National rankings · IRS SOI + Census CBP 2023

Highest-Paying U.S. Industries

The top 25 U.S. industries by average payroll per employee, drawn straight from IRS Statistics of Income and Census County Business Patterns. Switch the metric below.

$260,466/yr
#1: Securities, Commodit…
25
Industries ranked

The ranking in one line · Highest-Paying U.S. Industries

Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities leads U.S. industries by average payroll per employee at $260,466/yr, ahead of Oil and Gas Extraction ($192,366/yr).

$260,466/yr
#1 Securities, Commodity …
$192,366/yr
#2 Oil and Gas Extraction
$177,093/yr
#3 Publishing Industries …
$173,124/yr
#4 Funds, Trusts, and Oth…
Most Profitable Largest Employers Highest Payroll Highest Revenue SBA Lending ↗

Average annual payroll per employee · Census CBP 2023

# Industry Avg Payroll/Employee
1 Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities

NAICS 523

 $260,466/yr
2 Oil and Gas Extraction

NAICS 211

 $192,366/yr
3 Publishing Industries (except Internet)

NAICS 511

 $177,093/yr
4 Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles

NAICS 525

 $173,124/yr
5 Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services

NAICS 518

 $147,665/yr
6 Management of Companies and Enterprises

NAICS 551

 $128,997/yr
7 Utilities

NAICS 221

 $127,240/yr
8 Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries

NAICS 711

 $112,036/yr
9 Water Transportation

NAICS 483

 $108,243/yr
10 Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

NAICS 541

 $107,141/yr
11 Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing

NAICS 334

 $105,268/yr
12 Credit Intermediation and Related Activities

NAICS 522

 $104,345/yr
13 Support Activities for Mining

NAICS 213

 $103,587/yr
14 Broadcasting (except Internet)

NAICS 515

 $101,188/yr
15 Insurance Carriers and Related Activities

NAICS 524

 $98,628/yr
16 Chemical Manufacturing

NAICS 325

 $97,721/yr
17 Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods

NAICS 423

 $94,991/yr
18 Mining (except Oil and Gas)

NAICS 212

 $93,689/yr
19 Telecommunications

NAICS 517

 $91,984/yr
20 Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction

NAICS 237

 $91,313/yr
21 Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods

NAICS 424

 $85,510/yr
22 Primary Metal Manufacturing

NAICS 331

 $83,673/yr
23 Transportation Equipment Manufacturing

NAICS 336

 $82,654/yr
24 Construction of Buildings

NAICS 236

 $82,433/yr
25 Hospitals

NAICS 622

 $80,674/yr

Sources: IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) · Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 · SBA lending data →

Every figure on PlainBizBench is rendered directly from federal source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This hub surfaces the top industries by profit margin and employment, live from the dataset. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

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