You are likely to make more money running a business in Tana River, West Pokot, Kajiado or Mandera, a new survey on the status of family businesses shows.
Ranking counties by the proportion of household businesses that make over Sh50,000 monthly, the survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) lists the Nairobi Metropolitan, parts of the Coast, Rift Valley and Northern Kenya at the very top, revealing parts of the country where enterprises flourish.
The KNBS’ 2025-26 Kenya Mini Demographic and Health Survey (KMDHS) shows that at least 32.3 per cent of household enterprises in Tana River earn monthly revenues of over Sh50,000, followed by 25.4 per cent of the businesses in West Pokot.
This means that about one in three household enterprises in Tana River, and one in four enterprises in West Pokot, earn above the figure, which translates to at least Sh600,000 annually.
With 22.3 per cent of household enterprises in Kajiado, and 20.3 per cent of those in Mandera also making as much cash, the four counties are the only ones in the country where more than one in five people operating household businesses earn over Sh50,000 monthly.
This data shows that these counties tend to create more high-quality businesses, at least judging from the income-generation aspect.
“Enterprises with an average monthly revenue of Sh50,000 or more account for 15 per cent of households in urban areas compared with 6 per cent of households in rural areas,” KNBS says.
The national statistics body conducted the survey between November last year and February this year, interviewing 26,380 households across the country on various issues, ranging from health to enterprise.
On the aspect of household enterprises that make most cash, it ranked several others in the list of those that make more than Sh50,000 in monthly average revenues.
In Kericho, for instance, 13 of the 74 enterprises interviewed make as much cash, Nyandarua follows it with six of the 33 enterprises interviewed, with Nairobi having 226 of the 1,338 household businesses earning the high revenues.
Nairobi is followed by Kiambu (58 of the 383 businesses interviewed), Machakos (27 out of 179 businesses) and Marsabit (13.7 per cent of the 21 businesses interviewed).
“Nationally, the largest percentage of household enterprises (34 per cent) reported an average monthly revenue of Sh5,000 or less. This was followed by enterprises with average monthly revenues of Sh10,000–19,999 (22 per cent) and Sh20,000–49,999 (21 per cent),” KNBS stated.
On the other end, the survey lists Kwale as having the highest number of household enterprises earning below Sh5,000 monthly, at nearly two-thirds (64.6 per cent) of the businesses operating in the county. It is followed by Turkana (61.3 per cent of the household enterprises), Busia (60.4 per cent), Kilifi (56.2 per cent) and Tharaka Nithi (56 per cent).
These businesses make less than Sh170 daily, which means that for a whole year, they earn less than Sh60,000.
Other counties in the list include Wajir where 54.1 per cent of the household businesses earn such low incomes, Siaya (53 per cent), Bungoma (52.2 per cent), Samburu (51.4 per cent), and Kakamega 50.2 (per cent).
Overall, the KMDHS says one in five households in the country operate a business, meaning running an income-generating activity, including production of goods and provision of services.
While majority of the household businesses are in rural areas, urban areas record a higher proportion of household enterprises, with a quarter of the households having at least one member running a business.
The survey shows that Turkana has the highest rate of households running businesses at 42.7 per cent, followed by Kisumu (33 per cent), Homa Bay (32.1 per cent) and Migori (31.8 per cent).
“The percentage of households operating an enterprise increases with household wealth, from 10 per cent in the lowest wealth quintile to 27 per cent in the highest wealth quintile,” KNBS said.
