The U.S. was founded on principles that anyone with a good idea and a willingness to work hard has a shot at success. That optimism about the potential of entrepreneurship is very much alive.

The percentage of U.S. adults in the nascent stages of entrepreneurship, either in the process of starting a business or a new business owner, reached almost 13 percent in 2012, up slightly from 12.3 percent the previous year, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor U.S. Report released today from Babson College and Baruch College. That is the highest level of entrepreneurship the U.S. has seen since 1999 when the rate was 8.4 percent and GEM first started producing the studies.

Related: U.S. Small Businesses Expect Improved Sales Prospects (Infographic)

Of the U.S. adults who are working on launching their own business or are running their young business, men outnumber women in a 10 to seven ratio, the report finds. First-generation immigrants are more likely than their nonimmigrant peers to become an entrepreneur. What’s more, entrepreneurship rates across age categories, when adjusted to take into account the percentage of each age group that is active in the labor market, were relatively similar, the report found.

Below is an infographic prepared by the GEM in connection with the release of the U.S. report summarizing the diverse demographics of U.S. entrepreneurs, along with highlights about how U.S. entrepreneurs are working and the struggles they face.

What does the entrepreneurship community look like in your local region? Leave a note below and let us know.

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