Rooming and Boarding Houses, Dormitories, and Workers' Camps Revenue Benchmarks
The average rooming and boarding houses, dormitories, and workers' camps business in the United States generates $536K in annual revenue, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Statistics of U.S. Businesses (SUSB 2021). There are 1,498 rooming and boarding houses, dormitories, and workers' camps businesses in the U.S., employing 8,078 workers with an average profit margin of 5.0%. The average employee in this industry earns $38K per year (Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW 2023).
What Does a Rooming and Boarding Houses, Dormitories, and Workers' Camps Business Actually Do?
Rooming houses, SROs (single room occupancy), student dorms, workers' camps for temporary/seasonal labor.
Who buys: Low-income single adults, students, seasonal workers, oil/gas workers.
Average Revenue
$536K
per year
Profit Margin
5.0%
industry average
Revenue / Employee
$99K
per year
Total Businesses
1,498
in the US
Est. Owner Income
$27K
small business avg
Labor Cost
32.0%
of revenue
Avg Employee Wage
$38K
per year (BLS)
Market Saturation
0.5
firms per 100K people
How Much Do Rooming and Boarding Houses, Dormitories, and Workers' Camps Charge?
Rooming houses, dorms, and workers' housing rented weekly or monthly.
| Service | Typical range |
|---|---|
Rooming house monthly rent | $400–1,200/month |
Weekly SRO room | $150–400/week |
Workers' camp (per bed) | $50–150/night |
Ranges based on industry rate surveys and typical published pricing. Actual quotes vary by city, business size, and job complexity.
Complete rooming and boarding houses, dormitories, and workers' camps business plan
A 12-section data-backed business plan for a rooming and boarding houses, dormitories, and workers' camps business — executive summary, market analysis, competitive landscape, revenue model, 3-year financial projections, operations, marketing, staffing, funding request. Pre-populated with real Census, IRS, and BLS data on this industry. Free to view.
Cost Structure — Where Every $100 in Revenue Goes
Approximate P&L breakdown for the rooming and boarding houses, dormitories, and workers' camps industry. Labor share and net profit are grounded in Census SUSB and IRS SOI data. Other lines are split using sector-typical ratios.
| Category | Per $100 revenue | Per typical business | What's in it |
|---|---|---|---|
Food & beverage costs | $35 | $186K | Ingredients, food, beverages, disposables — the raw cost of what's served. |
Wages & benefits | $32 | $172K | Payroll for all employees at the business (owner comp not included for small owner-operators). |
Rent & facilities | $13 | $68K | Rent or mortgage on business location plus utilities tied to the space. |
Marketing & advertising | $3 | $17K | Google/Meta ads, SEO, print, referral fees, event sponsorships. |
Other operating costs | $13 | $68K | Utilities, cleaning, licenses, credit-card processing, kitchen equipment depreciation, insurance. |
Net profit | $5 | $27K | What remains for the owner or shareholders after all business expenses. |
Directionally accurate for a typical business in the industry. Individual businesses vary widely — a franchise may run a very different cost mix from an independent, and older established businesses often have lower labor share than newer ones.
Average Revenue by Business Size
Industry Dynamics (Census BDS 2023)
New Business Rate
9.95%
openings/year
Closure Rate
8%
closings/year
Net Job Growth
-1.27%
annual
Businesses Closed
90
in 2023
Firm Count Trend
Should You Start a Rooming and Boarding Houses, Dormitories, and Workers' Camps Business?
Startup Cost
$100K – $500K
Break-Even
134 months
5-Year Survival Rate
40.0%
Related Industries
Frequently Asked Questions
- What does a rooming and boarding houses, dormitories, and workers' camps business do?
- Rooming houses, SROs (single room occupancy), student dorms, workers' camps for temporary/seasonal labor. Low-income single adults, students, seasonal workers, oil/gas workers.
- How much do rooming and boarding houses, dormitories, and workers' camps charge?
- Rooming houses, dorms, and workers' housing rented weekly or monthly. See the pricing table above for typical rates by service type.
- How much does the average rooming and boarding houses, dormitories, and workers' camps make per year?
- The average rooming and boarding houses, dormitories, and workers' camps business generates $536K in annual revenue, based on U.S. Census Bureau data (SUSB 2021). After expenses, the estimated owner profit is $27K per year at a 5.0% profit margin.
- How many rooming and boarding houses, dormitories, and workers' camps businesses are there in the US?
- There are 1,498 rooming and boarding houses, dormitories, and workers' camps businesses operating in the United States, employing a total of 8,078 workers.
- How much does it cost to start a rooming and boarding houses, dormitories, and workers' camps business?
- Startup costs for a rooming and boarding houses, dormitories, and workers' camps business typically range from $100K to $500K, with a 5-year survival rate of 40.0%.
- What is the average salary in the rooming and boarding houses, dormitories, and workers' camps industry?
- The average employee in the rooming and boarding houses, dormitories, and workers' camps industry earns $38K per year, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data (QCEW 2023).
Industry Growth & Survival
The rooming and boarding houses, dormitories, and workers' camps industry is relatively stable — with a net job growth rate of -1.3%. Entry and exit rates are balanced at 10.0% and 8.0% respectively.
Approximately 66% of rooming and boarding houses, dormitories, and workers' camps businesses survive their first 5 years. This is above the national average (~50%), making it a relatively safe industry to enter. In 2023, 90 firms in this industry closed permanently.
Employment & Wages
The average employee in the rooming and boarding houses, dormitories, and workers' camps industry earns $38,404/year. This is below the national average of ~$65K — typical for this sector. With 1,823 establishments employing 10,300 people, the typical business has about 6 employees.
Industry Trend (2000–2023)
The rooming and boarding houses, dormitories, and workers' camps industry has declined 52% since 2000 (from 2,772 to 1,331 firms).
See full historical statistics →Compare Rooming and Boarding Houses, Dormitories, and Workers' Camps revenue with other industries: