New PF Global research estimates that TikTok supported $81 billion in U.S. GDP and 410,000 American jobs in 2025. Commissioned by TikTok USDS Joint Venture, which operates TikTok in the United States, the study examines the platform’s economic and social impact on businesses, creators, consumers, and communities.
Our research combined independent surveys of more than 11,000 U.S. adults and 5,000 U.S. businesses with economic modeling, case study interviews, and immersive research. It provides estimates for every U.S. state, alongside industry deep dives and analysis of businesses owned by women, veterans, younger entrepreneurs, and members of minority communities.
Across the findings, a common theme emerged: people take what they discover on TikTok and act on it in real life. A video can become a visit to a neighborhood business, a new skill, or the starting point for a business of their own.
Key findings include:
- 27 million Americans visited an independent shop, cafe, or restaurant for the first time after seeing it on TikTok in 2025, bringing new customers through local businesses’ doors.
- 47 million American adults discovered a local business after watching a TikTok video over the past year.
- 50 million Americans returned to a business they first visited after seeing a trending TikTok video, suggesting that discovery on TikTok builds lasting customer relationships.
- TikTok’s creative economy contributed an estimated $9.7 billion to U.S. creative industries in 2025, supporting activity from individual creators to production businesses.
- Educational and skills-based content supported an estimated 3.6 billion hours of informal learning in the United States in 2025.
- TikTok helped an estimated 1.8 million American entrepreneurs sell products or services through the platform in 2025, helping people turn their ideas and skills into income.
Our team also conducted more than 600 interviews across three immersive studies to show how TikTok helps people discover new places, experiences and how many Americans are rediscovering their love of reading. These took place in Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina, in Miami and Dallas around two major International Soccer games and in Los Angeles at the L.A. Times Festival of Books.
