NAICS Structure: Sectors, Hierarchy, and 2022 vs 2017 Industry Counts
NAICS is a production-oriented classification system that groups establishments by how they produce goods or deliver services. It is hierarchical (2–6 digits): the first 2 digits define the sector, while the 6-digit level defines the national industry. Use NAICS for modern statistical reporting, many contracting workflows, and cross-border comparability across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) uses a process-oriented conceptual framework to group establishments into industries according to the activity in which they are primarily engaged. Establishments using similar raw material inputs, similar capital equipment, and similar labor are classified in the same industry. In other words, establishments that do similar things in similar ways are classified together. The structure of NAICS is hierarchical.
- Sector: 2-digit code
- Subsector: 3-digit code
- Industry Group: 4-digit code
- NAICS Industry: 5-digit code
- National Industry: 6-digit code
Find any NAICS code instantly using the NAICS Code Lookup/Directory.
Use NAICS when you need a modern, standardized classification for government reporting, regulatory context, or contracting workflows.
For legacy datasets and private databases that rely on historical comparability, you may also want to store a SIC value alongside NAICS. See SIC vs NAICS Codes.
Note: Three sectors are represented by a range of 2-digit codes: Manufacturing (31–33), Retail Trade (44–45), and Transportation and Warehousing (48–49). NAICS includes 20 sectors. All sectors except 11 and 92 are covered by the economic census.
Brief Description of the NAICS Sectors
11 - Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting
Growing crops, raising animals, harvesting timber, and harvesting fish and other animals from farms, ranches, or natural habitats.
21 - Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction
Extracting mineral solids, liquid minerals, and gases; and beneficiating and other preparation at the mine site or as part of mining activity.
22 - Utilities
Generating, transmitting, and/or distributing electricity, gas, steam, and water; and removing sewage through permanent infrastructure.
23 - Construction
Erecting buildings and other structures; heavy construction; and alterations, installation, maintenance, and repairs.
31–33 - Manufacturing
Mechanical, physical, or chemical transformation of materials, substances, or components into new products.
42 - Wholesale Trade
Selling or arranging for the purchase/sale of goods for resale; durable goods; and materials/supplies used in production, plus incidental services.
44–45 - Retail Trade
Retailing merchandise generally in small quantities to the public and providing services incidental to the sale of the merchandise.
48–49 - Transportation and Warehousing
Transportation of passengers/cargo, warehousing and storage, scenic/sightseeing transportation, and supporting activities.
51 - Information
Distributing information and cultural products; providing transmission/distribution as data or communications; and processing data.
Creation, liquidation, or change in ownership of financial assets and/or facilitating financial transactions.
53 - Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
Renting, leasing, or allowing use of tangible or intangible assets (except copyrighted works), plus related services.
54 - Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
Performing professional, scientific, and technical services for the operations of other organizations.
55 - Management of Companies and Enterprises
Holding securities for controlling interest, influencing management decisions, or administering/overseeing other establishments of the same enterprise.
56 - Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services
Performing routine support activities for day-to-day operations of other organizations.
61 - Educational Services
Providing instruction and training in a wide variety of subjects.
62 - Health Care and Social Assistance
Providing health care and social assistance for individuals.
71 - Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
Operating or providing services to meet cultural, entertainment, and recreational interests.
72 - Accommodation and Food Services
Providing lodging and/or preparing meals, snacks, and beverages for immediate consumption.
81 - Other Services (except Public Administration)
Providing services not elsewhere specified, including repairs, religious activities, grantmaking, advocacy, laundry, personal care, and more.
Administration, management, and oversight of public programs by Federal, State, and local governments.
NAICS 2022 Structure Table
| Sector | Code Title | Subsectors (3-digits) |
Industry Groups (4-digits) |
NAICS Industries (5-digits) |
6-digit Industries | ||
| U.S. Detail | Same as 5-digit | Total | |||||
| 11 | Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting | 5 | 19 | 42 | 32 | 32 | 64 |
| 21 | Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction | 3 | 5 | 11 | 14 | 7 | 21 |
| 22 | Utilities | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 14 |
| 23 | Construction | 3 | 10 | 28 | 4 | 27 | 31 |
| 31-33 | Manufacturing | 21 | 86 | 176 | 249 | 97 | 346 |
| 42 | Wholesale Trade | 3 | 19 | 69 | 0 | 69 | 69 |
| 44-45 | Retail Trade | 9 | 24 | 48 | 16 | 41 | 57 |
| 48-49 | Transportation and Warehousing | 11 | 29 | 42 | 25 | 32 | 57 |
| 51 | Information | 6 | 11 | 24 | 10 | 19 | 29 |
| 52 | Finance and Insurance | 5 | 11 | 27 | 13 | 22 | 35 |
| 53 | Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 3 | 8 | 17 | 11 | 13 | 24 |
| 54 | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 1 | 9 | 35 | 20 | 29 | 49 |
| 55 | Management of Companies and Enterprises | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 56 | Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 2 | 11 | 29 | 25 | 19 | 44 |
| 61 | Educational Services | 1 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 10 | 17 |
| 62 | Health Care and Social Assistance | 4 | 18 | 30 | 16 | 23 | 39 |
| 71 | Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | 3 | 9 | 23 | 3 | 22 | 25 |
| 72 | Accommodation and Food Services | 2 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 15 |
| 81 | Other Services (except Public Administration) | 4 | 14 | 30 | 24 | 20 | 44 |
| 92 | Public Administration | 8 | 8 | 29 | 0 | 29 | 29 |
| Total | 96 | 308 | 689 | 490 | 522 | 1,012 | |
Versioning note: NAICS revisions update definitions and sometimes re-balance industry detail. This page includes the NAICS 2022 table (current reference for this overview) and a NAICS 2017 table for historical comparison and legacy datasets.
NAICS 2017 Structure Table (Reference)
| Sector | Code Title | Subsectors (3-digits) |
Industry Groups (4-digits) |
NAICS Industries (5-digits) |
6-digit Industries | ||
| U.S. Detail | Same as 5-digit | Total | |||||
| 11 | Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting | 5 | 19 | 42 | 32 | 32 | 64 |
| 21 | Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction | 3 | 5 | 11 | 24 | 4 | 28 |
| 22 | Utilities | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 14 |
| 23 | Construction | 3 | 10 | 28 | 4 | 27 | 31 |
| 31-33 | Manufacturing | 21 | 86 | 180 | 265 | 95 | 360 |
| 42 | Wholesale Trade | 3 | 19 | 71 | 0 | 71 | 71 |
| 44-45 | Retail Trade | 12 | 27 | 57 | 17 | 49 | 66 |
| 48-49 | Transportation and Warehousing | 11 | 29 | 42 | 25 | 32 | 57 |
| 51 | Information | 6 | 11 | 25 | 12 | 19 | 31 |
| 52 | Finance and Insurance | 5 | 11 | 31 | 15 | 26 | 41 |
| 53 | Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 3 | 8 | 17 | 11 | 13 | 24 |
| 54 | Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 1 | 9 | 35 | 20 | 29 | 49 |
| 55 | Management of Companies and Enterprises | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 56 | Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 2 | 11 | 29 | 25 | 19 | 44 |
| 61 | Educational Services | 1 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 10 | 17 |
| 62 | Health Care and Social Assistance | 4 | 18 | 30 | 16 | 23 | 39 |
| 71 | Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | 3 | 9 | 23 | 3 | 22 | 25 |
| 72 | Accommodation and Food Services | 2 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 15 |
| 81 | Other Services (except Public Administration) | 4 | 14 | 30 | 30 | 19 | 49 |
| 92 | Public Administration | 8 | 8 | 29 | 0 | 29 | 29 |
| Total | 99 | 311 | 709 | 527 | 530 | 1,057 | |
About the NAICS Structure
The North American Industry Classification System is unique among industry classifications in that it is constructed within a single conceptual framework. Economic units that have similar production processes are classified in the same industry. NAICS uses a supply-based, or production-oriented economic concept. This is because an industry classification system is a framework for collecting and publishing information on both inputs and outputs for statistical uses that require inputs and outputs be used together and classified consistently.
Examples of production-oriented uses
- Measuring productivity, unit labor costs, and capital intensity of production
- Estimating employment-output relationships
- Constructing input-output tables
- Other analyses of production relationships in the economy
What NAICS emphasizes
- New and emerging industries
- Service industries in general
- Industries producing advanced technologies
These same emphasis areas account for many differences between NAICS and other classification structures. NAICS provides enhanced industry comparability among the three North American trading partners (U.S.A, Canada, and Mexico), while also increasing compatibility with the two-digit level of the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC, Rev. 4) of the United Nations.
NAICS Sector Key Features
Information (Sector 51)
NAICS Information Sector groups industries that primarily create and disseminate a product subject to copyright, plus industries that distribute those products as data or communications, and those that process data.
- Telecommunications
- Broadcasting
- Newspaper, book, and periodical publishing
- Motion picture and sound recording industries
- Libraries
- Other information services
Professional Services (Sector 54)
NAICS Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services comprises establishments where human capital is the major input and industries are defined by the expertise and training of the service provider.
- Offices of lawyers
- Engineering services
- Architectural services
- Advertising agencies
- Interior design services
Arts & Recreation (Sector 71)
NAICS Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation includes establishments that operate facilities or provide services to meet cultural, entertainment, and recreational interests.
Health Care (Sector 62)
NAICS Health Care and Social Assistance recognizes the merging boundaries of health care and social assistance and arranges industries to reflect the range and extent of care provided.
- Family planning centers
- Outpatient mental health and substance abuse centers
- Continuing care retirement communities
Manufacturing (Sectors 31–33)
NAICS Manufacturing includes subsectors that bring together industries with production-process similarities. A key example is Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing, which groups industries producing electronic products and components.
Comparability and adoption
This NAICS structure reflects the levels at which data comparability was agreed upon by the three countries' statistical agencies. The boundaries of all NAICS sectors are delineated. The United States adopted the revised classification in its statistical programs for the reference year beginning in 2022.
Related Directories and Cross-System References
- NAICS Code Lookup / Directory (find a code by keyword or browse sectors)
- SIC Code Lookup / Directory (legacy classification used in many private datasets)
- SIC vs NAICS Codes (practical differences and when to use each)
- ISIC Code Lookup / Directory (international alignment reference)
- U.S. Census Bureau – NAICS Official Resource (authoritative NAICS source)
Quick take: NAICS is hierarchical and production-oriented. Start at the 2-digit sector, then narrow to 6 digits for the national industry. For datasets and workflows that mix public reporting and private-market targeting, store NAICS alongside SIC for maximum interoperability.