State Overview · Census CBP 2023

Idaho Industries

Employment and payroll benchmarks for 767 industries in Idaho

Reading the Idaho Industry Picture

Idaho (ID) shows 2,622,386 workers employed across 243,798 business establishments, covering 767 industries tracked by the Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 program. That single-state footprint is a starting point for anyone benchmarking location strategy, evaluating a market for expansion, or simply understanding where jobs concentrate. The single largest employer-industry in Idaho is Health Care and Social Assistance with 114,052 workers — a signal about what kind of labor market and supplier ecosystem the state actually supports.

Beyond the top employer, Retail Trade (94,210) and Accommodation and Food Services (79,037) fill out the top three, giving you a quick read on the state's economic base. Payroll dispersion is just as important as headcount: the highest-paying tracked industry (Transportation and Warehousing) pays $247,000/yr per employee, while the lowest-paying (Educational Services) pays $11,872/yr. That gap tells you how the state's median wage is being pulled up or down by its industry composition — critical context for anyone comparing cost of labor across markets.

Census CBP data does not include profit margins (that comes from IRS Statistics of Income at the national level only), so a full benchmark on any specific NAICS code in Idaho requires combining this state page with the national industry page. Click any industry in the table below to drop into a Idaho-specific NAICS view showing employment, establishments, annual payroll, and average compensation for that exact combination — then cross-reference the national page for profitability, entity structure, and SBA lending activity in the same industry.

Total Employment

2,622,386

Total Establishments

243,798

Industries Tracked

767

Top Industries by Employment

Industry Employment
Health Care and Social Assistance

NAICS 62

114,052
Retail Trade

NAICS 44

94,210
Accommodation and Food Services

NAICS 72

79,037
Manufacturing

NAICS 31

68,249
Accommodation and Food Services

NAICS 722

67,118
Construction

NAICS 23

62,048
Accommodation and Food Services

NAICS 7225

62,035
Accommodation and Food Services

NAICS 72251

62,035
Administrative and Support and Waste Management

NAICS 56

51,292
Health Care and Social Assistance

NAICS 621

48,024
Administrative and Support and Waste Management

NAICS 561

47,339
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

NAICS 54

44,746
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

NAICS 541

44,746
Construction

NAICS 238

43,029
Wholesale Trade

NAICS 42

34,085
Transportation and Warehousing

NAICS 48

29,153
Accommodation and Food Services

NAICS 722513

29,029
Finance and Insurance

NAICS 52

25,836
Accommodation and Food Services

NAICS 722511

25,711
Other Services (except Public Administration)

NAICS 81

24,474

Frequently Asked Questions

How many people are employed in Idaho?
According to Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 data, Idaho has 2,622,386 employees across 243,798 business establishments in 767 tracked industries.
What are the largest industries in Idaho?
The largest industries in Idaho by employment are Health Care and Social Assistance (114,052), Retail Trade (94,210), and Accommodation and Food Services (79,037).
What is the average payroll in Idaho?
Average payroll per employee varies widely by industry in Idaho. The highest-paying tracked industry is Transportation and Warehousing at $247,000/yr. All data is from Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023.
How many businesses operate in Idaho?
Idaho has 243,798 business establishments across 767 industries tracked by the Census Bureau County Business Patterns program. Each establishment represents a single physical location or operating unit.
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.

Source: Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023 · ID

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Data sourced from official U.S. government datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainBizBench Editorial

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