There are approximately 67,600 private sector businesses in Buckinghamshire (2025). More than half of these businesses (approximately 37,200) have no employees and are not registered for VAT / PAYE. The county is home to 30,400 private sector VAT/PAYE registered businesses.

The vast majority (91%) of VAT/PAYE registered enterprises in Buckinghamshire are micro in size (employing fewer than 10 people). Buckinghamshire has the highest concentration of micro businesses of the 38 former Local Enterprise Partnership regions.

Whilst only 0.3% of Buckinghamshire’s (private and public) enterprises are large (employing 250 or more people), these large employers provide 45% of all employee jobs in the local economy.

Approximately one in five businesses in Buckinghamshire operates in the ‘professional, scientific and technical’ sector, a higher proportion than nationally (19% versus 16%). This sector includes businesses such as law firms, accounting firms, and engineering companies.

Buckinghamshire also has a higher proportion of businesses operating in the ‘information and communication’ sector than the national average. This sector includes computer programming and consultancy firms, and motion picture, video and TV companies. 10% of Buckinghamshire’s VAT/PAYE registered businesses operate in this sector, compared with the national average of 7%.

Over the last decade, the number of Buckinghamshire enterprises operating in the ‘construction’, ‘transport and storage’, and ‘health’ sectors have increased to the greatest extent. Whilst the number of enterprises operating in the ‘wholesale’ sector and in the ‘professional, scientific and technical’ sector over this period has fallen.