31-33/Manufacturing
US businesses, employees and payroll, 2017 to 2023
12.3M
employees, 2023
12.3M
employees, 2023
In 2023, 284,452 US Manufacturing business locations employed 12.3 million people and paid $903.0 billion in annual payroll, $73,202 per employee on average. Employment was up 1.2% from 2022. California had the most employees.
Updated Oct 9, 2026 · data year 2023
Business locations
284,452
-0.4% vs 2022
Employees
12,335,234
+1.2% vs 2022
Annual payroll
$903.0B
+6.1% vs 2022
Average pay
$73,202
+4.8% vs 2022
Over the years
United States, 2017 to 2023
Employees
Paid employees in mid-March
Business locations
Places with paid employees
By state
Employees of Manufacturing in each state, 2023
Employees by state
States with the most employees
Employees and the share of all the state's jobs
| State | Business locations | Employees | Average pay | Share of state jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 35,300 | 1,157,201 | $91,763 | 7.05% |
| Texas | 21,034 | 869,062 | $77,487 | 7.23% |
| Ohio | 13,307 | 689,133 | $69,434 | 13.56% |
| Michigan | 12,192 | 604,978 | $68,993 | 14.97% |
| Pennsylvania | 13,231 | 564,394 | $70,172 | 9.88% |
| Illinois | 12,465 | 544,438 | $73,590 | 9.62% |
| Indiana | 7,938 | 524,995 | $67,136 | 17.95% |
| Wisconsin | 8,479 | 479,846 | $68,429 | 18.16% |
| North Carolina | 8,664 | 472,162 | $63,742 | 11.03% |
| New York | 13,837 | 411,439 | $73,073 | 4.69% |
| Georgia | 7,874 | 409,333 | $62,730 | 9.29% |
| Florida | 14,341 | 358,707 | $68,079 | 3.59% |
| Tennessee | 5,787 | 357,878 | $66,056 | 12.04% |
| Minnesota | 6,718 | 325,317 | $73,506 | 11.60% |
| Missouri | 5,460 | 283,563 | $66,651 | 10.78% |
The 15 states with the most employees. Download the CSV for all 51.
Top metro areas
Metro and micro areas with the most Manufacturing employees, 2023
Metro areas with the most employees
| Metro area | Locations | Employees | Average pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 14,403 | 435,021 | $79,791 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 9,298 | 370,871 | $75,730 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 12,747 | 297,801 | $73,944 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 5,673 | 281,809 | $80,251 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | 5,103 | 240,214 | $74,835 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | 5,739 | 207,412 | $86,684 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 4,201 | 201,259 | $79,574 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 4,708 | 171,124 | $83,640 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 4,046 | 168,685 | $94,586 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 4,023 | 163,443 | $64,411 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 3,154 | 159,957 | $103,464 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 3,398 | 139,010 | $154,388 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 3,115 | 135,325 | $87,582 |
| Cleveland, OH | 2,951 | 123,303 | $72,729 |
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI | 1,913 | 120,458 | $63,493 |
Business size
US Manufacturing business locations by number of employees, 2023
Locations by size
| Employees | Locations | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under 5 | 102,567 | 36.1% |
| 5 to 9 | 49,034 | 17.2% |
| 10 to 19 | 42,982 | 15.1% |
| 20 to 49 | 42,477 | 14.9% |
| 50 to 99 | 21,365 | 7.5% |
| 100 to 249 | 16,896 | 5.9% |
| 250 to 499 | 5,747 | 2.0% |
| 500 to 999 | 2,347 | 0.8% |
| 1,000 or more | 1,037 | 0.4% |
Related industries
Manufacturing and the 21 industries directly below it
Questions and answers
How many people work in Manufacturing in the US?
12.3 million people worked at 284,452 US Manufacturing business locations in 2023, up 1.2% from 2022. That is 8.82% of all US private-sector employees.
What is the average pay in Manufacturing?
$73,202 a year per employee in 2023, from $903.0 billion in annual payroll (up 4.8% from 2022). The average across all US industries was $68,342.
Which state has the most Manufacturing jobs?
California had the most, with 1,157,201 employees in 2023, followed by Texas (869,062) and Ohio (689,133).
Which metro areas have the most Manufacturing jobs?
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA (435,021), Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN (370,871), New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ (297,801) had the most Manufacturing employees in 2023.
Are most Manufacturing businesses small?
68.4% of the 284,452 Manufacturing business locations had fewer than 20 employees in 2023, and 3,384 had 500 or more.
Official US government statistics, published once a year. Business locations are places with paid employees; employees are counted in mid-March; payroll covers the whole year. Covers most private employers, not the self-employed, most government workers or farm workers on farms. Changes from the year before are shown only when both years use the same edition of the industry codes.