Caterers Revenue Benchmarks

How much does the average caterers business make? Here are revenue benchmarks based on Census Bureau data.

Average Revenue

$786K

per year

💰

Profit Margin

5.0%

industry average

📈

Revenue / Employee

$118K

per year

👤

Total Businesses

12,544

in the US

🏢

Est. Owner Income

$39K

small business avg

💵

Labor Cost

32.0%

of revenue

👥

Avg Employee Wage

$33K

per year (BLS)

💼

Market Saturation

3.8

firms per 100K people

🎯

💰 Average Revenue by Business Size

1-4 employees
$213K
5-9 employees
$692K
10-19 employees
$1.4M
20-99 employees
$3.7M
100-499 employees
$8.3M
500+ employees
$9.6M

🏆 Highest Revenue States

1.Massachusetts$1.2M avg2.Maryland$1.1M avg3.New York$1.1M avg4.New Jersey$1.0M avg5.Rhode Island$969K avg6.Connecticut$907K avg7.Illinois$856K avg8.Pennsylvania$849K avg9.California$831K avg10.Texas$821K avg

📊 Industry Dynamics (Census BDS 2023)

New Business Rate

13.99%

openings/year

Closure Rate

10.68%

closings/year

Net Job Growth

+9.65%

annual

Businesses Closed

3,454

in 2023

Firm Count Trend

19
20
21
22
23
17,187 firms21,706 firms

💡 Should You Start a Caterers Business?

Startup Cost

$100K – $500K

Break-Even

92 months

5-Year Survival Rate

40.0%

🆚 Related Industries

Full-Service Restaurants$1.6MLimited-Service Restaurants$1.6MSnack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars$810KHotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels$2.7MDrinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)$641K

Compare Caterers revenue with other industries:

vs Full-Servicevs Limited-Servicevs Snack