Construction and trades · 15 min
Crews, subs and why contractors fail
Your own crew costs money every week, busy or not; subs cost more an hour but only when you need them. Get the mix wrong, or take on too much at once, and a good contractor can go under.
Ticket 01 · The guess
How many contractors work alone?
Words to know
Sources and every number (2)
Sources
- Nonemployer Statistics 2024: U.S. data file (NAICS 23 construction; 23822 plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors; counts, receipts and legal form) · U.S. Census Bureau, 2024
- County Business Patterns 2023: U.S. data file (NAICS 23 construction establishments with paid employees, by employment size) · U.S. Census Bureau, 2023
Every number
- 3 million businesses
census.gov ·2024 · Construction businesses with no paid employees in the US, 2024 (Nonemployer Statistics; for construction, any with receipts of a dollar or more). - $84,900
census.gov ·2024 · Worked out from Nonemployer Statistics: construction nonemployers' receipts in 2024 divided by how many there were, rounded to the nearest hundred dollars. An average; the spread is wide. - 89.7%
census.gov ·2024 · Worked out from Nonemployer Statistics: sole proprietorships as a share of construction businesses with no paid employees, 2024. - 189,085 businesses
census.gov ·2024 · Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors with no paid employees in the US, 2024 (Nonemployer Statistics). - 814,557 locations
census.gov ·2023 · Construction locations (establishments) with paid employees in the US, 2023 (County Business Patterns, the newest year). - 81.5%
census.gov ·2023 · Worked out from County Business Patterns: construction locations with fewer than ten employees as a share of all construction locations with employees, 2023.