Businesses by Industry
Employer establishments, employees and annual payroll in 2023, by NAICS sector.
- Employer establishments
- 8,361,342
- Employees
- 139,831,742
- Mid-March pay period
- Annual payroll
- $9.56T
- Nonemployer businesses
- 31,985,874
- $1.86T receipts, 2024
Industries by employment
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| Industry | Establishments | Employees | Average pay | Nonemployers | Applications (12 mo.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 1,003,398 | 22,063,238 | $63,214 | 2,395,760 | 395,631 |
| Retail trade | 1,043,373 | 16,046,207 | $37,746 | 2,178,016 | 1,253,586 |
| Accommodation and food services | 784,882 | 14,608,170 | $26,914 | 721,546 | 332,274 |
| Administrative and support services | 451,014 | 13,454,862 | $56,705 | 3,082,024 | 440,146 |
| Manufacturing | 284,452 | 12,335,234 | $73,202 | 421,812 | 88,102 |
| Professional and technical services | 989,182 | 10,401,442 | $107,141 | 4,233,838 | 930,447 |
| Construction | 814,557 | 7,659,459 | $76,580 | 3,042,704 | 567,709 |
| Finance and insurance | 469,382 | 6,991,623 | $125,425 | 839,550 | 238,041 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 291,155 | 6,548,924 | $61,391 | 4,484,838 | 409,148 |
| Wholesale trade | 382,081 | 6,236,357 | $90,505 | 472,266 | 116,227 |
| Other services | 807,804 | 5,616,494 | $43,492 | 3,352,476 | 517,067 |
| Educational services | 118,004 | 3,926,820 | $50,335 | 924,679 | 99,508 |
| Management of companies | 49,556 | 3,855,720 | $128,997 | Not reported | 77,885 |
| Information | 160,704 | 3,809,059 | $149,198 | 425,436 | 143,603 |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 166,356 | 2,491,408 | $47,770 | 1,806,368 | 182,564 |
| Real estate and rental | 469,562 | 2,391,886 | $70,076 | 3,263,571 | 308,374 |
| Utilities | 20,379 | 667,277 | $127,240 | 19,685 | 6,785 |
| Mining, oil and gas | 23,360 | 553,036 | $115,081 | 65,880 | 6,341 |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 22,752 | 161,334 | $56,903 | 255,425 | 46,025 |
Employment and payroll cover employer businesses only (not the self-employed, farm workers, or government). The Census Bureau adds small random noise to protect confidentiality. Application counts are new requests for an employer ID number (EIN) over the last 12 months.
Frequently asked questions
- What is an establishment?
- An establishment is a single physical location where business is done, such as a store, factory or office. A company with ten stores counts as ten establishments.
- What are nonemployer businesses?
- Nonemployer businesses have no paid employees and at least $1,000 in annual receipts. Most are self-employed people and small side businesses. The Census Bureau counts them from tax records.
- Why do these numbers lag?
- County Business Patterns and Nonemployer Statistics are annual counts released about a year and a half after the year they describe. Business applications are monthly and much newer.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, Nonemployer Statistics and Business Formation Statistics · Last updated 12/31/2023