Self-employment method
Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
131,327 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 131,327 people who filed under this code in 2022, 46.95% 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 = 131,327 · 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 | 38,735 | 29.5% |
| $5,000 to $9,999 | 22,929 | 17.5% |
| $10,000 to $24,999 | 32,134 | 24.5% |
| $25,000 to $49,999 | 20,135 | 15.3% |
| $50,000 to $99,999 | 11,767 | 9.0% |
| $100,000 to $249,999 | 4,749 | 3.6% |
| $250,000 to $499,999 | 726 | 0.6% |
| $500,000 to $999,999 | 131 | 0.1% |
| $1,000,000 to $2,499,999 | 21 | 0.0% |
Who this suits
At the midpoint this work grossed $11,867 for the year — $988 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.
131,327 people filed under this code. A field that large has a settled price, a settled set of expectations, and no shortage of people willing to meet both.
5,647 filers cleared $100,000 in gross receipts, or 4.3% of the field. Small, but large enough that the upper tier of Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services is a real destination rather than an anecdote.
This work suits people who are good at keeping a client for years rather than winning one once, because the retention is the business.
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
7.3x between the quarters — $4,238 against $30,832, or $2,216 a month. This is the shape of a field where a minority does very well and the summary statistics quietly borrow their success.
The bottom quarter of Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services earns under $4,238 — $45,782 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 on a lease you cannot cover from existing clients; the empty first months are the ones that end it.
Of the 131,327 people who filed as Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services in 2022, 47.0% grossed under $10,000 for the year — 61,658 people who did not clear a part-time wage in revenue, let alone in profit.
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
At 7.3x, the gap between $4,238 and $30,832 is the shape of a field with a small, well-paid top. $11,867 is real and it is not a forecast — the people quoting the upper end at you are describing a minority.
Put in money rather than ratios: $4,238 at the 25th percentile, $11,867 at the midpoint, $30,832 at the 75th. $26,594 separates the quarter of Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services at the bottom from the quarter at the top.
The 75th percentile is $30,832. Reaching it from the $11,867 midpoint is $18,965 a year; reaching it from the $4,238 that the bottom quarter of Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services earn is $26,594.
The upper half of the middle range — $11,867 to $30,832, or $18,965 — is far longer than the lower half at $7,629. In a shape like this an average would flatter Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services considerably, and would describe nobody.
Per hour of a full-time year, the middle of Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services takes $5.70 in revenue — $2.03 at the bottom quarter and $14.82 at the top. Costs have not been deducted from any of those figures, so none of them is an hourly wage.
Counted straight off the return: 38,735 filers grossed under $5,000, 22,929 took $5,000 to $9,999, 32,134 took $10,000 to $24,999, 5,627 cleared $100,000 and 878 cleared $250,000.
What these figures are, and what they are not
These are GROSS RECEIPTS: everything that came in, before expenses. Rent, stock, fuel, insurance and self-employment tax all come out of the $11,867 midpoint before anyone eats, so it is not comparable with a $11,867 wage and should never be read as one.
Treat the per-hour figure as a conversion. It assumes a flat full-time year against $11,867 because we have no verified record of unpaid hours or out-of-pocket costs for this work, and we would rather convert honestly than adjust invented ones.
How this is calculated · Self-employment failure rates · What credentials cost and pay back · Look up something else