How many people are employed in Nevada?

According to Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 data, Nevada has 1,298,196 employees across 76,248 business establishments in 771 tracked industries.

What are the largest industries in Nevada?

The largest industries in Nevada by employment are Full-Service Restaurants (64,372), Limited-Service Restaurants (55,890), and General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (40,297).

What is the average payroll in Nevada?

Average payroll per employee varies widely by industry in Nevada. The highest-paying tracked industry is Forestry and Logging at $167,000/yr. All data is from Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023.

How many businesses operate in Nevada?

Nevada has 76,248 business establishments across 771 industries tracked by the Census Bureau County Business Patterns program. Each establishment represents a single physical location or operating unit.

State overview · NV · Census CBP 2023

Nevada Industry Benchmarks

Name: Nevada Industry Employment and Payroll Benchmarks
Creator: PlainBizBench
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Employment, establishments, and payroll for 771 industries in Nevada. Drill into any industry for a Nevada-specific view, then cross-reference the national page for margins.

Compiled by PlainBizBench

1.3M
Workers: 76K
Establishments: 771
Industries tracked

Data updated August 2026

The verdict · Nevada

Nevada employs 1,298,196 workers across 771 tracked industries, led by Full-Service Restaurants (64,372 workers).

Accommodation and Food Services anchors Nevada; top-three cumulative share is 48%. Margins stay on national industry pages.

Nevada sector employment mix

Share of private-sector employment by NAICS-2 sector (Census CBP 2023). Tile area = workers.

Nevada private employment by sector · Census CBP 2023

Accommodation and Food Services is the clear anchor in Nevada (24% of 1,298,196 private-sector workers (about the 37th percentile of states by employment)), but sibling sectors still take meaningful shares. Read the treemap as an anchor-plus-breadth economy rather than a one-sector state.

#1 · NAICS 72

Accommodation and Food Services

314,186 · 24%

#2 · NAICS 44

Retail Trade

164,986 · 13%

#3 · NAICS 62

Health Care and Social Assistance

150,070 · 12%

Anchor economy · Herfindahl 0.117 (open) · top-three 48% of Nevada private payroll.

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 NV ANCHORED · CBP

#32/51 · 1,298,196 workers · 76,248 firms

EMP 1,298,196
EST 76,248
RANK #32/51
PCT 37th pct
LEAD Accommodation and Fo…
SHARE 24% lead
BAND anchored
DENS 17.0 /firm
BOOK 771 NAICS
PHOTO Iowa

Nearest employment-scale peer: Iowa (1,306,260 workers)

According to Census County Business Patterns 2023, Nevada ranks #32 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 →

Census CBP level-2 private employment among this state and nearest nationwide peers

Top Industries by Employment

Industry	Employment	Establishments	Annual Payroll	Avg Payroll/Emp
Full-Service Restaurants NAICS 722511	64,372	2,368	$2.0B	$31,596/yr
Limited-Service Restaurants NAICS 722513	55,890	2,989	$1.2B	$22,159/yr
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals NAICS 622110	40,297	43	$3.3B	$81,072/yr
Professional Employer Organizations NAICS 561330	25,201	59	$1.7B	$67,556/yr
Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists) NAICS 621111	21,572	2,522	$2.3B	$107,838/yr
Temporary Help Services NAICS 561320	20,871	312	$692.5M	$33,179/yr
Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels NAICS 721110	18,098	424	$762.7M	$42,144/yr
Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors NAICS 238220	17,166	909	$1.3B	$78,163/yr
Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors NAICS 238210	13,039	710	$1.0B	$77,601/yr
Security Guards and Patrol Services NAICS 561612	12,594	171	$349.8M	$27,778/yr
Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities NAICS 624120	11,376	381	$210.2M	$18,475/yr
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars NAICS 722515	11,129	828	$235.0M	$21,113/yr
Landscaping Services NAICS 561730	10,949	834	$500.0M	$45,668/yr
Convention and Trade Show Organizers NAICS 561920	10,394	198	$385.0M	$37,039/yr
Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) NAICS 722410	10,299	703	N/A	N/A
Offices of Dentists NAICS 621210	10,074	1,320	$560.7M	$55,654/yr
Family Clothing Stores NAICS 448140	9,890	401	$234.0M	$23,661/yr
Janitorial Services NAICS 561720	9,842	803	$274.1M	$27,854/yr
Commercial Banking NAICS 522110	9,722	500	$728.1M	$74,893/yr
New Car Dealers NAICS 441110	9,651	118	$899.6M	$93,212/yr

Scale peers for Nevada's anchor economy

Nearest other states by Census CBP level-2 private employment (1,298,196 in Nevada), excluding NV.

Iowa 1,306,260 Kansas 1,248,825 Oklahoma 1,358,788 Utah 1,512,504 Arkansas 1,072,827 Connecticut 1,527,746 Oregon 1,635,645 Mississippi 955,942

Disclaimer: Nevada (NV) figures on this page are Census CBP employment and payroll counts for informational registry use only, not financial, tax, or business advice. Consult a qualified accountant for decisions about Nevada businesses.

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

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from official public datasets for Nevada (NV). See our methodology.

Verify with U.S. Census Bureau → · Verify with IRS SOI →