Analysis
NAICS 23832 is the 2022 NAICS industry for painting and wall covering contractors, part of 2383 (Building Finishing Contractors).
It has only one more detailed code, 238320, which covers exactly the same activities; the definition, index entries and statistics are on that page.
County Business Patterns counts 38,280 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 208,201 people at an average annual payroll of $55,165 per employee (25th percentile of national industries). 75% of the establishments have fewer than five employees, which marks it as a small-business industry.
By establishments it ranks 1st of the 6 codes at this level within Building Finishing Contractors, with 29.9% of them.
Between 2018 and 2023 the number of establishments grew 5% and employment rose 7%. 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.
Official definition
See industry description for 238320.
Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.