Manufacturing pays more per worker than almost any other private sector, which makes county manufacturing employment data one of the most useful numbers a county leader can track. A single large plant can move a county’s total payroll figure more than a dozen retail openings combined. When county officials understand their manufacturing base, they can forecast tax revenue, target economic development, and make a stronger case in grant applications.
Yet manufacturing is one of the sectors county staff most often overlook in the Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns (CBP) data. The information sits in the same free annual tables as every other industry. This guide covers where manufacturing appears in the data, how to read the four metrics that matter, and how to turn the numbers into decisions.
Why County Manufacturing Employment Data Matters for Payrolls
Manufacturing wages tend to run well above the private-sector average. The reason is simple: manufacturing work is capital-intensive and skill-intensive, so employers pay more to keep skilled workers on the line. That single fact is why manufacturing punches above its weight in a county’s payroll totals.
Consider what this means for a county budget officer. A county with 20,000 manufacturing jobs and a county with 20,000 retail jobs have the same headcount, but the manufacturing county collects far more in income-linked revenue. Tracking manufacturing jobs by county gives leaders an early read on the health of their highest-wage private employment.
Where Manufacturing Lives in the Data: NAICS 31-33
Every industry in CBP is organized by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes. Manufacturing occupies three of them, grouped together as NAICS 31-33. That range covers everything from food processing and textiles to machinery, electronics, and transportation equipment.
The three-digit level breaks the sector into subsectors, which is where county analysis gets useful. A county can see whether its manufacturing base leans toward food production (NAICS 311), computer and electronic products (NAICS 334), or fabricated metals (NAICS 332). Each subsector carries a different wage profile and a different growth outlook.
At the county level, the three-digit NAICS code is usually the most detailed view available. The Census Bureau suppresses more granular data in smaller geographies to protect individual employers from being identified.
Reading the Four Metrics for Manufacturing
CBP reports the same four data points for manufacturing that it reports for every industry. Read together, they tell you the size, concentration, and wage strength of your county’s industrial base.
- Establishments. The count of physical manufacturing locations. A rising count signals new plants and expansions.
- Paid employees. Manufacturing headcount during the week of March 12. This is your core workforce measure.
- Annual payroll. Total manufacturing wages paid across the year. This is the figure that connects most directly to local economic health.
- Payroll per employee. Not reported directly, but easy to calculate: divide annual payroll by paid employees.
That last calculation is the one that makes manufacturing stand out. Payroll per employee in manufacturing often exceeds the county-wide private-sector average by a wide margin. When you present county manufacturing employment data to a board or a state legislator, the per-worker wage figure is usually the most persuasive number in the table.
A Worked Example: Reading a Manufacturing Profile
Real-world numbers already point to the pattern. Harris County, Texas, home to the Houston area’s industrial base, counts more than 5,180 manufacturers employing over 182,000 workers, according to Harris County Economic Development. A base that size carries a payroll weight far beyond its share of total establishments, which is exactly what CBP’s four core metrics help quantify at the county level.
To see how the analysis works, consider a hypothetical mid-size county with the following manufacturing (NAICS 31-33) profile. The numbers are illustrative, chosen to show the method rather than describe a specific place.
|
Metric |
Example County (NAICS 31-33) |
|
Manufacturing establishments |
900 |
|
Manufacturing employees |
28,000 |
| Annual manufacturing payroll |
$2.4 billion |
| Payroll per employee |
~$86,000 |
The story emerges from the last row. Divide annual payroll by employees and you get payroll per employee near $86,000, well above what retail or hospitality would show in the same county. Even when manufacturing is a modest share of total establishments, it carries an outsized share of total wages. That contrast is the pattern to look for when you open your own county’s data.
To build this table for your county, pull the four core CBP metrics for NAICS 31-33 from data.census.gov and run the same division. The 2023 CBP release is the most recent full dataset, with 2024 data due for release in summer 2026.
Turning Manufacturing Data Into Action
Raw numbers only matter when they drive a decision. County manufacturing employment data supports three practical uses.
- Revenue forecasting. A decline in manufacturing employment often signals softening income and sales tax collections several quarters ahead. First-quarter payroll data gives budget officers an early warning.
- Economic development targeting. Knowing which manufacturing subsectors already cluster in your county helps recruiters pitch site selectors on an existing talent pool and supplier network.
- Grant applications. Federal and state workforce grants reward counties that can document manufacturing workforce gaps with hard numbers. CBP and BLS data together make that case.
For the fullest picture, pair CBP with the Bureau of Labor Statistics QCEW program. QCEW updates quarterly and draws on unemployment insurance records, which catches shifts in manufacturing employment sooner than the annual CBP series.
Texas counties, including several County Executives of America members across the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston regions, sit among the country’s strongest manufacturing economies. County leaders in these areas have an unusually rich data story to tell, and the tools to tell it are free.
Frequently Asked Questions
What NAICS code covers manufacturing in county data?
Manufacturing is NAICS 31-33, a three-code range covering food, textiles, machinery, electronics, metals, transportation equipment, and more. The three-digit subsector level offers the most detail available for most counties.
Where do I find county manufacturing employment data?
Use data.census.gov and filter County Business Patterns by your county and by NAICS 31-33. For quarterly updates that include an earlier read on employment shifts, use the BLS QCEW program.
Why does manufacturing matter so much to county payrolls?
Manufacturing typically pays higher wages per worker than most private sectors. That means a manufacturing base contributes more to total county payroll and income-linked tax revenue than its headcount alone would suggest.
How current is the data?
The 2023 CBP release is the most recent complete dataset as of 2026, reflecting the usual 18-month lag. The 2024 data is due for release in summer 2026.
The Takeaway
County manufacturing employment data reveals where a county’s highest-wage private jobs sit and how much they contribute to local payrolls. Reading the four core CBP metrics for NAICS 31-33, and calculating payroll per employee, gives county leaders a clear view of their industrial base. Pull your county’s manufacturing table this quarter and see what your highest-paying sector is telling you.