The United States is home to one of the most diverse and dynamic economies in the world, powered by over 33 million businesses across a broad range of sectors. From solo entrepreneurs and local service providers to massive multinational corporations, the U.S. business landscape spans every imaginable industry.
At Clearly Payments, we work with companies of all sizes, from small salons to large-scale manufacturers, so understanding which industries dominate the economy helps us tailor payment solutions that work across all types of business models.
In this article, we’ll cover the top 10 U.S. industries by two key metrics:
- Number of businesses: an indicator of how fragmented or accessible a sector is.
- Annual revenue: which shows where the biggest economic output and transaction volumes are occurring.
- Number of employes: ranks the industries in the USA by number of employees.
We’ll also include key takeaways and implications for the payments industry.
Number of Businesses in USA by Industry
When it comes to business count, the industries below are often made up of small businesses and sole proprietors. These sectors are labor-intensive, service-oriented, and often hyper-local, making them important to the day-to-day economy.
Rank | Industry | Estimated # of Businesses |
---|---|---|
1 | Trusts & Estates | 3,896,119 |
2 | Commercial Real Estate | 2,587,343 |
3 | Taxi & Limousine Services | 1,540,082 |
4 | Hair & Nail Salons | 1,421,158 |
5 | Direct Selling Companies | 1,271,749 |
6 | Janitorial Services | 1,232,252 |
7 | Personal Trainers | 1,167,424 |
8 | Performers & Creative Artists | 1,008,145 |
9 | Real Estate Sales & Brokerage | 1,000,537 |
10 | Management Consulting | 954,896 |
What These Numbers Mean:
Trusts & Estates include financial planning, wealth management vehicles, and legal structures, many of which are small entities set up for individual families.
Hair salons, janitors, personal trainers, and drivers reflect the large share of the U.S. workforce in personal and local services.
These businesses often operate with just a few employees and are highly reliant on simple, flexible payment solutions like mobile POS systems or recurring billing.
A Rank of Business Industries by Revenue in USA
On the other side of the scale, the following industries dominate in terms of economic output, contributing trillions of dollars to U.S. GDP each year. These sectors tend to be more consolidated, with large enterprises handling vast volumes of transactions, assets, and financial products.
Rank | Industry | Annual Revenue (2025 est.) |
---|---|---|
1 | Health & Medical Insurance | $1.54 trillion |
2 | Hospitals | $1.52 trillion |
3 | Commercial Real Estate | $1.48 trillion |
4 | Commercial Banking | $1.42 trillion |
5 | Drug, Cosmetic & Toiletry Wholesaling | $1.42 trillion |
6 | New Car Dealers | $1.26 trillion |
7 | Gasoline & Petroleum Stations | $1.10 trillion |
8 | Public Schools | $1.04 trillion |
9 | Property & Casualty Insurance | $1.02 trillion |
10 | Life Insurance & Annuities | $999 billion |
Key Takeaways:
Healthcare and insurance dominate the top of the revenue chart, as aging demographics and high medical costs continue to drive spending.
Commercial real estate shows up again—proving to be a high-revenue and high-participation industry.
Finance, insurance, and wholesale distribution also represent huge economic activity, though with far fewer businesses compared to service-based sectors.
Comparing Business Volume to Revenue
One of the most interesting insights comes when you compare business count to revenue. A few notable patterns emerge:
Commercial Real Estate is one of the few industries that ranks highly in both number of businesses and total revenue—meaning it’s a competitive space with high economic value.
Trusts & Estates and Hair Salons have millions of small businesses but don’t show up in revenue rankings, which reflects the relatively small transaction volumes per business.
On the flip side, health insurance and banking generate massive revenue but are made up of fewer, larger players.
Largest U.S. Industries by Number of Employees
While the number of businesses and total revenue give us a picture of industry fragmentation and financial output, employee count reveals how labor-intensive an industry is—and where millions of Americans are working each day. These sectors often involve hourly wages, shift work, and large payrolls, making them critical for payment systems that support wage disbursement, time tracking, and tipping.
Here are the top industries by total employment as of 2024–2025 (based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Rank | Industry | Estimated # of Employees |
---|---|---|
1 | Restaurants & Food Services | ~12.5 million |
2 | Hospitals | ~7.3 million |
3 | Full-Service Retail (e.g., Clothing) | ~4.7 million |
4 | Construction | ~4.5 million |
5 | Education (Public & Private) | ~4.3 million |
6 | Trucking & Logistics | ~3.8 million |
7 | Manufacturing | ~3.6 million |
8 | Janitorial & Building Services | ~3.2 million |
9 | Grocery Stores | ~3.1 million |
10 | Customer Support & Call Centers | ~2.9 million |
Key Observations:
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Restaurants and hospitality: are the largest employers by far, driven by part-time and hourly staff. These businesses benefit from tip handling, team-based payouts, and flexible payment hardware.
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Hospitals and education: though fewer in number—employ millions and often require payroll integration and secure, recurring billing for services.
- Construction and logistics: are large employers as well, particularly among small to mid-sized businesses with complex subcontracting and payment workflows.
Why This Matters for Payments
When we analyze industry concentration and business volume, it helps Clearly Payments, and any payment processor, build more effective solutions. Here’s how we use some of the data:
High Business Count Industries
These sectors (e.g., salons, trainers, janitorial services) need:
Simple onboarding and easy setup
Flexible point-of-sale systems
Recurring billing and invoicing tools
Low transaction fees for micro-merchants
High Revenue Industries
These industries (e.g., insurance, hospitals, auto dealers) require:
Scalable enterprise payment infrastructure
Compliance and reporting support
High-volume transaction processing
Dual-Relevance Sectors
Industries like real estate, which score high on both lists, benefit from:
Custom payment flows
Escrow and delayed capture functionality
Mixed B2B and B2C billing flexibility