• There are nearly 55,000 small businesses (fewer than 50 employees) and sole proprietors serving the Albuquerque, NM metro area.
• Locally owned stores spend proportionately more on payroll than chains, making jobs at local businesses better.
• For every $100 spent at a locally-owned business, around $45 remains in the local economy, compared with about $13 spent at big box stores. The $45 goes up even higher when buying from a sole proprietor or a business which is able to buy more of their items locally.
• In other cities where buying local has taken off, such as Grand Rapids, MI (much smaller than Albuquerque), when consumers shifted just 10% of their purchses from a chain to a local business, payroll increased by $53 million, the regional economic impact was increased by $140 million, and jobs increased by 1,600!
• The ONLY resource for 100% local businesses in Albuquerque is ABQ find's business directory; all the others have less stringent requirements. Who knows where your money is going...

Sources: 2007 U.S. Census; American Independent Business Association, Business Alliance for Local Living Economies; Civic Economics; Institute for Local Self-Reliance.