Skip to main content

Nonemployer Statistics (NES)

What is it measuring?

This dataset counts the number of business establishments in the US that have no paid employees, are subject to federal income tax, and have over $1,000 in gross receipts annually. Typically, these are independent contractors. It can be sorted by establishment receipts and industry.

What does it tell us?

The number of nonemployer establishments has risen in recent years. From 2015 to 2023, the total number of establishments rose from 24 million to 30 million, a 25 percent increase. The number of establishments in the transportation and warehousing sector rose from 1.5 million to 4 million, a 165 percent increase. Over the same time, the size of the total workforce increased 9 percent.

How is it collected?

The data is extracted from business income tax records. It has been collected annually since 1997. Prior to that, it was gathered in 1972, 1977, 1987, and 1992.

Who collects it?

The US Census Bureau compiles the data using business income tax records shared by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Considerations

Nonemployer statistics rely on tax filing. Due to the complexity of filing taxes as an independent contractor, many may not be filing correctly. In addition, some workers may be included twice if they filed multiple businesses. There is no way of knowing how work was arranged.

How to access this data?

Both datasets and tables are publicly available via the Census Bureau Nonemployer Statistics page.

Reports

Driving the Gig Economy; 2024; Katharine Abraham, John Haltiwanger, Claire Hou, Kristin Sandusky, and James Spletzer; U.S. Census Bureau;

2022 Nonemployer Statistics Measures Growing Gig Economy Activity; 2025; U.S. Department of Commerce; U.S. Census Bureau;

The Magnitude of Low-Paid Gig and Independent Contract Work in New York State; 2020; Lina Moe, James A. Parrott, Jason Rochford; The New School Center for New York City Affairs;

Tracking the Gig Economy: New Numbers; 2016; Ian Hathaway and Mark Muro; Brookings;