Industry · NAICS 492

Couriers and messengers

The United States has 16,226 employer establishments in couriers and messengers (0.5 per 10,000 residents), employing 1,185,718 people at an average annual pay of $53,395, plus 1,595,662 nonemployer businesses.

In the United States

Establishments
16,226
1,595,662 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents
0.5
Paid employees
1,185,718
Average annual pay
$53,395

Places ranked by residents per establishment

Places ranked by residents per establishment: more residents for each business, fewer competitors per resident. A count, not a measure of demand: retirement areas, low incomes or tourism change what a business needs.

Places
State
Size
Couriers and messengers by residents per establishment
#Placevs US
1McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX901,0961464,3640.20.32×1,001$46,5072,566
2Killeen-Temple, TX502,497862,8120.20.33×662$40,8552,495
3Columbus, GA-AL323,962653,9940.20.38×575$36,6091,090
4Visalia, CA480,816953,4240.20.39×1,822$79,0771,417
5Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH368,327752,6180.20.39×348$56,1291,547
6Waterbury-Shelton, CT457,384950,8200.20.41×721$46,1832,062
7Clarksville, TN-KY340,083748,5830.20.43×222$62,9821,870
8Chattanooga, TN-GA582,5361248,5450.20.43×1,661$35,8772,470
9Tuscaloosa, AL279,756646,6260.20.45×505$34,715769
10Winston-Salem, NC696,6531546,4440.20.45×1,120$36,5143,256
11Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ371,220846,4030.20.45×393$52,0001,295
12Athens-Clarke County, GA222,651544,5300.20.47×597$39,548656
13Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC398,699944,3000.20.47×621$64,3082,026
14Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX397,475944,1640.20.47×444$42,0971,285
15Waco, TX305,076743,5820.20.48×565$33,3951,248
16Reading, PA435,0611043,5060.20.48×612$52,1911,632
17Jacksonville, NC210,955542,1910.20.49×117$46,4101,060
18Urban Honolulu, HI989,6982441,2370.20.50×1,433$44,7542,781
19Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC370,164941,1290.20.50×753$28,0841,437
20Auburn-Opelika, AL202,368540,4740.20.51×365$117,877577
21Lake Charles, LA241,119640,1870.20.52×458$47,207873
22Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC629,9881639,3740.30.53×1,007$44,2262,627
23Fayetteville, NC392,3451039,2350.30.53×684$45,1942,409
24Wilmington, NC467,6171238,9680.30.53×1,550$38,4941,958
25Las Cruces, NM225,966637,6610.30.55×260$30,058857

1–25 of 313 places

Sources: County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024).

  • Residents per establishment is the place's population estimate for 2023 divided by its establishments; more residents per business means fewer competitors per resident. Places with fewer than the minimum establishments are left out because a handful of businesses makes the ratio jump around.
  • Metro areas are made of whole counties and their figures are the exact sums of those counties'. A metro area is listed under its principal state.
  • This compares counts of businesses with counts of residents. It does not measure demand, spending power, visitors, the size or quality of the businesses, or whether a market is open. Employment and payroll carry the Census Bureau's noise infusion.
  • County Business Patterns 2023 uses NAICS 2017 codes; the nonemployer figures use NAICS 2022. Industries are matched by name between editions.
  • Growth needs a second reference year of County Business Patterns in the same industry classification; only 2023 is loaded, so there is no growth column yet.

Federal contracts in this industry

Federal agencies obligated $561.9M on contracts under NAICS 492 in fiscal year 2026, nationwide (2,545 awards, each counted once per county where it was performed).

Metro areas

  1. Memphis, TN-MS-AR$112.3M20%
    116 awards
  2. Kansas City, MO-KS$75.7M13%
    29 awards
  3. Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN$63.7M11%
    302 awards
  4. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN$58.8M10%
    52 awards
  5. Tucson, AZ$22.6M4.0%
    17 awards
  6. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX$22.4M4.0%
    29 awards
  7. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV$22M3.9%
    769 awards
  8. Charleston-North Charleston, SC$20.2M3.6%
    7 awards
  9. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH$14.7M2.6%
    17 awards
  10. Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN$13.9M2.5%
    16 awards

Counties

  1. Shelby County, TN$112.3M20%
    116 awards
  2. Leavenworth County, KS$73.6M13%
    6 awards
  3. Jefferson County, KY$63.7M11%
    301 awards
  4. Cook County, IL$58.3M10%
    46 awards
  5. Pima County, AZ$22.6M4.0%
    17 awards
  6. Dallas County, TX$22.3M4.0%
    18 awards
  7. Berkeley County, SC$19.6M3.5%
    2 awards
  8. District of Columbia, DC$16.3M2.9%
    710 awards
  9. Middlesex County, MA$13.8M2.5%
    11 awards
  10. Rutherford County, TN$11.9M2.1%
    5 awards

Cities and towns

  1. Memphis city, TN$111.4M20%
    114 awards
  2. Louisville/Jefferson County metro government (balance), KY$25.7M4.6%
    293 awards
  3. Tucson city, AZ$17.2M3.1%
    17 awards
  4. Lancaster city, TX$17M3.0%
    2 awards
  5. Washington city, DC$16.3M2.9%
    710 awards
  6. Ladson CDP, SC$16.2M2.9%
    2 awards
  7. Anchorage city, KY$15.5M2.8%
    287 awards
  8. Leavenworth city, KS$8.1M1.4%
    6 awards
  9. Middletown city, KY$6.3M1.1%
    287 awards
  10. Jeffersontown city, KY$6.2M1.1%
    287 awards

Where the work was performed, as agencies report it (often the contractor's office). Metro areas are the exact sums of their counties. Cities are estimated: each action's county money split by the share of its ZIP code's land inside the city, so a city's figure is part of its county's.

USAspending.gov, prime award contract transactions (FPDS)