Behind the numbers How N.J.’s middle-market firms stack up nationally

According to the latest data from American Express and Dun & Bradstreet, 533 of New Jersey’s 4,842 middle-market firms have been in business for less than 10 years.At 11 percent, that puts New Jersey right at the top of the national bell curve.

“New Jersey is pretty close to the national average on the age spectrum of middle-market firms,” said Julie Weeks, research adviser for American Express.

New Jersey also hovers right around the national average of middle-market firms over 50 years old, with 31 percent compared with the national 30 percent.

“What it says, in general, is that it takes a while to get to the middle market, so the changes you see at that level of business accomplishment don’t happen fast,” she said. “Most firms that have reached that level of $10 million or more in revenue have been around for a while.”

The data also shows that younger middle-market firms are more likely to be in the service sector in comparison with older companies, which are more likely in manufacturing or wholesale trade.

“Those businesses, which didn’t used to scale to that level, now have a lot more scalability,” she said. “Having a diversified climate, in terms of the types of industry sectors, is a good thing.

“That’s the major message: that the industry mix is changing.”