Analysis
NAICS 23831 is the 2022 NAICS industry for drywall and insulation contractors, part of 2383 (Building Finishing Contractors).
It has only one more detailed code, 238310, which covers exactly the same activities; the definition, index entries and statistics are on that page.
County Business Patterns counts 20,760 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 250,758 people at an average annual payroll of $66,624 per employee (46th percentile of national industries). 61% of the establishments have fewer than five employees, which marks it as a small-business industry.
Between 2018 and 2023 the number of establishments grew 8% and employment fell 4%. 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 6 codes at this level within Building Finishing Contractors, with 16.2% of them.
Official definition
See industry description for 238310.
Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.