Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers Revenue Benchmarks

How much does the average independent artists, writers, and performers business make? Here are revenue benchmarks based on Census Bureau data.

Average Revenue

$695K

per year

💰

Profit Margin

12.0%

industry average

📈

Revenue / Employee

$491K

per year

👤

Total Businesses

36,059

in the US

🏢

Est. Owner Income

$83K

small business avg

💵

Labor Cost

40.0%

of revenue

👥

Avg Employee Wage

$152K

per year (BLS)

💼

Market Saturation

10.9

firms per 100K people

🎯

💰 Average Revenue by Business Size

1-4 employees
$587K
5-9 employees
$1.6M
10-19 employees
$3.1M
20-99 employees
$5.9M
100-499 employees
$24.1M
500+ employees
$15.4M

🏆 Highest Revenue States

1.New Hampshire$1.8M avg2.New York$929K avg3.California$916K avg4.Nevada$909K avg5.Delaware$665K avg6.Massachusetts$577K avg7.Connecticut$532K avg8.Vermont$504K avg9.Tennessee$463K avg10.New Jersey$412K avg

📊 Industry Dynamics (Census BDS 2023)

New Business Rate

21.89%

openings/year

Closure Rate

16.73%

closings/year

Net Job Growth

+6.58%

annual

Businesses Closed

3,172

in 2023

Firm Count Trend

19
20
21
22
23
18,535 firms23,276 firms

💡 Should You Start a Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers Business?

Startup Cost

$50K – $250K

Break-Even

22 months

5-Year Survival Rate

50.0%

🆚 Related Industries

Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers$785KAll Other Amusement and Recreation Industries$534KGolf Courses and Country Clubs$2.9MMusical Groups and Artists$760KMuseums$1.6M

Compare Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers revenue with other industries:

vs Fitnessvs Allvs Golf