---
title: "US Manufacturing Statistics 2026: Numbers, Workforce, and Outlook"
description: "Up-to-date US manufacturing statistics. How many manufacturing companies, manufacturing workers, manufacturing share of GDP, top manufacturing states, average wages, and exports, with primary-source citations."
slug: manufacturing-statistics
type: statistics
publishedAt: 2026-06-02
updatedAt: 2026-06-02
readingTime: "~12 min read"
keywords: "manufacturing statistics, US manufacturing data, manufacturing employment, manufacturing GDP, how many manufacturing companies in the US"
breadcrumb:
  - { name: "Home", href: "/" }
  - { name: "US Manufacturing Statistics", href: "/manufacturing-statistics" }
linkPhrases:
  - "manufacturing statistics"
  - "US manufacturing"
  - "manufacturing industry"
related:
  - seo-for-manufacturers
  - manufacturing-industry-trends-2026
  - manufacturing-industry-global-challenges-2026
sources:
  - title: "Manufacturing GDP Contribution by Year"
    publisher: "Bureau of Economic Analysis"
    year: "2025"
    url: "https://www.bea.gov/data/gdp/gdp-industry"
  - title: "Manufacturing Employment, Current Employment Statistics"
    publisher: "US Bureau of Labor Statistics"
    year: "2025"
    url: "https://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag31-33.htm"
  - title: "Annual Survey of Manufactures"
    publisher: "US Census Bureau"
    year: "2024"
    url: "https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/asm.html"
  - title: "Statistics of US Businesses"
    publisher: "US Census Bureau"
    year: "2024"
    url: "https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/susb.html"
  - title: "Manufacturing Industry Profile"
    publisher: "International Trade Administration"
    year: "2024"
    url: "https://www.trade.gov/industry-data"
  - title: "NAM 2025 Facts About Manufacturing"
    publisher: "National Association of Manufacturers"
    year: "2025"
    url: "https://nam.org/facts-about-manufacturing/"
  - title: "Industry Productivity Statistics"
    publisher: "US Bureau of Labor Statistics"
    year: "2024"
    url: "https://www.bls.gov/lpc/industry-productivity-statistics.htm"
---

<UpdatedDate date="2026-06-02" readingTime="~12 min read" />

This page is the working reference for current US manufacturing statistics, organized as direct answers to the questions writers, analysts, and operators most frequently search. Every stat lists a primary source with publication date. The page is refreshed quarterly.

<KeyTakeaways>

- US manufacturing contributes approximately $2.9T to GDP and 10.3% of total US economic output.
- The US has roughly 252,000 manufacturing establishments and 12.9M direct manufacturing workers.
- California, Texas, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan host the largest concentrations of US manufacturing activity.
- US manufactured exports reached $1.51T in 2024, the largest exporting manufacturing economy outside China.
- US manufacturing employment has climbed in five of the past six years, reversing a decades-long decline.

</KeyTakeaways>

## How big is US manufacturing in 2026?

<StatSnippet value="$2.9T" source="Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2025" sourceUrl="https://www.bea.gov/data/gdp/gdp-industry">
US manufacturing contribution to GDP in 2025.
</StatSnippet>

<StatSnippet value="10.3%" source="Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2025" sourceUrl="https://www.bea.gov/data/gdp/gdp-industry">
Manufacturing's share of total US GDP in 2025.
</StatSnippet>

US manufacturing is the largest contributor to the US tradable-goods economy and the world's second-largest manufacturing economy by output, behind China. For every dollar of manufacturing output, the sector generates an additional $2.79 in economic activity across suppliers, services, and downstream industries.

## How many manufacturing companies are in the US?

<StatSnippet value="~252,000" source="US Census Bureau, Statistics of US Businesses, 2024" sourceUrl="https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/susb.html">
US manufacturing establishments across NAICS 31-33, including single-location firms and multi-location plants.
</StatSnippet>

The Census Bureau's Statistics of US Businesses counts approximately 252,000 manufacturing establishments operating in the United States. Most are small: NAM reports that 98% of US manufacturers have under 500 employees.

## How many manufacturing workers are in the US?

<StatSnippet value="12.9M" source="US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025" sourceUrl="https://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag31-33.htm">
US manufacturing employment as of early 2025, the highest level since 2008.
</StatSnippet>

Manufacturing employment climbed in five of the past six years after decades of decline. Approximately 8.5 million of these workers are in production roles, with the remainder in engineering, quality, maintenance, supervisory, and administrative roles within manufacturing establishments.

## What is the average manufacturing wage in the US?

<StatSnippet value="$32.05/hour" source="US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025" sourceUrl="https://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag31-33.htm">
Average hourly earnings for US manufacturing production workers in 2025.
</StatSnippet>

<StatSnippet value="~$72,000" source="BLS / NAM, 2024" sourceUrl="https://nam.org/facts-about-manufacturing/">
Industry-wide average annual compensation for US manufacturing workers, including benefits, per NAM.
</StatSnippet>

Wages have risen sharply over the past five years, reflecting both labor shortage pressure and structural shifts toward higher-skilled roles within the manufacturing workforce.

## Which states have the most manufacturing in the US?

<DataTable caption="Top 10 US states by manufacturing output, 2024">

| State          | Output | % of state GDP | Top sub-sector             |
| -------------- | -----: | -------------: | -------------------------- |
| California     |  $363B |           9.4% | Computers / electronics    |
| Texas          |  $305B |          11.1% | Petroleum and chemicals    |
| Ohio           |  $152B |          16.8% | Transportation equipment   |
| Indiana        |  $130B |          26.4% | Transportation equipment   |
| Michigan       |  $128B |          17.7% | Transportation equipment   |
| Illinois       |  $118B |          11.0% | Food and chemicals         |
| Pennsylvania   |  $110B |          10.3% | Food and metals            |
| North Carolina |  $108B |          14.2% | Chemicals and food         |
| Wisconsin      |   $72B |          17.4% | Machinery                  |
| Tennessee      |   $71B |          13.9% | Transportation equipment   |

</DataTable>

The Midwest has the highest per-capita manufacturing share. Indiana leads on this measure, with manufacturing producing over a quarter of state GDP.

## What are the largest US manufacturing sub-sectors?

<BarChart title="US manufacturing output by sub-sector, 2024 ($B)" unit="$B" series="Transportation equipment:480|Food manufacturing:425|Computers and electronics:380|Chemicals:360|Petroleum and coal:310|Fabricated metals:240|Machinery:220|Plastics and rubber:175" />

The three largest sub-sectors (transportation equipment, food manufacturing, computers and electronics) together account for approximately 40% of total US manufacturing value. The full picture is more diverse, with chemicals, machinery, fabricated metals, and petroleum and coal products all contributing significant share.

## How much does the US export in manufactured goods?

<StatSnippet value="$1.51T" source="International Trade Administration, 2024" sourceUrl="https://www.trade.gov/industry-data">
US manufactured exports in 2024, second-largest globally after China.
</StatSnippet>

The top destinations for US manufactured exports are Canada, Mexico, China, the United Kingdom, and Germany. Aircraft, semiconductors, refined petroleum products, machinery, and motor vehicle parts dominate the export mix.

<StatGrid>
  <StatCard value="$1.51T" label="Manufactured exports, 2024" source="ITA, 2024" />
  <StatCard value="$2.36T" label="Manufactured imports, 2024" source="ITA, 2024" />
  <StatCard value="38%" label="Exports going to USMCA partners" source="ITA, 2024" />
  <StatCard value="2nd" label="US rank in global manufacturing output" source="UN Industrial Statistics, 2024" />
</StatGrid>

## How productive is US manufacturing?

<StatSnippet value="~$520K" source="BLS Industry Productivity, 2024" sourceUrl="https://www.bls.gov/lpc/industry-productivity-statistics.htm">
Manufacturing labor productivity per worker per year (output per worker, 2023 manufacturing GDP / employment).
</StatSnippet>

Manufacturing labor productivity has grown steadily over the past decade, supported by automation investment, software adoption, and the long-term shift in workforce composition toward more skilled technical roles.

## How fast is US manufacturing growing in 2026?

<StatSnippet value="~2.4%" source="BEA, 2025" sourceUrl="https://www.bea.gov/data/gdp/gdp-industry">
US manufacturing output real growth rate in 2024-2025.
</StatSnippet>

US manufacturing output grew approximately 2.4% in real terms in 2024, with continued growth projected through 2026. Capital spending growth has been the largest driver, supported by the CHIPS Act, IRA, and IIJA industrial policy stack.

<InlineCTA title="See where your manufacturing company shows up in AI search" body="Procurement engineers and sourcing teams now use ChatGPT and Perplexity at the supplier research stage. Run a free check to see how your domain currently appears across the major AI search surfaces." source="manufacturing-statistics-mid" />

## How much R&D does US manufacturing perform?

<StatSnippet value="53%" source="NAM 2025 Facts About Manufacturing" sourceUrl="https://nam.org/facts-about-manufacturing/">
Share of all US private-sector R&D performed by manufacturers, more than any other industry.
</StatSnippet>

US manufacturers spend over $300 billion annually on R&D, the largest share of any private-sector industry. Pharmaceuticals, aerospace and defense, computers and electronics, transportation equipment, and chemicals lead the R&D spending tables.

## What is the manufacturing trade deficit?

<StatSnippet value="$850B" source="ITA, 2024" sourceUrl="https://www.trade.gov/industry-data">
US manufactured goods trade deficit in 2024 (imports minus exports for manufactured goods).
</StatSnippet>

While the US is the world's second-largest exporting manufacturing economy, the trade deficit in goods remains large. Computers, electronics, vehicles, and machinery account for the largest share of manufactured imports.

## How many manufacturing jobs are open in the US?

<StatSnippet value="600K+" source="BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, 2025" sourceUrl="https://www.bls.gov/jlt/">
US manufacturing job openings as of Q1 2025.
</StatSnippet>

<StatSnippet value="2.5M" source="Deloitte and NAM, 2024" sourceUrl="https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/manufacturing/manufacturing-skills-gap-study.html">
Projected unfilled US manufacturing positions by 2030, per the Deloitte and NAM workforce study.
</StatSnippet>

The structural workforce gap continues to widen as Baby Boomer retirements accelerate. Apprenticeship programs and community college partnerships have expanded but cannot yet fully offset the retirement wave.

## What share of US manufacturers are small businesses?

<StatSnippet value="98%" source="NAM 2025 Facts About Manufacturing" sourceUrl="https://nam.org/facts-about-manufacturing/">
Share of US manufacturing establishments with fewer than 500 employees.
</StatSnippet>

<StatSnippet value="75%" source="NAM 2025" sourceUrl="https://nam.org/facts-about-manufacturing/">
Share of US manufacturing establishments with fewer than 20 employees.
</StatSnippet>

The US manufacturing economy is dominated by small businesses at the establishment level. The combined output and employment, however, concentrates among larger firms. The top 5% of manufacturers by employment generate roughly 60% of manufacturing output.

## How much economic activity does each manufacturing dollar generate?

<StatSnippet value="$2.79" source="NAM 2025" sourceUrl="https://nam.org/facts-about-manufacturing/">
Additional economic activity generated across suppliers, services, and downstream industries for every $1.00 of direct manufacturing output.
</StatSnippet>

Manufacturing has the highest economic multiplier of any major US industry. This is one of the central justifications cited for industrial policy support like the CHIPS Act, IRA, and IIJA.

## Where to go for more

For trends and outlook framing, see [manufacturing industry trends 2026](/manufacturing-industry-trends-2026) and [manufacturing industry global challenges 2026](/manufacturing-industry-global-challenges-2026). For sector-specific stats, see the [aerospace](/aerospace-manufacturing-statistics), [automotive](/automotive-manufacturing-statistics), [medical device](/medical-device-manufacturing-statistics), [defense](/defense-manufacturing-statistics), and [electronics](/electronics-manufacturing-statistics) manufacturing statistics pages. For process-specific stats, see [welding](/welding-statistics), [CNC machining](/cnc-machining-statistics), [sheet metal fabrication](/sheet-metal-fabrication-statistics), and [injection molding](/injection-molding-statistics) statistics.

For how this data shapes online visibility strategy, read the [complete guide to SEO for manufacturers](/seo-for-manufacturers).

<CiteBox title="US Manufacturing Statistics 2026" url="https://manufacturingseo.ai/manufacturing-statistics" citation={`Manufacturing SEO AI. "US Manufacturing Statistics 2026: Numbers, Workforce, and Outlook." Manufacturing SEO AI, June 2026. https://manufacturingseo.ai/manufacturing-statistics`} />