Food trucks and food carts are measured by the U.S. Census Bureau as Mobile Food Services under NAICS 72233 or 722330. In 2023, the United States had 12,487 employer establishments in this category, employing 38,438 people and reporting $996.319 million in annual payroll. These figures describe employer establishments and their central servicing locations, not the number of individual vehicles.
Contents
- What the industry statistics measure
- U.S. food trucks industry snapshot
- Northeast state counts
- Midwest state counts
- South state counts
- West state counts
- 2018, 2022, and 2023 measures
What the industry statistics measure
The 2022 North American Industry Classification System Manual describes Mobile Food Services as preparing and serving meals and snacks for immediate consumption from motorized vehicles or nonmotorized carts. That definition is the closest official industry measure for food trucks and carts, but it is important to interpret the unit correctly.
The establishment is the central servicing location rather than each truck or cart. A business operating several vehicles is therefore not necessarily counted as several establishments. The 2023 County Business Patterns: 2023 State File covers employer establishments with paid employees. State counts include the District of Columbia and exclude U.S. territories.
Payroll figures are nominal dollars. The Census files and tables report payroll in thousands of dollars; the values below are expressed in dollars or millions of dollars for readability. The 2018 County Business Patterns figures, 2022 Economic Census figures, and 2023 County Business Patterns figures come from different Census programs and reference years. They should not be treated as one perfectly continuous series.
U.S. food trucks industry snapshot
The 2023 national figures provide a current employer-based view of the industry:
- The United States had 12,487 employer Mobile Food Services establishments.
- Those establishments employed 38,438 people.
- Annual payroll reached $996.319 million.
- First-quarter payroll was $196.912 million.
The first-quarter payroll figure is a measurement for the first quarter of 2023, while annual payroll covers the full 2023 year. They are different payroll measures and should not be added together. Together, the figures show the scale of the formal employer segment: thousands of establishments, tens of thousands of employees, and nearly one billion dollars in reported annual payroll.
The establishment count also sets the right boundary for interpreting online claims about the “number of food trucks.” The official count is not a vehicle inventory. It represents employer business locations classified in Mobile Food Services, with the central servicing location used as the establishment.
Northeast state counts
The 2023 County Business Patterns state file recorded the following employer Mobile Food Services establishments in the Northeast states:
- Connecticut: 114 establishments
- Maine: 92
- Massachusetts: 274
- New Hampshire: 39
- Rhode Island: 41
- Vermont: 47
- New Jersey: 232
- New York: 632
- Pennsylvania: 363
New York had the largest reported count in this group, with 632 establishments. Pennsylvania followed with 363, while Massachusetts had 274. New Jersey had 232. The remaining states in the supplied 2023 state file had counts below 120: Connecticut had 114, Maine 92, Vermont 47, Rhode Island 41, and New Hampshire 39.
These are state-level establishment counts for 2023, not estimates of all vehicles serving customers in each state. They also do not measure mobile food activity by route, event attendance, sales volume, or unregistered businesses outside the employer coverage of County Business Patterns.
Midwest state counts
The 2023 state counts for the Midwest were:
- Illinois: 229 establishments
- Indiana: 179
- Michigan: 251
- Ohio: 359
- Wisconsin: 161
- Iowa: 91
- Kansas: 93
- Minnesota: 233
- Missouri: 224
- Nebraska: 81
- North Dakota: 32
- South Dakota: 33
Ohio recorded 359 employer Mobile Food Services establishments, the highest count among these supplied Midwest states. Michigan had 251, Minnesota had 233, Illinois had 229, and Missouri had 224. Indiana reported 179, Wisconsin 161, Kansas 93, Iowa 91, Nebraska 81, South Dakota 33, and North Dakota 32.
The spread between the largest and smallest reported counts is substantial: Ohio’s 359 establishments were more than ten times North Dakota’s 32. That comparison is descriptive only. The supplied data does not provide population denominators, urban-rural breakdowns, or sales totals by state, so establishment counts alone cannot measure consumer demand or average business performance.
South state counts
The South includes some of the largest state counts in the 2023 file. The reported employer establishment figures were:
- Delaware: 42 establishments
- District of Columbia: 13
- Florida: 1,151
- Georgia: 216
- Maryland: 178
- North Carolina: 367
- South Carolina: 177
- Virginia: 339
- West Virginia: 38
- Alabama: 126
- Kentucky: 111
- Mississippi: 54
- Tennessee: 274
- Arkansas: 166
- Louisiana: 107
- Oklahoma: 144
- Texas: 1,140
Florida had 1,151 establishments, the highest state count in the supplied data. Texas was close behind at 1,140. North Carolina had 367 and Virginia had 339, while Tennessee had 274 and Georgia had 216. Maryland had 178, South Carolina 177, Arkansas 166, Oklahoma 144, and Alabama 126.
The smaller reported counts were Kentucky at 111, Louisiana at 107, Mississippi at 54, Delaware at 42, West Virginia at 38, and the District of Columbia at 13. The District of Columbia is included in the state-file coverage even though it is not a state; the Census scope notes also exclude territories.
West state counts
The 2023 employer establishment counts for the West were:
- Arizona: 297 establishments
- Colorado: 407
- Idaho: 191
- Montana: 107
- Nevada: 147
- New Mexico: 112
- Utah: 220
- Wyoming: 46
- Alaska: 101
- California: 1,329
- Hawaii: 178
- Oregon: 498
- Washington: 411
California recorded 1,329 employer Mobile Food Services establishments, the highest state count in the complete supplied list. Oregon had 498, Washington 411, and Colorado 407. Arizona had 297, Utah 220, Idaho 191, Hawaii 178, Nevada 147, New Mexico 112, Montana 107, Alaska 101, and Wyoming 46.
The largest West count was therefore reported in California, while Wyoming had the smallest among the supplied West states. As with every other state figure here, the result is a count of employer establishments under the Mobile Food Services classification, not a count of trucks, carts, permits, vendors, or daily operating sites.
2018, 2022, and 2023 measures
Historical context is available, but the source programs and definitions of the measures need to remain visible. The 2018 figures come from County Business Patterns: 2018 State File. The 2022 figures come from the Economic Census summary statistics for Accommodation and Food Services. The 2023 figures come from the 2023 County Business Patterns state file.
| Reference year and Census measure | Establishments or firms | Employment | Annual payroll | Revenue or first-quarter payroll |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 County Business Patterns | 5,970 establishments | 16,210 people | $320.584 million | $58.371 million first-quarter payroll |
| 2022 Economic Census | 10,155 establishments; 10,062 firms | Not supplied | $705.023 million | $3.019256 billion sales, shipments, or revenue |
| 2023 County Business Patterns | 12,487 establishments | 38,438 people | $996.319 million | $196.912 million first-quarter payroll |
In 2018, County Business Patterns recorded 5,970 employer Mobile Food Services establishments, 16,210 employees, $320.584 million in annual payroll, and $58.371 million in first-quarter payroll. Those are employer measures for that year and source program.
The 2022 Economic Census counted 10,062 Mobile Food Services firms and 10,155 establishments. It reported $3.019256 billion in U.S. sales, value of shipments, or revenue, along with $705.023 million in annual payroll. A firm and an establishment are different units: the Economic Census supplied both counts, so they should not be substituted for one another.
The 2023 County Business Patterns file recorded 12,487 establishments, 38,438 employees, $996.319 million in annual payroll, and $196.912 million in first-quarter payroll. Because the 2018, 2022, and 2023 figures come from different programs and use different reference years, the table is best read as a set of dated industry snapshots. It does not establish a single official growth rate or forecast, and none of these figures is a forecast.