Self-employment method
Other Food Manufacturing
17,621 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 17,621 people who filed under this code in 2022, 40.82% 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 = 17,621 · 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 | 4,399 | 25.0% |
| $5,000 to $9,999 | 2,794 | 15.9% |
| $10,000 to $24,999 | 4,171 | 23.7% |
| $25,000 to $49,999 | 2,266 | 12.9% |
| $50,000 to $99,999 | 1,800 | 10.2% |
| $100,000 to $249,999 | 1,488 | 8.4% |
| $250,000 to $499,999 | 494 | 2.8% |
| $500,000 to $999,999 | 209 | 1.2% |
Who this suits
Median gross receipts of $15,817 put the typical filer somewhere between a serious side income and a failing attempt at a full-time one, and the receipts figure alone cannot tell you which.
17,621 people filed under this code — enough that the work exists everywhere and not enough that it supports a visible trade. Most people doing Other Food Manufacturing are doing it alongside something else.
12.4% of filers grossed $100,000 or more, which is high for this dataset. A substantial share of this field is running an actual business rather than an occasional one.
Independent food manufacturing suits people who can run a licensed, inspected kitchen at a scale above catering and treat shelf life and labelling as core competences.
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
The top quarter of Other Food Manufacturing earns 9.1x the bottom quarter — under $5,011 against over $45,430, a spread of $40,419. Distributions this stretched are usually two different jobs sharing one label, and any average across them means little.
The bottom quarter of Other Food Manufacturing earns under $5,011 — $45,009 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 in an unlicensed space; the inspection regime is the entry cost and it is not optional.
40.8% of the 17,621 people who filed in 2022 grossed under $10,000 for the year — 7,192 people. Approaching half of everyone who tried Other Food Manufacturing took in less revenue than a part-time wage, before costs.
Take it as a floor, not an estimate. The $10,000 threshold is measured on money received, before materials, rent, fuel, insurance and self-employment tax, so the true share of filers who ended the year with no income is higher than the figure shown — we simply cannot say how much higher.
What the spread tells you
A ratio of 9.1x between the quarters is the signature of a winner-take-most distribution. $15,817 is a real number about a real population, but nobody entering Other Food Manufacturing should plan around it.
In cash terms the middle half of Other Food Manufacturing runs $5,011 to $45,430 — $40,419 a year between the 25th and 75th percentiles, against a midpoint of $15,817.
Between $5,011 and $45,430 — the two ends of the middle half — sits $15,817. Moving from the midpoint to the upper quarter is worth $29,613; the whole climb from the lower quarter is $40,419.
The top quarter of Other Food Manufacturing begins $29,613 above the $15,817 midpoint, while the bottom quarter starts only $10,806 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.
Per hour of a full-time year, the middle of Other Food Manufacturing takes $7.60 in revenue — $2.40 at the bottom quarter and $21.84 at the top. Costs have not been deducted from any of those figures, so none of them is an hourly wage.
Straight from the Census bands for Other Food Manufacturing: 4,399 filers under $5,000, 2,794 between $5,000 and $9,999, 4,171 between $10,000 and $24,999, 2,191 above $100,000 and 703 above $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 $15,817 midpoint for Other Food Manufacturing is not take-home pay and is not comparable to a $15,817 salary.
The hourly number on this page is $15,817 divided by a 2,080-hour year and nothing more. We hold no unpaid-hours or cost data for Other Food Manufacturing, so it is arithmetic rather than an effective rate.
How this is calculated · Self-employment failure rates · What credentials cost and pay back · Look up something else