Analysis
NAICS 211 is the 2022 subsector for oil and gas extraction, part of 21 (Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction).
It has only one more detailed code, 2111, which covers exactly the same activities; the definition, index entries and statistics are on that page.
County Business Patterns counts 5,205 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 90,968 people at an average annual payroll of $192,366 per employee (99th percentile of national industries). 62% of the establishments have fewer than five employees, which marks it as a small-business industry.
Between 2018 and 2023 the number of establishments fell 17% and employment fell 15%. The 2018 count used NAICS 2017, so part of a large move can come from codes being redefined rather than from businesses opening or closing.
By establishments it ranks 3rd of the 3 codes at this level within Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction, with 22.3% of them.
Official definition
Industries in the Oil and Gas Extraction subsector operate and/or develop oil and gas field properties. Operation and development activities include exploration for crude petroleum and natural gas; drilling, completing, and equipping wells; operating separators, emulsion breakers, desilting equipment, and field gathering lines for crude petroleum and natural gas; and all other activities in the preparation of oil and gas up to the point of shipment from the producing property. This subsector includes the production of crude petroleum, the mining and extraction of oil from oil shale and oil sands, the production of natural gas, sulfur recovery from natural gas, and recovery of hydrocarbon liquids.
Establishments in this subsector include those that operate oil and gas wells on their own account or for others on a contract or fee basis. Establishments primarily engaged in providing support services, on a contract or fee basis, required for the drilling or operation of oil and gas wells (except geophysical surveying and mapping, mine site preparation, construction of oil/gas pipelines, and transportation activities) are classified in Subsector 213, Support Activities for Mining.
Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.