven association. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.