US Marketing Consulting Establishments Grew 39.5% From 2017 to 2023
Growth in marketing and lead-gen agencies since 2017: a Census data study by Hollerly. Published October 2026.
Key findings
- The number of US marketing consulting establishments rose 39.5%, from 37,454 in 2017 to 52,258 in 2023.
- Over the same period, the total number of US employer establishments grew 6.4%.
- Employment at US marketing consulting establishments grew 42.1%, from 221,857 to 315,229 people.
- Self-employed and other nonemployer businesses in advertising, PR and related services grew 39.9%, from 158,036 in 2017 to 221,163 in 2024.
- 83.6% of US marketing consulting establishments had fewer than five employees in 2023.
- Texas grew its count of marketing consulting establishments 64.6% between 2017 and 2023, the fastest of the five largest states for the industry.
- Direct mail advertising establishments fell 32.0% over the same period, from 2,508 to 1,705.
A fast-growing slice of professional services
NAICS 541613, marketing consulting services, is where the Census Bureau classifies businesses that advise clients on marketing strategy, demand generation and related programs. Independent growth, outbound and lead generation shops can be classified here, alongside traditional marketing consultancies.
County Business Patterns counted 37,454 marketing consulting establishments with paid employees in 2017. By 2023, the latest year available, there were 52,258, an increase of 39.5%. That is more than six times the 6.4% growth in all US employer establishments over the same years. The count rose every year, including 2020.
Traditional advertising agencies (NAICS 541810) also grew, but more slowly, from 13,737 to 15,512 establishments (12.9%). The broader advertising, public relations and related services group (NAICS 5418) was nearly flat at 2.2%.
Solo operators are growing just as fast
Many agencies start as one person. Nonemployer Statistics counts businesses with no paid employees, mostly sole proprietors. Census does not publish marketing consulting separately in this dataset, so the figures here use the closest available group, advertising, public relations and related services (NAICS 5418). It grew from 158,036 nonemployer businesses in 2017 to 221,163 in 2024, up 39.9%.
Employer firms in marketing consulting are also small. In 2023, 43,696 of the 52,258 establishments (83.6%) had fewer than five employees. Only 121 had 250 or more.
Where the growth happened
California had the most marketing consulting establishments in 2023 (9,390), followed by Florida (6,745), Texas (3,719) and New York (3,447). Among those leaders, growth was fastest in Texas (64.6%) and Florida (54.5%). New York grew 23.1%.
Among states with at least 500 establishments in 2017, Nevada grew fastest, from 585 to 989 (69.1%).
Not every agency model is growing
Within advertising and marketing services, the shift is uneven. Establishments in direct mail advertising fell 32.0% between 2017 and 2023. Media buying agencies fell 22.6% and marketing research firms 14.7%. Advertising material distribution services grew 61.7%, but from a small base of 720 establishments.
| Industry (NAICS) | 2017 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing consulting services (541613) | 37,454 | 52,258 | +39.5% |
| Advertising agencies (541810) | 13,737 | 15,512 | +12.9% |
| Public relations agencies (541820) | 8,469 | 8,646 | +2.1% |
| Marketing research and polling (541910) | 5,160 | 4,401 | -14.7% |
| Media buying agencies (541830) | 991 | 767 | -22.6% |
| Direct mail advertising (541860) | 2,508 | 1,705 | -32.0% |
| All US employer establishments | 7,860,674 | 8,361,342 | +6.4% |
What it means for agencies
More competitors means buyers have more options and agencies need a clearer way to reach them. For a marketing consultancy, the number of peers has grown much faster than the overall business population it sells to.
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About the data
- Employer data: US Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP), 2017 to 2023 national and state files. 2023 is the latest CBP release. Counts are establishments (single physical locations) with paid employees, all legal forms of organization. Employment is for the pay period including March 12.
- Nonemployer data: US Census Bureau Nonemployer Statistics, 2017 to 2024, NAICS 5418. 2024 is the latest release. Nonemployer Statistics does not publish NAICS 541613 separately.
- Industries: NAICS 541613 (marketing consulting services) and the six-digit codes within NAICS 5418 (advertising, public relations and related services), plus NAICS 541910 (marketing research). CBP used NAICS 2017 through 2021 and NAICS 2022 from 2022 on; the counts for these codes show no break at the 2022 changeover.
- Calculations: percent change is (2023 minus 2017) divided by 2017. State growth rankings among smaller states are limited to states with at least 500 establishments in 2017.
- Limitations: NAICS codes do not isolate lead generation or outbound agencies, which may be classified under 541613, 541810 or other codes depending on how each business describes itself. CBP counts establishments, not firms, so a multi-office agency counts once per location. Establishment counts do not measure revenue.
Sources
- US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns datasets: www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/
- US Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics datasets: www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/
- US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns program page: census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp.html
- US Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics program page: census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics.html
Source: Hollerly, Growth in marketing and lead-gen agencies since 2017, October 2026. https://hollerlyai.com/research/marketing-agency-growth
Charts and data are free to use under CC BY 4.0 with a link to this page. Press questions: hello@hollerlyai.com