How does your industry
stack up?
Profit margins, payroll, employment, and revenue benchmarks for 1,000+ U.S. industries by NAICS code — straight from IRS SOI and Census Bureau data. No paywall. No login.
Search by industry name, NAICS code, or keyword
- Sectors
- 24
- Industries
- 1,000+
- States covered
- 51
- Source year
- 2023
Most-profitable U.S. industries by pre-tax net margin
Largest U.S. industries by employment
Total employees by NAICS industry — U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023
Most Profitable Industries
Highest average profit margins — IRS SOI data
Finance and Insurance
NAICS 525
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
NAICS 531
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
NAICS 533
Finance and Insurance
NAICS 522
Health Care and Social Assistance
NAICS 623
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
NAICS 711
Other Services (except Public Administration)
NAICS 812
Transportation and Warehousing
NAICS 492
Browse by Sector
24 sectors covering the entire US economy
Accommodation and Food Services
NAICS 72 · 34 industries
Establishments
3.9M
Employment
72.3M
Total Receipts
$1.4T
Avg profit margin 5.9%
Administrative and Support and Waste Management
NAICS 56 · 87 industries
Establishments
2.3M
Employment
66.8M
Total Receipts
$1.9T
Avg profit margin 4.8%
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting
NAICS 11 · 35 industries
Establishments
114K
Employment
793K
Total Receipts
$495.3B
Avg profit margin 5.3%
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
NAICS 71 · 61 industries
Establishments
832K
Employment
12.1M
Total Receipts
$547.0B
Avg profit margin 9.8%
Construction
NAICS 23 · 73 industries
Establishments
4.1M
Employment
38.3M
Total Receipts
$4.8T
Avg profit margin 3.9%
Educational Services
NAICS 61 · 38 industries
Establishments
590K
Employment
19.6M
Total Receipts
$82.3B
Avg profit margin 9.3%
Finance and Insurance
NAICS 52 · 80 industries
Establishments
2.3M
Employment
31.1M
Total Receipts
$9.9T
Avg profit margin 18.8%
Health Care and Social Assistance
NAICS 62 · 92 industries
Establishments
5.0M
Employment
109.9M
Total Receipts
$2.6T
Avg profit margin 9.4%
Information
NAICS 51 · 74 industries
Establishments
804K
Employment
16.4M
Total Receipts
$3.3T
Avg profit margin 6.3%
Management of Companies and Enterprises
NAICS 55 · 7 industries
Establishments
248K
Employment
19.3M
Total Receipts
$957.3B
Avg profit margin 48.1%
Manufacturing
NAICS 31 · 149 industries
Establishments
507K
Employment
21.2M
Total Receipts
$11.7T
Avg profit margin 6.5%
Manufacturing
NAICS 32 · 180 industries
Establishments
333K
Employment
12.6M
Total Receipts
$5.3T
Avg profit margin 6.4%
Manufacturing
NAICS 33 · 319 industries
Establishments
582K
Employment
25.3M
Total Receipts
$7.2T
Avg profit margin 6.2%
Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction
NAICS 21 · 48 industries
Establishments
117K
Employment
2.7M
Total Receipts
$1.4T
Avg profit margin 4.6%
Other Services (except Public Administration)
NAICS 81 · 94 industries
Establishments
4.0M
Employment
27.9M
Total Receipts
$790.9B
Avg profit margin 6.9%
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
NAICS 54 · 93 industries
Establishments
4.9M
Employment
51.5M
Total Receipts
$4.0T
Avg profit margin 9.8%
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
NAICS 53 · 53 industries
Establishments
2.3M
Employment
11.5M
Total Receipts
$2.6T
Avg profit margin 12.5%
Retail Trade
NAICS 44 · 107 industries
Establishments
4.0M
Employment
53.7M
Total Receipts
$11.1T
Avg profit margin 3.1%
Retail Trade
NAICS 45 · 56 industries
Establishments
1.2M
Employment
6.9M
Total Receipts
$1.2T
Avg profit margin 3.8%
Transportation and Warehousing
NAICS 48 · 114 industries
Establishments
1.3M
Employment
18.9M
Total Receipts
$3.0T
Avg profit margin 2.5%
Transportation and Warehousing
NAICS 49 · 17 industries
Establishments
151K
Employment
4.9M
Total Receipts
$43.1B
Avg profit margin 9.9%
Utilities
NAICS 22 · 25 industries
Establishments
102K
Employment
3.3M
Total Receipts
$1.1T
Avg profit margin 1.2%
Wholesale Trade
NAICS 42 · 165 industries
Establishments
1.9M
Employment
29.9M
Total Receipts
$9.9T
Avg profit margin 3.4%
Largest Employers
Administrative and Support and Waste Management
NAICS 561
Accommodation and Food Services
NAICS 722
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
NAICS 541
Health Care and Social Assistance
NAICS 621
Health Care and Social Assistance
NAICS 622
What You Can Find Here
- 📊
Profit Margins
Average net profit margin by NAICS industry — compare to your own business
- 💼
Payroll Benchmarks
Average annual payroll per employee — know if you're competitive
- 🏢
Employment Data
Total employment by industry and state — Census Bureau CBP 2023
- 🔍
Entity Type Breakdown
C Corp vs S Corp vs Partnership vs Sole Prop — how businesses are structured
Disclaimer: PlainBizBench provides publicly available IRS and Census data for informational purposes only. This is not financial, tax, or business advice. Consult a qualified accountant or financial advisor for business-specific guidance.
Benchmarking Guides
Learn how to interpret and apply industry financial data
Frequently Asked Questions
What is PlainBizBench?
PlainBizBench is a free industry benchmarking tool that aggregates IRS Statistics of Income and Census Bureau payroll data for 1,000+ US industries. It lets business owners and analysts compare their financials against national averages at no cost.
Where does the data come from?
Financial data (profit margins, revenue, returns) comes from the IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) Business Tax Statistics — the most comprehensive public source for US industry financial data. Employment and payroll data comes from the Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023 .
How are profit margins calculated?
Profit margins are net income divided by total receipts as reported in IRS SOI data. These are pre-tax net income margins based on business tax returns aggregated by NAICS industry code. Individual business results vary significantly from these averages.
Can I use this data for my business plan?
You can use this data as a starting reference point for industry benchmarking. However, it should not replace a professional financial analysis. Actual performance varies by business size, location, management, and market conditions. Always consult a qualified accountant or financial advisor for business-specific guidance.
Guides & Analysis
Editorial research and plain-language explainers from our team. Every guide is written to help you read the underlying public data correctly.
Research
Original analysis from our editorial team, every statistic derived from our own database. See all research.
Which US Industry Sectors Earn the Widest Profit Margins
Analysis of 2,002 NAICS industries from IRS SOI 2023 tax returns: Management of Companies leads at 24.43% net-income-to-receipts, Wholesale Trade lags at 2.76%.
ResearchPayroll per Employee: $149K Information vs $35K Accommodation
Census CBP 2023 data shows Information workers earn $149,198 in annual payroll vs Accommodation and Food Services at the bottom — a 4x spread across US industries.
ResearchWhere SBA Loans Concentrate: Industry Patterns in 92,214 Lender Records
PlainBizBench maps 92,214 SBA lender records to NAICS industries. Wholesale Trade (NAICS 425120) tops 609 SBA 7(a) loans with $355.5M in approvals — a concentration pattern that reveals working-capital demand.