IRS Statistics of Income + Census County Business Patterns · SOI 2013 · CBP 2023 · 2,002 industries
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
Built from the IRS Statistics of Income Business Tax Statistics (C-corp headline 2013) and Census County Business Patterns 2023 releases. Read the methodology and source limits before applying a benchmark to a specific business.
- Sectors
- 24
- Industries
- 2,002
- States covered
- 51
- Source years
- SOI 2013 · CBP 2023
The national picture · SOI 2013 · CBP 2023
Across 24 sectors, the typical U.S. industry runs a 4.7% pre-tax net margin, but the spread, from -20% losses to 72%+, means scale and structure, not margin alone, decide who clears.
- 4.7%
- Median industry net margin
- 139.8M
- Workers benchmarked (Census CBP)
- 8.4M
- Business establishments
- $231B
- SBA 7(a)+504 lending, FY20-26
Margin median and spread share one cohort: NAICS level 3+ industries with more than 10,000 employees (n=178). Employment and establishments are Census CBP sector totals; SBA dollars are a separate FOIA population. Benchmark your own numbers against the industry that actually matches your NAICS code.
Compare your business with its matching NAICS industry, not a generic small-business average.
PlainBizBench combines IRS Statistics of Income financial data with Census County Business Patterns employment and payroll data to make industry benchmarks easier to inspect. These are national, source-year-specific comparisons, not a valuation or a recommendation for any individual business. Check the methodology and your own financial statements before using a benchmark in a decision.
Source: IRS Statistics of Income (C-corp 2013) and Census County Business Patterns 2023
Start with your business question
Find the right peer before you act on a benchmark
Use the most specific NAICS industry you can identify, then compare a reported margin with that industry distribution and read the source limits before drawing a business conclusion.
-
1 · Identify
Find your NAICS industry
Search the industry name or code so the comparison is not based on a broad-sector average.
Browse industries → -
2 · Compare
Place your margin in context
Use the percentile tool to compare a pre-tax net margin with the reported industry distribution.
Open the margin tool → -
3 · Interpret
Check what the benchmark can’t decide
Read the calculation, source year, and business-structure limits before applying a national aggregate to your company.
Read the benchmark guide →
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
Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles
NAICS 525
Real Estate
NAICS 531
Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works)
NAICS 533
Credit Intermediation and Related Activities
NAICS 522
Wholesale Electronic Markets and Agents and Brokers
NAICS 425
Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing
NAICS 312
Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities
NAICS 523
Broadcasting (except Internet)
NAICS 515
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
$1.0T
Avg profit margin 0.0%
Administrative and Support and Waste Management
NAICS 56 · 87 industries
Establishments
2.3M
Employment
66.8M
Total Receipts
$1.5T
Avg profit margin 0.0%
Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting
NAICS 11 · 35 industries
Establishments
114K
Employment
793K
Total Receipts
$269.1B
Avg profit margin 0.0%
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
NAICS 71 · 61 industries
Establishments
832K
Employment
12.1M
Total Receipts
$247.5B
Avg profit margin 0.0%
Construction
NAICS 23 · 73 industries
Establishments
4.1M
Employment
38.3M
Total Receipts
$3.5T
Avg profit margin 0.0%
Educational Services
NAICS 61 · 38 industries
Establishments
590K
Employment
19.6M
Total Receipts
$66.1B
Avg profit margin 0.0%
Finance and Insurance
NAICS 52 · 80 industries
Establishments
2.3M
Employment
31.1M
Total Receipts
$8.8T
Avg profit margin 0.0%
Health Care and Social Assistance
NAICS 62 · 92 industries
Establishments
5.0M
Employment
109.9M
Total Receipts
$1.9T
Avg profit margin 0.0%
Information
NAICS 51 · 74 industries
Establishments
804K
Employment
16.4M
Total Receipts
$2.7T
Avg profit margin 0.0%
Management of Companies and Enterprises
NAICS 55 · 7 industries
Establishments
248K
Employment
19.3M
Total Receipts
$887.1B
Avg profit margin 0.0%
Manufacturing
NAICS 31 · 149 industries
Establishments
507K
Employment
21.2M
Total Receipts
$1.8T
Avg profit margin 0.0%
Manufacturing
NAICS 32 · 180 industries
Establishments
333K
Employment
12.6M
Total Receipts
$5.3T
Avg profit margin 0.0%
Manufacturing
NAICS 33 · 319 industries
Establishments
582K
Employment
25.3M
Total Receipts
$7.2T
Avg profit margin 0.0%
Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction
NAICS 21 · 48 industries
Establishments
117K
Employment
2.7M
Total Receipts
$1.0T
Avg profit margin 0.0%
Other Services (except Public Administration)
NAICS 81 · 94 industries
Establishments
4.0M
Employment
27.9M
Total Receipts
$506.2B
Avg profit margin 0.0%
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
NAICS 54 · 93 industries
Establishments
4.9M
Employment
51.5M
Total Receipts
$2.5T
Avg profit margin 0.0%
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
NAICS 53 · 53 industries
Establishments
2.3M
Employment
11.5M
Total Receipts
$1.2T
Avg profit margin 0.0%
Retail Trade
NAICS 44 · 107 industries
Establishments
4.0M
Employment
53.7M
Total Receipts
$4.5T
Avg profit margin 0.0%
Retail Trade
NAICS 45 · 56 industries
Establishments
1.2M
Employment
6.9M
Total Receipts
$1.2T
Avg profit margin 0.0%
Transportation and Warehousing
NAICS 48 · 114 industries
Establishments
1.3M
Employment
18.9M
Total Receipts
$768.8B
Avg profit margin 0.0%
Transportation and Warehousing
NAICS 49 · 17 industries
Establishments
151K
Employment
4.9M
Total Receipts
$24.3B
Avg profit margin 0.0%
Utilities
NAICS 22 · 25 industries
Establishments
102K
Employment
3.3M
Total Receipts
$827.1B
Avg profit margin 0.0%
Wholesale Trade
NAICS 42 · 165 industries
Establishments
1.9M
Employment
29.9M
Total Receipts
$8.7T
Avg profit margin 0.0%
Largest Employers
Administrative and Support Services
NAICS 561
Food Services and Drinking Places
NAICS 722
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
NAICS 541
Ambulatory Health Care Services
NAICS 621
Hospitals
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.
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, C-corp headline year 2013. 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.
Verified research and benchmarks
Published research notes must be reproducible from the live database. For current comparisons and a practical benchmark, use the live data tools below. Read the research archive.
Average profit margin by industry
Compare IRS SOI-backed profit-margin benchmarks across U.S. industries, then open an industry page for its source context and limits.
National reportU.S. industry financial benchmarks
Read the reproducible national margin distribution, sector employment context, and source limits before applying an industry benchmark.
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.
Interactive toolBenchmark your profit margin
Enter a margin to see where it falls within the portal's ranked industry distribution, then compare it with the live profit-margin table.
Release comparisonWhich industries added and lost jobs?
Compare the retained 2022–2023 Census releases for broad industries, then inspect the exact source-bound change table and its limits.
How to use these benchmarks
A benchmark is only useful next to your own numbers, here's how to read them honestly.
- Match your exact NAICS code, not just the broad sector, margins swing widely between sub-industries. Find your industry
- Read the industry margin as a midpoint: smaller firms typically run several points below the aggregate. Why margins vary
- Cross-check payroll and SBA lending before you plan headcount or financed growth. See the rankings
Figures aggregate IRS SOI 2013 and Census CBP 2023 public data; individual businesses vary by size, region, and structure. Not financial advice.
About this data
How PlainBizBench works, and why you can trust these numbers
What this site is
PlainBizBench benchmarks 1,000+ NAICS industries using two authoritative government sources: IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) Business Tax Statistics for profit margins, revenue, and net income, and Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) for employment, establishment counts, and payroll. We do not blend the two sources or estimate values where data is missing; each metric traces back to a single, verifiable government dataset.
Editorial process
- Source. Download the raw IRS SOI business tax statistics and Census CBP files directly from irs.gov and census.gov, then match NAICS codes across both datasets.
- Verify. Calculate each benchmark inside one population (profit margin = C-corp SOI net income / receipts; payroll per employee = CBP payroll / CBP employment) and present the metrics without cross-source ratios or cross-vintage blends.
- Publish. Update the database whenever new data from either source becomes available, and clearly indicate the reference year for each data point, since IRS and Census publication cycles differ.
Editorial independence & corrections
PlainBizBench presents government data without modification or blending across sources, and does not estimate values where the IRS suppresses data for privacy reasons. Found a figure that looks wrong? Reach us at hello@plainbizbench.com or through the contact page so we can verify against the source publications. See our methodology for the full calculation approach and data-vintage notes.
Frequently asked
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, C-corp headline year 2013. 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.