Accommodation & Food Services — profit margin & cost structure (U.S.)

For the U.S. accommodation & food services industry, IRS tax data shows an estimated 1.9% net margin on an owner-operator basis (national, sole proprietorships, tax year 2023). That figure — what a self-employed owner keeps per sales dollar before paying themselves — is the number this page exists to report; read the note below on how it's measured.

1.9%net margin · owner-operator basis

National as of tax year 2023 Moderate confidence source ↗

Owner-operator basis (IRS SOI sole proprietorships, TY2023): net income less deficit ÷ business receipts, at NAICS 72 (Accommodation & Food Services). Sole-proprietor labor is not expensed, so this overstates corporate-style profit.

Cost structure

National, from IRS Statistics of Income (weighted sample). Where a component is not separately reported, it is shown as insufficient data — never estimated.

Component	Value
Cost of goods sold (% of receipts)	35.1%	National source ↗
Labor / officer compensation (% of receipts)	15.7%	National source ↗

Business size distribution (national)

Share of U.S. accommodation & food services establishments by number of employees (Census County Business Patterns, 2023). 30% have fewer than 5 employees.

1–4 emp235,702 (30%)

5–9 emp137,389 (18%)

10–19 emp173,722 (22%)

20–49 emp181,438 (23%)

50–99 emp44,929 (6%)

100+ emp11,702 (1%)

Where this industry operates — all 51 states

Establishment counts, employment, and wages are available for free elsewhere too (e.g. Data USA). States ordered by number of establishments — pick one for local context:

Full cost-structure breakdown by business-size class and side-by-side industry comparison are available to subscribers. This page shows the current-year national headline plus the multi-year establishment trend.

Frequently asked

What is the average profit margin for accommodation & food services businesses?

About 1.9% net margin on an owner-operator basis (national, IRS SOI sole proprietorships, tax year 2023). This counts the owner's own labor as profit, so it overstates corporate-style margin — see the note above.

How many accommodation & food services businesses are there in the U.S.?

784,882 establishments with paid employees (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).

What is the average wage in the accommodation & food services industry?

$574 per week (BLS QCEW 2024, private sector) — about $29,848/year.

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machine-readable JSON · NAICS 72

Related industries

Accommodation Full-Service Restaurants