Methodology & Data Sources

Data Sources

PlainBizBench benchmarks are built from two authoritative government sources:

IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) Business Tax Statistics — Aggregated financial data from all U.S. business tax returns, organized by NAICS industry code. Includes total receipts, net income, deductions, and entity type breakdowns (C Corp, S Corp, Partnership, Sole Proprietorship). Source: irs.gov/statistics
Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) — Employment counts, establishment counts, and annual payroll for private-sector businesses by NAICS code at the national, state, and county level. Source: census.gov/cbp

Coverage

PlainBizBench covers 1,000+ NAICS industry codes at the 2-, 3-, 4-, and 6-digit level. The most recent CBP data is from 2023. IRS SOI data typically lags 2–3 years from the reference year.

How We Calculate Benchmarks

Download raw IRS SOI business tax statistics and Census CBP files
Match NAICS codes across both datasets
Calculate profit margins: net income ÷ total receipts for each NAICS code from IRS data
Calculate payroll per employee: annual payroll ÷ employment from Census CBP data
Calculate revenue per employee: total receipts ÷ employment (IRS/CBP crosswalk)
Present all metrics without modification or normalization

Important: We do not blend the two sources or estimate values where data is missing. Each metric traces back to a single, verifiable government dataset. IRS and Census use slightly different NAICS structures — where codes don't align exactly, we note the source.

Data Vintage

The Census Bureau releases new County Business Patterns data annually, typically 12–18 months after the reference year. IRS Statistics of Income data lags 2–3 years due to the time required for tax return processing and statistical compilation. We update our database when new data from either source becomes available. Because IRS and Census data have different publication cycles, the most recent available year may differ between the two sources. We clearly indicate the reference year for each data point so users can assess data currency.

Limitations

Industry averages are based on all businesses in each NAICS category — individual results vary significantly by size, geography, management, and market conditions
The IRS suppresses data for NAICS codes with very few filers to protect taxpayer privacy
IRS data reflects tax-reported figures, which may differ from economic reality due to tax planning strategies
This is informational data only — not financial, tax, or business advice

How the Source Agencies Collect Data

IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) data is compiled from all business income tax returns filed in the United States. The IRS aggregates these returns by NAICS industry code, providing totals for receipts, deductions, net income, and other financial line items. The data covers all business entity types: C Corporations, S Corporations, Partnerships, and Sole Proprietorships. SOI data is tabulated from actual tax filings, making it the most comprehensive measure of business financial activity in the U.S. economy.

Census County Business Patterns data comes from the Census Bureau's Business Register, which is compiled from multiple administrative sources including IRS tax records, Social Security Administration data, and Census Bureau surveys. CBP provides establishment counts, employment figures, and annual payroll for nearly every private-sector industry in the United States, organized by NAICS code and geography.

Data Accuracy Commitment

PlainBizBench presents government data without modification or blending across sources. Each metric traces back to a single, verifiable dataset. We do not estimate values where data is suppressed by the IRS for privacy reasons, and we clearly note the source agency for every displayed figure. If you find any data that appears incorrect, please contact us so we can verify against the source publications.

Contact

Questions about our methodology or found a data error? Reach us at hello@plainbizbench.com or through our contact page.