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Size of the US Waste Collection industry

NAICS 56211, Waste Collection. 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.

Key figures

Receipts (sales, shipments or revenue)
$72.6 billion
2022 · Economic Census
All establishments, current dollars
Employment
220,972
2026-Q1 · Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
Private-sector jobs in the third month of each quarter
Establishments
14,654
2026-Q1 · Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
Private ownership
Firms
8,976
2022 · Economic Census
Annual payroll
$18.5 billion
2023 · County Business Patterns

Over time

Employment · Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesLatest 220,972 · 2026-Q1
2019-Q1: 185,2182019-Q2: 188,5342019-Q3: 189,3672019-Q4: 189,5172020-Q1: 189,3992020-Q2: 187,6492020-Q3: 189,4982020-Q4: 190,9402021-Q1: 190,9822021-Q2: 194,7992021-Q3: 198,3572021-Q4: 200,3352022-Q1: 200,2932022-Q2: 204,4942022-Q3: 205,9602022-Q4: 207,2542023-Q1: 208,7212023-Q2: 212,3172023-Q3: 213,0522023-Q4: 212,6742024-Q1: 213,7332024-Q2: 217,9192024-Q3: 219,8262024-Q4: 219,6002025-Q1: 218,5692025-Q2: 222,4712025-Q3: 223,1802025-Q4: 222,4092026-Q1: 220,972NAICS 2022 from 2022-Q1
Show the numbers
PeriodValueNAICS
2026-Q1220,9722022
2025-Q4222,4092022
2025-Q3223,1802022
2025-Q2222,4712022
2025-Q1218,5692022
2024-Q4219,6002022
2024-Q3219,8262022
2024-Q2217,9192022
2024-Q1213,7332022
2023-Q4212,6742022
2023-Q3213,0522022
2023-Q2212,3172022
2023-Q1208,7212022
2022-Q4207,2542022
2022-Q3205,9602022
2022-Q2204,4942022
2022-Q1200,2932022
2021-Q4200,3352017
2021-Q3198,3572017
2021-Q2194,7992017
2021-Q1190,9822017
2020-Q4190,9402017
2020-Q3189,4982017
2020-Q2187,6492017
2020-Q1189,3992017
2019-Q4189,5172017
2019-Q3189,3672017
2019-Q2188,5342017
2019-Q1185,2182017

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 263,050 · 2023
2017: 215,8202018: 223,5662019: 229,4422020: 234,7782021: 240,6112022: 249,0092023: 263,050
Show the numbers
PeriodValue
2023263,050
2022249,009
2021240,611
2020234,778
2019229,442
2018223,566
2017215,820

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

Establishments · Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesLatest 14,654 · 2026-Q1
2019-Q1: 11,5092019-Q2: 11,5492019-Q3: 11,6582019-Q4: 11,6692020-Q1: 11,6782020-Q2: 11,7102020-Q3: 11,9192020-Q4: 12,0532021-Q1: 12,1832021-Q2: 12,3212021-Q3: 12,5152021-Q4: 12,6562022-Q1: 12,7582022-Q2: 12,9482022-Q3: 13,0402022-Q4: 13,1772023-Q1: 13,6282023-Q2: 13,6872023-Q3: 13,8312023-Q4: 13,9602024-Q1: 14,0232024-Q2: 14,1122024-Q3: 14,1782024-Q4: 14,2592025-Q1: 14,3282025-Q2: 14,4152025-Q3: 14,5132025-Q4: 14,5452026-Q1: 14,654NAICS 2022 from 2022-Q1
Show the numbers
PeriodValueNAICS
2026-Q114,6542022
2025-Q414,5452022
2025-Q314,5132022
2025-Q214,4152022
2025-Q114,3282022
2024-Q414,2592022
2024-Q314,1782022
2024-Q214,1122022
2024-Q114,0232022
2023-Q413,9602022
2023-Q313,8312022
2023-Q213,6872022
2023-Q113,6282022
2022-Q413,1772022
2022-Q313,0402022
2022-Q212,9482022
2022-Q112,7582022
2021-Q412,6562017
2021-Q312,5152017
2021-Q212,3212017
2021-Q112,1832017
2020-Q412,0532017
2020-Q311,9192017
2020-Q211,7102017
2020-Q111,6782017
2019-Q411,6692017
2019-Q311,6582017
2019-Q211,5492017
2019-Q111,5092017

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

Establishments · County Business PatternsLatest 13,064 · 2023
2017: 11,7562018: 11,8002019: 11,7032020: 11,9412021: 12,3702022: 12,7012023: 13,064
Show the numbers
PeriodValue
202313,064
202212,701
202112,370
202011,941
201911,703
201811,800
201711,756

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

Total wages in the quarter · Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesLatest $4.2 billion · 2026-Q1
2019-Q1: $2.6 billion2019-Q2: $2.6 billion2019-Q3: $2.6 billion2019-Q4: $2.8 billion2020-Q1: $2.7 billion2020-Q2: $2.5 billion2020-Q3: $2.6 billion2020-Q4: $3.0 billion2021-Q1: $2.7 billion2021-Q2: $2.8 billion2021-Q3: $3.0 billion2021-Q4: $3.4 billion2022-Q1: $3.0 billion2022-Q2: $3.3 billion2022-Q3: $3.5 billion2022-Q4: $3.5 billion2023-Q1: $3.6 billion2023-Q2: $3.5 billion2023-Q3: $3.6 billion2023-Q4: $3.8 billion2024-Q1: $3.8 billion2024-Q2: $3.7 billion2024-Q3: $3.8 billion2024-Q4: $4.7 billion2025-Q1: $4.1 billion2025-Q2: $4.0 billion2025-Q3: $4.1 billion2025-Q4: $4.3 billion2026-Q1: $4.2 billionNAICS 2022 from 2022-Q1
Show the numbers
PeriodValueNAICS
2026-Q1$4.2 billion2022
2025-Q4$4.3 billion2022
2025-Q3$4.1 billion2022
2025-Q2$4.0 billion2022
2025-Q1$4.1 billion2022
2024-Q4$4.7 billion2022
2024-Q3$3.8 billion2022
2024-Q2$3.7 billion2022
2024-Q1$3.8 billion2022
2023-Q4$3.8 billion2022
2023-Q3$3.6 billion2022
2023-Q2$3.5 billion2022
2023-Q1$3.6 billion2022
2022-Q4$3.5 billion2022
2022-Q3$3.5 billion2022
2022-Q2$3.3 billion2022
2022-Q1$3.0 billion2022
2021-Q4$3.4 billion2017
2021-Q3$3.0 billion2017
2021-Q2$2.8 billion2017
2021-Q1$2.7 billion2017
2020-Q4$3.0 billion2017
2020-Q3$2.6 billion2017
2020-Q2$2.5 billion2017
2020-Q1$2.7 billion2017
2019-Q4$2.8 billion2017
2019-Q3$2.6 billion2017
2019-Q2$2.6 billion2017
2019-Q1$2.6 billion2017

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

Annual payroll · County Business PatternsLatest $18.5 billion · 2023
2017: $12.7 billion2018: $12.8 billion2019: $13.6 billion2020: $14.1 billion2021: $15.2 billion2022: $16.8 billion2023: $18.5 billion
Show the numbers
PeriodValue
2023$18.5 billion
2022$16.8 billion
2021$15.2 billion
2020$14.1 billion
2019$13.6 billion
2018$12.8 billion
2017$12.7 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 Wages220,9722026-Q12019-Q1–2026-Q1 · 29 published
EstablishmentsPrivate ownershipQuarterly Census of Employment and Wages14,6542026-Q12019-Q1–2026-Q1 · 29 published
Total wages in the quarterPrivate ownershipQuarterly Census of Employment and Wages$4.2 billion2026-Q12019-Q1–2026-Q1 · 29 published
Annual payrollCounty Business Patterns$18.5 billion20232017–2023 · 7 published
EmploymentPaid employees in the pay period including March 12County Business Patterns263,05020232017–2023 · 7 published
EstablishmentsCounty Business Patterns13,06420232017–2023 · 7 published
Annual payrollEconomic Census$16.6 billion20222017–2022 · 2 published
EmploymentPaid employees in the pay period including March 12Economic Census270,74020222017–2022 · 2 published
EstablishmentsEconomic Census13,09720222017–2022 · 2 published
FirmsEconomic Census8,97620222017–2022 · 2 published
Receipts (sales, shipments or revenue)All establishments, current dollarsEconomic Census$72.6 billion20222017–2022 · 2 published

Breakdown

Industries within Waste Collection

NAICSIndustrySizeEmployment
562111Solid Waste Collection$65.8 billionReceipts · 2022 · Economic Census190,0402026-Q1 · QCEW
562112Hazardous Waste Collection$3.2 billionReceipts · 2022 · Economic Census13,0162026-Q1 · QCEW
562119Other Waste Collection$3.6 billionReceipts · 2022 · Economic Census17,9162026-Q1 · QCEW

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.