Contents
- Food truck establishment counts statistics: national employer counts over time
- Food truck establishment counts statistics: state distribution and change
- Food truck establishment counts statistics: county concentration and disclosure
- Food truck establishment counts statistics: workforce and establishment size
- food truck establishment counts: Mobile food services sales and revenue benchmarks
- Sources
Food truck establishment counts statistics: national employer counts over time
Census Bureau statistics place food trucks within Mobile Food Services. County Business Patterns (CBP) counts employer businesses with 1 or more paid employees. Its establishment unit is a business location, not an individual truck, cart, or vehicle. The figures therefore describe employer establishments in the industry classification, rather than every mobile food operation. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “Fast-Growing Food Truck Industry Can Operate Amid COVID-19 Social Distancing Rules, No Indoor Seating Orders”
The United States had 3,281 Mobile Food Services establishments in 2013 and 5,970 in 2018. Census characterized the 2018 count as nearly double the 2013 figure. These are observations for 2 specified years, not a continuous annual series, and they do not count vehicles. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “Fast-Growing Food Truck Industry Can Operate Amid COVID-19 Social Distancing Rules, No Indoor Seating Orders”
A separate Census feature reports 10,134 U.S. Mobile Food Services establishments (NAICS 722330) in 2021, based on CBP. It is a later dated benchmark under the same broad industry concept; it should not be read as a current-year count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “July 2021: Summer Barbecues”
| Year | U.S. Mobile Food Services employer establishments |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 3,281 |
| 2018 | 5,970 |
| 2021 | 10,134 |
The first 2 counts come from Census’s food-truck analysis; the 2021 count is separately reported in its CBP discussion and is identified as NAICS 722330. Each count belongs to its stated year. Sources: Census Bureau, food-truck analysis; Census Bureau, July 2021 barbecue feature
Food truck establishment counts statistics: state distribution and change
In 2018, California had the highest state count, with 753 Mobile Food Services establishments. South Dakota had the lowest, with 11. These are CBP employer-establishment counts, not registrations or counts of vehicles physically operating in each state. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “Fast-Growing Food Truck Industry Can Operate Amid COVID-19 Social Distancing Rules, No Indoor Seating Orders”
The leading 10 states by 2018 establishment count were California, Texas, Florida, New York, Oregon, Washington, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Colorado, and Virginia. Together they accounted for 57% of the U.S. total. The top 20 states accounted for 77%, showing that the reported establishments were spread across a wider set of states than the leading group alone. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “Fast-Growing Food Truck Industry Can Operate Amid COVID-19 Social Distancing Rules, No Indoor Seating Orders”
| 2018 state measure | Reported result |
|---|---|
| California, highest state count | 753 establishments |
| South Dakota, lowest state count | 11 establishments |
| Top 10 states’ share of U.S. total | 57% |
| Top 20 states’ share of U.S. total | 77% |
For 2013–2018, Texas had the largest state increase described in the Census article: 315 additional establishments, reaching 549 in 2018. The reported change and ending count describe the period; they do not establish what factors produced it. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “Fast-Growing Food Truck Industry Can Operate Amid COVID-19 Social Distancing Rules, No Indoor Seating Orders”
Food truck establishment counts statistics: county concentration and disclosure
In 2018, 13 of the top 20 counties by Mobile Food Services establishment count were in southern states. The top 20 counties accounted for 1,374 establishments, or 23% of the U.S. total. The top 50 accounted for 2,230 establishments, or 37%. These selected groups show that the highest-count counties did not contain all reported establishments. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “Fast-Growing Food Truck Industry Can Operate Amid COVID-19 Social Distancing Rules, No Indoor Seating Orders”
CBP published county data for 461 counties, covering 5,104 establishments, or 86% of the U.S. total. Counties with unpublished data accounted for 866 establishments, or 14%. The unpublished county values are missing from the county-level release; the associated establishments remain included in the national accounting. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “Fast-Growing Food Truck Industry Can Operate Amid COVID-19 Social Distancing Rules, No Indoor Seating Orders”
| County reporting measure, 2018 | Establishments | Share of U.S. total |
|---|---|---|
| Top 20 counties | 1,374 | 23% |
| Top 50 counties | 2,230 | 37% |
| 461 counties with published data | 5,104 | 86% |
| Counties with unpublished data | 866 | 14% |
County placement has a specific meaning for mobile services. Census explains that a county figure identifies the central point from which a caterer or mobile operation’s route is serviced; it does not locate every truck or cart. County counts can describe the recorded distribution of employer establishments, but not the routes taken or the locations where customers were served. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “Fast-Growing Food Truck Industry Can Operate Amid COVID-19 Social Distancing Rules, No Indoor Seating Orders”
Food truck establishment counts statistics: workforce and establishment size
The 5,970 U.S. Mobile Food Services establishments recorded in 2018 employed 16,210 workers and reported $320.6 million in annual payroll. CBP covers employer businesses with paid employees, so these measures describe that employer-establishment population. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “Fast-Growing Food Truck Industry Can Operate Amid COVID-19 Social Distancing Rules, No Indoor Seating Orders”
Most establishments fell into the reported size category of fewer than 5 employees: 4,979 of the 5,970 establishments. Those smaller establishments employed 5,187 workers. Their average annual payroll per employee was $25,712. The establishment and worker counts measure different things, and the payroll-per-employee figure applies to this size category rather than the entire industry. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “Fast-Growing Food Truck Industry Can Operate Amid COVID-19 Social Distancing Rules, No Indoor Seating Orders”
| 2018 workforce measure | Reported value |
|---|---|
| Total Mobile Food Services establishments | 5,970 |
| Total workers | 16,210 |
| Annual payroll | $320.6 million |
| Establishments with fewer than 5 employees | 4,979 |
| Workers at establishments with fewer than 5 employees | 5,187 |
| Average annual payroll per employee at establishments with fewer than 5 employees | $25,712 |
Read together, the figures distinguish the number of employer locations from employment and payroll. The small-establishment category represented many locations and employed thousands of workers, but its per-employee payroll statistic should not be generalized to all Mobile Food Services employees. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “Fast-Growing Food Truck Industry Can Operate Amid COVID-19 Social Distancing Rules, No Indoor Seating Orders”
food truck establishment counts: Mobile food services sales and revenue benchmarks
Economic Census sales benchmarks put U.S. food truck sales at $660.5 million in 2012 and $1.2 billion in 2017. For 2017, average sales were $226,291 per establishment and $86,212 per employee. These are sales measures for their specified periods and units, distinct from annual payroll and from the employer-firm revenue estimates reported in another Census series. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “Fast-Growing Food Truck Industry Can Operate Amid COVID-19 Social Distancing Rules, No Indoor Seating Orders”
California, Texas, and Florida were the leading states in food truck sales in 2017, with $276.1 million, $112.6 million, and $98.3 million, respectively. Their reported sales increases from 2012 to 2017 were $114.5 million for California, $82.5 million for Texas, and $57.8 million for Florida. These amounts describe total state sales and change over the stated period. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “Fast-Growing Food Truck Industry Can Operate Amid COVID-19 Social Distancing Rules, No Indoor Seating Orders”
California led in average sales per establishment, at $392,136 in 2017. Vermont had the highest average sales per food truck employee, at $157,400 in 2017. Each is a different measure with its own denominator: total state sales, change in state sales, sales per establishment, and sales per employee should not be interchanged. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “Fast-Growing Food Truck Industry Can Operate Amid COVID-19 Social Distancing Rules, No Indoor Seating Orders”
| Sales benchmark | Period | Reported value |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. food truck sales | 2012 | $660.5 million |
| U.S. food truck sales | 2017 | $1.2 billion |
| U.S. average sales per establishment | 2017 | $226,291 |
| U.S. average sales per employee | 2017 | $86,212 |
| California food truck sales | 2017 | $276.1 million |
| Texas food truck sales | 2017 | $112.6 million |
| Florida food truck sales | 2017 | $98.3 million |
| California average sales per establishment | 2017 | $392,136 |
| Vermont average sales per employee | 2017 | $157,400 |
A separate Service Annual Survey estimate puts Mobile Food Services employer-firm revenue at $1.7 billion in 2019 and $2.8 billion in 2021. Census reported the 2021 estimate as 67.2% higher than the 2019 estimate. These revenue estimates have different periods and a different measure from the Economic Census sales benchmarks above. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, “Estimated Revenue of Some Outdoor Recreation Industries Grew During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Some Indoor Recreation Industries Still Recovering”