Specialty Trade Contractors — profit margin & cost structure (U.S.)

For the U.S. specialty trade contractors industry, IRS tax data shows an estimated 15.7% 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.

15.7%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 238 (Specialty Trade Contractors). 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)	31.2%	National source ↗
Labor / officer compensation (% of receipts)	4.9%	National source ↗

Business size distribution (national)

Share of U.S. specialty trade contractors establishments by number of employees (Census County Business Patterns, 2023). 63% have fewer than 5 employees.

1–4 emp330,654 (63%)

5–9 emp87,002 (17%)

10–19 emp52,759 (10%)

20–49 emp34,026 (7%)

50–99 emp10,494 (2%)

100+ emp6,380 (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 specialty trade contractors businesses?

About 15.7% 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 specialty trade contractors businesses are there in the U.S.?

521,315 establishments with paid employees (Census County Business Patterns, 2023).

What is the average wage in the specialty trade contractors industry?

$1,447 per week (BLS QCEW 2024, private sector) — about $75,244/year.

Run a specialty trade contractors business?

mewayz runs your website, bookings, payments, invoicing, CRM and back office in one place — one login, one price, no per-seat fees. Built for how a specialty trade contractors business actually works, so you stop paying for five disconnected tools that don’t talk to each other.

Start free →14-day free trial · no card to build · cancel anytime

Download the free Specialty Trade Contractors benchmark sheet (CSV) — a starter P&L pre-filled with these numbers · Pro workbook →

machine-readable JSON · NAICS 238

Related industries

Construction (all)Construction of Buildings Heavy & Civil Engineering Construction New Single-Family Housing Construction Plumbing, Heating & Air-Conditioning Contractors