How much do self-employed people make?
Official US figures for 21 trades: how many businesses with no paid employees there are, what they bring in, and how that revenue is spread. Census data for 2024, IRS data for tax year 2023.
$58,194
average revenue per US business with no employees (31,985,874 firms, 2024)
18.3 cents
net business income per dollar of receipts for all nonfarm sole proprietors, before personal income tax (2023)
31.2%
of sole proprietor tax returns showed no positive net income (2023)
This page uses Census Nonemployer Statistics for US businesses with no paid employees. Census Nonemployer Statistics covers businesses with no paid employees that are subject to federal income tax, including sole proprietors, partnerships and corporations. Receipts must be at least $1,000 ($1 in construction), and some industries are out of scope. Revenue is what a business takes in; income is what is left after costs. The Census Bureau publishes revenue, and the IRS publishes tax-return totals for sole proprietors by industry, which show how much of each dollar was left as business income across a whole industry.
Revenue by trade, with separate IRS industry context
Click a heading to sort. The last column is IRS industry context: 2023 sole proprietor net business income per dollar of receipts, before personal income tax, for the named IRS industry. It includes businesses with paid employees and is not an owner pay estimate. Broader IRS groups are marked "wider group" and left off the trade pages. No reconciled IRS figure exists for the combined accounting category.
| Pet care services | 162,773 | $24,658 | 72.7% | 24.4cPersonal and laundry services (wider group) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landscaping and lawn care | 537,970 | $37,227 | 65.4% | 21.2cAdministrative and support services (wider group) |
| Cleaning and janitorial services | 1,173,265 | $21,483 | 78.5% | 21.2cAdministrative and support services (wider group) |
| Taxi, limo and rideshare drivers | 1,602,297 | $29,924 | 62.9% | 6.3cTaxi, limousine service, and ridesharing service |
| Couriers and delivery drivers | 1,595,662 | $14,873 | 83.3% | 9cCouriers and messengers |
| Trucking owner-operators | 900,931 | $113,219 | 29.6% | 10.1cTruck transportation |
| Photographers | 243,502 | $29,379 | 68.9% | 40.8cOther professional, scientific, and technical services (wider group) |
| Independent artists, writers and performers | 1,115,783 | $32,015 | 76.3% | 26.5cPerforming arts, spectator sports, and related industries (wider group) |
| Electricians, plumbers and HVAC contractors | 385,453 | $69,368 | 50.9% | 15.7cSpecialty trade contractors (wider group) |
| Painters, flooring and finishing trades | 678,091 | $66,826 | 46.8% | 15.7cSpecialty trade contractors (wider group) |
| Home builders and remodelers | 897,780 | $102,395 | 47% | 13.2cConstruction of buildings (wider group) |
| Barbers | 154,456 | $32,831 | 56% | 24.4cPersonal and laundry services (wider group) |
| Hairstylists and beauty salons | 867,242 | $30,832 | 59.5% | 24.4cPersonal and laundry services (wider group) |
| Nail technicians and nail salons | 318,382 | $41,294 | 50.3% | 24.4cPersonal and laundry services (wider group) |
| Accounting, tax, bookkeeping and payroll services | 405,112 | $35,869 | 66.1% | No reconciled IRS figure |
| IT and software freelancers | 334,886 | $62,902 | 56.6% | 37cComputer systems design services |
| Graphic, interior and other designers | 284,294 | $46,837 | 64.3% | 30.3cSpecialized design services |
| Advertising, PR and marketing services | 221,163 | $62,029 | 59.6% | 27.4cAdvertising and related services |
| Management, scientific and technical consultants | 1,187,781 | $60,339 | 59.1% | 50.2cManagement, scientific, and technical consulting services |
| Real estate agents and brokers | 819,954 | $67,020 | 46% | 35cOffices of real estate agents, brokers, property managers, and appraisers (wider group) |
| Hotels, motels, B&Bs and other lodging | 86,202 | $52,905 | 59.2% | -11.6cTravel accommodation (including hotels, motels, and bed and breakfast inns) |
How to read the table
- Revenue per firm is total receipts divided by the number of businesses with no paid employees. It is revenue, so rent, fuel, equipment, insurance and tax have not come out yet.
- Under $25,000 shows the share reporting small annual receipts. In 19 of the 21 trades, the upper edge of the middle firm's revenue bracket is below the average. The bracket data do not show how much individual firms contribute to the total.
- IRS industry: net per $1 is sole proprietor net business income, with losses netted against profits, divided by business receipts, for the IRS industry named. It is a ratio of industry totals before personal income tax, including businesses with paid employees, not a typical owner's margin. Across all nonfarm sole proprietors in 2023 it was 18.3 cents, or $12,119 per return.
What these numbers cannot tell you
- The Census reports revenue for businesses with no paid employees, not profit or take-home pay.
- States are assigned by the business mailing address, which may differ from where the work is done.
- These industry totals do not identify workers by app or platform.
- IRS figures cover sole proprietors only and come from a tax-return sample. Pet care, for example, sits inside the much wider personal and laundry services group.
- These figures do not separate full-time businesses from side activities.
Frequently asked questions
How much does the average self-employed person make?
There is no single official figure. The Census Bureau counted 31,985,874 US businesses with no employees in 2024, reporting an average of $58,194 in revenue each. IRS data for tax year 2023 show sole proprietors averaged $12,119 in net business income per return, before personal income tax, after netting losses against profits.
Is revenue the same as income for the self-employed?
No. Revenue is what the business takes in before costs. In 2023 sole proprietors reported about 18.3 cents of net business income, before personal income tax, for every dollar of receipts, and 31.2% of returns showed no positive net income.
Where do these numbers come from?
Revenue, firm counts and revenue brackets come from the Census Bureau's Nonemployer Statistics for 2024. The net-income-per-dollar figures come from the IRS Statistics of Income sole proprietorship tables for tax year 2023, by IRS industry.
Sources and method
- U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics, reference year 2024, released September 2026. Receipts include privacy noise added by the Census Bureau.
- IRS, Statistics of Income, Nonfarm Sole Proprietorship Statistics, tax year 2023, Table 1.
- Data are in the public domain. Minted Empire is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau or the IRS.
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