In 2022, U.S. consumers spent $17.4 trillion on goods and services. The majority of that was spent on services. U.S. businesses also spent trillions of dollars. Where did all that money go? In this article, I break down 17 U.S. service industries that generated over $300 billion in revenue (each) in 2022.
1. Insurance Industry ($3.1 Trillion)
The U.S. insurance industry (i.e. insurance carriers, insurance agencies, and insurance brokerages) generated $3.1 trillion of revenue in 2022.
2. Insurance Carriers ($2.65 Trillion)
U.S. insurance carriers alone (i.e. not counting insurance agencies or brokerages) generated $2.65 trillion of revenue in 2022. That number is supported both by the Quarterly Services Survey from the Census as well as a Treasury report on the insurance industry.
Roughly $1.2 trillion of that came from private health insurance premiums. As a whole, life and health insurance premium sales as a category came to about $1.8 trillion.
Property and casualty insurance (including both auto insurance and home insurance) premiums represented most of the remainder, over $800 billion.
3. Hospitals ($1.32 Trillion)
According to the Quarterly Services Survey, U.S. hospitals generated approximately $1.32 trillion in revenue in 2022. The majority of that ($1.16 trillion) was generated by non-profit hospitals while the remainder (about $160 billion) was generated by for-profit hospitals.
4. Commercial Banks ($931 Billion)
According to the FDIC, the total operating revenue of all FDIC-insured institutions was $931 billion in 2022. This is based on net interest income and other non-interest revenue. It does NOT include principal repayments.
According to the Quarterly Services Survey published by the Census, the total revenue of U.S. depository credit intermediation businesses was $725 billion in 2022.
According to IBIS World, U.S. commercial banks generated $1.1 trillion in revenue in 2022.
The FDIC number is in the middle of those three estimates and is based on the most reliable data. Normal bank accounts as well as money market accounts carry FDIC insurance whereas credit union accounts do not, so that also means the FDIC estimate of commercial banking revenue does a better job of isolating the revenue of true banks (as opposed to credit unions or private lenders).
In other words, commercial banks generated approximately $931 billion in net revenue in 2022.
5. Restaurants ($898 Billion)
U.S. restaurants generated $898 billion of revenue in 2022.
Compare that to the size of some food production industries. For example, the entire leafy greens market is only about $5 billion in the U.S., fruit and nut farming is a $23 billion industry, and U.S. meat processing is a $296 billion market.
However, neither food production nor restaurants have as high of margins as renting chickens or farming cash crops.
6. Residential Rental Properties ($800 Billion)
Americans paid roughly $800 billion in residential rent in 2022.
7. Doctors’ Offices ($582 Billion)
U.S. physician’s offices (not including any dentists, hospitals, or nonprofits) generated $582 billion in revenue in 2022.
8. Employment Services ($575 Billion)
Recruiting agencies, temp agencies, and professional employer organizations together brought in $575 billion of revenue in 2022.
These companies have NAICS code 5613, and there are over 62,000 such businesses.
9. Electricity ($574 Billion)
U.S. electrical power companies that generate and/or distribute electricity generated approximately $574 billion in total revenue.
10. Non-Internet Software Publishing ($466 Billion)
NAICS code 5112 corresponds to non-internet software publishers (think: companies that license individual copies of software to consumers or businesses). According to the Quarterly Services Survey, U.S. companies of this type generated $466 billion in 2022. This does NOT include the revenue from SaaS companies, hosting companies, or computer system design services (NAICS 5415). Computer systems design (NAICS 5415) represents another $639 billion in revenue. However, NAICS 5415 should be taken with a grain of salt because many companies may incorrectly use that designation even if another is more appropriate. For example, naics.com includes Alphabet (Google) in this category even though it is more properly thought of as an advertising company.
11. Freight Truck Transportation ($459 Billion)
U.S. trucking companies (including general freight trucking and specialized freight trucking) generated approximately $459 billion of total revenue in 2022. Notably, this does NOT include revenue from freight brokerages or other trucking support companies.
12. Insurance Brokerages & Agencies ($445 Billion)
U.S. insurance brokerages and agencies generated $445 billion in revenue in 2022.
13. Telecom Service ($425 Billion)
According to the Quarterly Services Survey published by the Census Bureau, U.S. telecom companies sold a total of $678 billion of phone, internet, cable, and other telecom services in 2022. However, many of those companies provide services worldwide. U.S. market demand for telecom services in 2022 is estimated to be around $425 billion.
14. Fast Food Restaurants ($388 Billion)
U.S. restaurants generated $898 billion in revenue in 2022. Of that, fast food restaurants generated $388 billion in revenue.
15. Management, Scientific & Technical Consulting ($381 Billion)
U.S. management, scientific, and technical consulting companies with at least one employee (not counting self-employed individuals running single-member LLCs or sole proprietorships) generated $381 billion in revenue in 2022.
16. Law Firms ($353 Billion)
U.S. law firms generated $353 billion of revenue in 2022.
17. Advertising ($345 Billion)
According to IBISWorld, U.S. businesses spent $345 billion on advertising in 2022. The majority of this spending was on digital ads (about $220 billion) while the remainder went to advertising through other media such as TV networks, physical magazines, and roadside billboards.
BONUS: Software Development Labor ($257-350 Billion)
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that there were over 1.53 million software developers in the U.S. with an average annual wage of about $133,000 as of May 2022. That implies the total market for U.S. software development labor is approximately $204 billion.
However, there are also other categories which might be reasonably included in the title of “software developer”. For example, there are about 533,000 people employed as “computer and information systems managers” according to the BLS, earning an average wage of $173,670. This labor is worth about $93 billion per year.
The BLS estimates there are 132,740 “computer programmers” carrying an average wage of $102,790 (implying total computer programmer labor is worth about $14 billion).
The BLS estimates there are 196,420 people employed as “software quality assurance analysts and testers” in the U.S., carrying an average wage of $105,750 (implying the total labor is worth about $21 billion).
The BLS also estimates there are 88,620 “web developers” (average wage of $87,580) and 97,350 “web and digital interface designers” (average wage $101,740). The combined labor of these markets is about $18 billion.
Altogether, this brings our total estimate of the software development labor market to between $257 billion and $350 billion, depending on whether or not you count “computer and information systems managers” as software developers.