State overview · AL · Census CBP 2023
Alabama Industry Benchmarks
Employment, establishments, and payroll for 814 industries in Alabama. Drill into any industry for a Alabama-specific view, then cross-reference the national page for margins.
- 1.7M
- Workers
- 98K
- Establishments
- 814
- Industries tracked
Data updated August 2026
The verdict · Alabama
Alabama employs 1,727,530 workers across 814 tracked industries, led by General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (90,500 workers) among the 357 detailed industries with published employment.
No single sector dominates Alabama (lead 16%; top-three 45%). Margins stay on national industry pages.
Alabama sector employment mix
Share of private-sector employment by NAICS-2 sector (Census CBP 2023). Tile area = workers.
Alabama spreads employment across sectors: the largest, Manufacturing, is only 16% of 1,727,530 private-sector workers (about the 53rd percentile of states by employment). No single NAICS-2 block dominates the private labor market here.
Not ranked: 4 of 20 sectors have no published employment figure. Census County Business Patterns applies 2% or more noise to those cells, and PlainBizBench publishes only low-noise figures rather than estimating. Finance and Insurance (7,195) reports more establishments than Manufacturing, so Manufacturing leads only among the 16 sectors with published employment. Total employment, shares and the mix on this page sum only the sectors with a published figure. How we handle withheld data.
| Sector | Workers | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing (31) | 272,338 | 16% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance (62) | 268,162 | 16% |
| Retail Trade (44) | 238,329 | 14% |
| Top-three cumulative 45% - no single NAICS-2 block dominates. | ||
Profit margins are national (IRS SOI); open any industry row below, then the matching national industry page for profitability.
Census CBP firm roll
County Business Patterns AL DISTRIBUTED · CBP
#24/51 · 1,727,530 workers · 97,933 firms
- EMP 1,727,530
- EST 97,933
- RANK #24/51
- PCT 53rd pct
- LEAD Manufacturing
- SHARE 16% lead
- BAND distributed
- DENS 17.6 /firm
- BOOK 814 NAICS
- PHOTO Kentucky
Nearest employment-scale peer: Kentucky (1,674,114 workers)
According to Census County Business Patterns 2023, Alabama ranks #24 of 51 states and territories by total private-sector employment (level-2 sector totals, the same non-double-counted aggregate shown above). Margins stay on national industry pages (IRS SOI). Read with this state → · Lead 6-digit industry →
AL in the employment-scale neighbourhood
Top Industries by Employment
Not ranked: 445 of 802 detailed industries have no published employment figure. Census County Business Patterns applies 2% or more noise to those cells, and PlainBizBench publishes only low-noise figures rather than estimating. Commercial Banking (1,556), All Other General Merchandise Stores (1,515), Automotive Parts and Accessories Stores (825) and 54 more report more establishments than General Medical and Surgical Hospitals, so General Medical and Surgical Hospitals leads only among the 357 detailed industries with published employment. How we handle withheld data.
Breadth peers near Alabama's private employment
Nearest other states by Census CBP level-2 private employment (1,727,530 in Alabama), excluding AL.
Source: Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023 · AL
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.