Self-employment method
Computer Systems Design and Related Services
342,033 people filed as a nonemployer business under this industry code in 2022 — no payroll, no employees, just them. These are gross receipts reported to the IRS, before any expense is taken out.
Median GROSS RECEIPTS for the year — money in, before rent, materials, fuel, insurance or tax. This is not take-home pay.
Share who grossed under $10,000 for the whole year — before expenses.
The middle half, in gross receipts. A quarter of filers took less than the lower figure.
Source: US Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics 2022 · view
How often it does not work out
Of the 342,033 people who filed under this code in 2022, 37.60% grossed under $10,000 for the entire year — before a single expense was deducted.
That is a floor, not an estimate. Census publishes GROSS RECEIPTS, not net income. Everyone inside that share earned less than the figure suggests once rent, materials, mileage, insurance and self-employment tax came out — and filers who grossed well above the threshold may still have netted nothing. The true share of people who earn nothing meaningful from this is higher than the number above, never lower.
Denominator: establishments_total = 342,033 · US Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics 2022 · view
Every filer, by what they grossed
The full distribution Census publishes. The median above is interpolated inside the band that holds the 50th percentile.
| Gross receipts for the year | Filers | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $5,000 | 77,870 | 22.8% |
| $5,000 to $9,999 | 50,721 | 14.8% |
| $10,000 to $24,999 | 70,338 | 20.6% |
| $25,000 to $49,999 | 48,661 | 14.2% |
| $50,000 to $99,999 | 42,152 | 12.3% |
| $100,000 to $249,999 | 36,597 | 10.7% |
| $250,000 to $499,999 | 10,227 | 3.0% |
| $500,000 to $999,999 | 3,891 | 1.1% |
| $1,000,000 to $2,499,999 | 1,576 | 0.5% |
Who this suits
At the midpoint this work grossed $19,047 for the year — $1,587 a month in revenue. That is a real second income and a long way short of a first one, and Census cannot tell you which of those the typical filer intended.
At 342,033 filers, Computer Systems Design and Related Services is crowded. Crowding is survivable — most of those filers are not serious competitors — but it does mean the floor on price is set by people who are not costing their own time.
A 15.3% share — 52,331 filers — grossed $100,000 or more. That is well above what most codes here manage, and it says the middle of Computer Systems Design and Related Services is closer to a business than to a sideline.
Professional services are the classic solo business: low capital, high skill, and a ceiling set by how many hours you can sell. It suits people who can market as competently as they deliver.
There is no qualification, licence or minimum to appear in this data — you file and you are counted. Read the receipts distribution as the price of that: no barrier at the door means no filter before the numbers.
Who should not do this
Bottom quarter under $5,753, top quarter over $60,598: 10.5x, or $4,570 a month. At this stretch the label has stopped describing one occupation, and every summary statistic about it — including the midpoint — should be treated with suspicion.
The bottom quarter of Computer Systems Design and Related Services earns under $5,753 — $44,267 below the $50,020 a typical American job pays. Entering at the bottom and waiting is a live risk here, not a theoretical one, and some people never leave that quarter.
Do not start this pricing by the hour if you cannot fill the hours; the ceiling is arithmetic and it arrives sooner than you think.
37.6% of the 342,033 people who filed in 2022 grossed under $10,000 for the year — 128,604 people. Approaching half of everyone who tried Computer Systems Design and Related Services took in less revenue than a part-time wage, before costs.
Read that as a floor, not an estimate. Census publishes gross receipts, not net income, so everyone inside that share earned less than $10,000 suggests once costs came out — and filers who grossed well above $10,000 may still have netted nothing.
What the spread tells you
At 10.5x, the gap between $5,753 and $60,598 is the shape of a field with a small, well-paid top. $19,047 is real and it is not a forecast — the people quoting the upper end at you are describing a minority.
The middle half of this field earns between $5,753 and $60,598. That is $54,845 of range, with $19,047 sitting inside it as the point half the field is above and half below.
The 75th percentile is $60,598. Reaching it from the $19,047 midpoint is $41,551 a year; reaching it from the $5,753 that the bottom quarter of Computer Systems Design and Related Services earn is $54,845.
The top quarter of Computer Systems Design and Related Services begins $41,551 above the $19,047 midpoint, while the bottom quarter starts only $13,294 below it. A range stretched that far in one direction is the signature of a field where a small group earns a great deal more than the middle does.
Converted to a 2,080-hour year, the receipts run $2.76 an hour at the 25th percentile, $9.15 at the midpoint and $29.13 at the 75th. Read them as revenue per hour worked; the equivalent wage is lower by whatever this work costs to do.
The raw counts, before anyone interprets them: under $5,000, 77,870 filers. $5,000 to $9,999, 50,721. $10,000 to $24,999, 70,338. Over $100,000, 52,291 — and 15,694 over $250,000.
What these figures are, and what they are not
Every figure above is GROSS RECEIPTS, before expenses — money that arrived before rent, materials, fuel, insurance and self-employment tax. The $19,047 midpoint for Computer Systems Design and Related Services is not take-home pay and is not comparable to a $19,047 salary.
With no unpaid-hours or cost data for Computer Systems Design and Related Services, the hourly figure is $19,047 over a 2,080-hour year — a unit conversion, not an adjustment.
How this is calculated · Self-employment failure rates · What credentials cost and pay back · Look up something else