Skip to content
PalanorPalanor

Size of the US Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers industry

NAICS 5111, Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers. Every figure on this page was published by a federal statistical agency and carries its source and period. Palanor does not estimate: a period the agency didn’t publish shows as missing, and a figure it withheld shows as withheld. This is a NAICS 2017 code that the 2022 edition replaced; the Census surveys that still publish on the 2017 basis keep it alive.

Key figures

Receipts (sales, shipments or revenue)
$91.9 billion
2017 · Economic Census
All establishments, current dollars
Revenue, not seasonally adjusted
$22.4 billion
2026-Q2 · Quarterly Services Survey
Employer firms, current dollars
Employment
251,161
2023 · County Business Patterns
Paid employees in the pay period including March 12
Establishments
13,907
2023 · County Business Patterns
Firms
11,787
2017 · Economic Census
Annual payroll
$19.9 billion
2023 · County Business Patterns

Over time

Revenue, seasonally adjusted · Quarterly Services SurveyLatest $22.4 billion · 2026-Q2
2006-Q3: $35.7 billion2006-Q4: $36.1 billion2007-Q1: $36.0 billion2007-Q2: $36.9 billion2007-Q3: $37.0 billion2007-Q4: $36.8 billion2008-Q1: $36.2 billion2008-Q2: $34.9 billion2008-Q3: $34.6 billion2008-Q4: $32.7 billion2009-Q1: $30.8 billion2009-Q2: $30.0 billion2009-Q3: $29.0 billion2009-Q4: $28.3 billion2010-Q1: $28.1 billion2010-Q2: $27.6 billion2010-Q3: $27.6 billion2010-Q4: $27.2 billion2011-Q1: $27.1 billion2011-Q2: $26.7 billion2011-Q3: $26.4 billion2011-Q4: $25.9 billion2012-Q1: $26.3 billion2012-Q2: $25.3 billion2012-Q3: $24.7 billion2012-Q4: $24.8 billion2013-Q1: $23.8 billion2013-Q2: $24.3 billion2013-Q3: $24.5 billion2013-Q4: $24.3 billion2014-Q1: $24.5 billion2014-Q2: $24.3 billion2014-Q3: $24.1 billion2014-Q4: $24.0 billion2015-Q1: $23.7 billion2015-Q2: $23.8 billion2015-Q3: $23.4 billion2015-Q4: $23.3 billion2016-Q1: $23.2 billion2016-Q2: $23.3 billion2016-Q3: $23.2 billion2016-Q4: $22.5 billion2017-Q1: $22.6 billion2017-Q2: $22.7 billion2017-Q3: $23.0 billion2017-Q4: $23.4 billion2018-Q1: $22.9 billion2018-Q2: $22.2 billion2018-Q3: $22.1 billion2018-Q4: $22.1 billion2019-Q1: $21.8 billion2019-Q2: $21.6 billion2019-Q3: $21.6 billion2019-Q4: $21.1 billion2020-Q1: $21.2 billion2020-Q2: $18.2 billion2020-Q3: $20.2 billion2020-Q4: $20.7 billion2021-Q1: $20.6 billion2021-Q2: $20.6 billion2021-Q3: $21.3 billion2021-Q4: $21.9 billion2022-Q1: $22.1 billion2022-Q2: $22.4 billion2022-Q3: $21.7 billion2022-Q4: $22.1 billion2023-Q1: $22.4 billion2023-Q2: $22.5 billion2023-Q3: $21.8 billion2023-Q4: $22.4 billion2024-Q1: $22.7 billion2024-Q2: $22.5 billion2024-Q3: $22.5 billion2024-Q4: $21.9 billion2025-Q1: $22.2 billion2025-Q2: $22.1 billion2025-Q3: $22.3 billion2025-Q4: $22.6 billion2026-Q1: $22.3 billion2026-Q2: $22.4 billion
Show the numbers
PeriodValue
2026-Q2$22.4 billion
2026-Q1$22.3 billion
2025-Q4$22.6 billion
2025-Q3$22.3 billion
2025-Q2$22.1 billion
2025-Q1$22.2 billion
2024-Q4$21.9 billion
2024-Q3$22.5 billion
2024-Q2$22.5 billion
2024-Q1$22.7 billion
2023-Q4$22.4 billion
2023-Q3$21.8 billion
2023-Q2$22.5 billion
2023-Q1$22.4 billion
2022-Q4$22.1 billion
2022-Q3$21.7 billion
2022-Q2$22.4 billion
2022-Q1$22.1 billion
2021-Q4$21.9 billion
2021-Q3$21.3 billion
2021-Q2$20.6 billion
2021-Q1$20.6 billion
2020-Q4$20.7 billion
2020-Q3$20.2 billion
2020-Q2$18.2 billion
2020-Q1$21.2 billion
2019-Q4$21.1 billion
2019-Q3$21.6 billion
2019-Q2$21.6 billion
2019-Q1$21.8 billion
2018-Q4$22.1 billion
2018-Q3$22.1 billion
2018-Q2$22.2 billion
2018-Q1$22.9 billion
2017-Q4$23.4 billion
2017-Q3$23.0 billion
2017-Q2$22.7 billion
2017-Q1$22.6 billion
2016-Q4$22.5 billion
2016-Q3$23.2 billion
2016-Q2$23.3 billion
2016-Q1$23.2 billion
2015-Q4$23.3 billion
2015-Q3$23.4 billion
2015-Q2$23.8 billion
2015-Q1$23.7 billion
2014-Q4$24.0 billion
2014-Q3$24.1 billion
2014-Q2$24.3 billion
2014-Q1$24.5 billion
2013-Q4$24.3 billion
2013-Q3$24.5 billion
2013-Q2$24.3 billion
2013-Q1$23.8 billion
2012-Q4$24.8 billion
2012-Q3$24.7 billion
2012-Q2$25.3 billion
2012-Q1$26.3 billion
2011-Q4$25.9 billion
2011-Q3$26.4 billion
2011-Q2$26.7 billion
2011-Q1$27.1 billion
2010-Q4$27.2 billion
2010-Q3$27.6 billion
2010-Q2$27.6 billion
2010-Q1$28.1 billion
2009-Q4$28.3 billion
2009-Q3$29.0 billion
2009-Q2$30.0 billion
2009-Q1$30.8 billion
2008-Q4$32.7 billion
2008-Q3$34.6 billion
2008-Q2$34.9 billion
2008-Q1$36.2 billion
2007-Q4$36.8 billion
2007-Q3$37.0 billion
2007-Q2$36.9 billion
2007-Q1$36.0 billion
2006-Q4$36.1 billion
2006-Q3$35.7 billion

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Quarterly Services Survey · Employer firms, current dollars · Agency label: Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers

Employment · Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesLatest 242,578 · 2021-Q4
2019-Q1: 303,3062019-Q2: 299,7422019-Q3: 292,0712019-Q4: 289,0972020-Q1: 280,4742020-Q2: 259,9912020-Q3: 253,4432020-Q4: 252,0282021-Q1: 246,9402021-Q2: 246,3832021-Q3: 242,1602021-Q4: 242,578
Show the numbers
PeriodValue
2021-Q4242,578
2021-Q3242,160
2021-Q2246,383
2021-Q1246,940
2020-Q4252,028
2020-Q3253,443
2020-Q2259,991
2020-Q1280,474
2019-Q4289,097
2019-Q3292,071
2019-Q2299,742
2019-Q1303,306

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · Private-sector jobs in the third month of each quarter

Employment · County Business PatternsLatest 251,161 · 2023
2017: 365,5292018: 343,6602019: 320,7952020: 308,1182021: 273,4322022: 277,8192023: 251,161
Show the numbers
PeriodValue
2023251,161
2022277,819
2021273,432
2020308,118
2019320,795
2018343,660
2017365,529

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns · Paid employees in the pay period including March 12

Establishments · Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesLatest 20,040 · 2021-Q4
2019-Q1: 19,8792019-Q2: 19,8392019-Q3: 19,8472019-Q4: 19,7852020-Q1: 19,5932020-Q2: 19,4282020-Q3: 19,5262020-Q4: 19,6382021-Q1: 19,5112021-Q2: 19,6812021-Q3: 19,8262021-Q4: 20,040
Show the numbers
PeriodValue
2021-Q420,040
2021-Q319,826
2021-Q219,681
2021-Q119,511
2020-Q419,638
2020-Q319,526
2020-Q219,428
2020-Q119,593
2019-Q419,785
2019-Q319,847
2019-Q219,839
2019-Q119,879

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · Private ownership

Establishments · County Business PatternsLatest 13,907 · 2023
2017: 16,3602018: 15,4742019: 15,2232020: 14,7012021: 14,3482022: 14,6712023: 13,907
Show the numbers
PeriodValue
202313,907
202214,671
202114,348
202014,701
201915,223
201815,474
201716,360

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns

Total wages in the quarter · Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesLatest $5.4 billion · 2021-Q4
2019-Q1: $6.3 billion2019-Q2: $5.4 billion2019-Q3: $5.3 billion2019-Q4: $5.4 billion2020-Q1: $6.1 billion2020-Q2: $4.9 billion2020-Q3: $4.8 billion2020-Q4: $5.2 billion2021-Q1: $5.4 billion2021-Q2: $4.9 billion2021-Q3: $5.1 billion2021-Q4: $5.4 billion
Show the numbers
PeriodValue
2021-Q4$5.4 billion
2021-Q3$5.1 billion
2021-Q2$4.9 billion
2021-Q1$5.4 billion
2020-Q4$5.2 billion
2020-Q3$4.8 billion
2020-Q2$4.9 billion
2020-Q1$6.1 billion
2019-Q4$5.4 billion
2019-Q3$5.3 billion
2019-Q2$5.4 billion
2019-Q1$6.3 billion

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages · Private ownership

Annual payroll · County Business PatternsLatest $19.9 billion · 2023
2017: $22.2 billion2018: $22.2 billion2019: $21.1 billion2020: $20.3 billion2021: $20.0 billion2022: $21.6 billion2023: $19.9 billion
Show the numbers
PeriodValue
2023$19.9 billion
2022$21.6 billion
2021$20.0 billion
2020$20.3 billion
2019$21.1 billion
2018$22.2 billion
2017$22.2 billion

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns

The ledger

Every published measure

MeasureSourceLatestPeriodHistory
EmploymentPrivate-sector jobs in the third month of each quarterQuarterly Census of Employment and Wages242,5782021-Q42019-Q1–2021-Q4 · 12 published
EstablishmentsPrivate ownershipQuarterly Census of Employment and Wages20,0402021-Q42019-Q1–2021-Q4 · 12 published
Total wages in the quarterPrivate ownershipQuarterly Census of Employment and Wages$5.4 billion2021-Q42019-Q1–2021-Q4 · 12 published
Annual payrollCounty Business Patterns$19.9 billion20232017–2023 · 7 published
EmploymentPaid employees in the pay period including March 12County Business Patterns251,16120232017–2023 · 7 published
EstablishmentsCounty Business Patterns13,90720232017–2023 · 7 published
Annual payrollEconomic Census$22.4 billion20172017–2017 · 1 published
EmploymentPaid employees in the pay period including March 12Economic Census368,37820172017–2017 · 1 published
EstablishmentsEconomic Census16,38420172017–2017 · 1 published
FirmsEconomic Census11,78720172017–2017 · 1 published
Receipts (sales, shipments or revenue)All establishments, current dollarsEconomic Census$91.9 billion20172017–2017 · 1 published
Revenue, not seasonally adjustedEmployer firms, current dollarsQuarterly Services Survey$22.4 billion2026-Q22006-Q3–2026-Q2 · 80 published
Revenue, seasonally adjustedEmployer firms, current dollarsQuarterly Services Survey$22.4 billion2026-Q22006-Q3–2026-Q2 · 80 published

Breakdown

Industries within Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers

NAICSIndustrySizeEmployment
51111Newspaper Publishers$26.0 billionReceipts · 2017 · Economic Census91,3502023 · CBP
51112Periodical Publishers$26.7 billionReceipts · 2017 · Economic Census64,9832023 · CBP
51113Book Publishers$29.1 billionReceipts · 2017 · Economic Census65,2822023 · CBP
51114Directory and Mailing List Publishers$5.0 billionReceipts · 2017 · Economic Census10,3202023 · CBP
51119Other Publishers$5.0 billionReceipts · 2017 · Economic Census19,2262023 · CBP

Sources

Where every number comes from

Figures are in current dollars and are the agencies’ own, revised when they revise. Each program defines its universe differently (employer firms, private ownership, all establishments), so figures from different sources are not meant to add up. This page is not endorsed by the Census Bureau, BEA or BLS. The same data is in the Palanor API (/v1/industries) and the MCP (palanor_get_industry). All industries.