Analysis
NAICS 33251 is the 2022 NAICS industry for hardware manufacturing, part of 3325 (Hardware Manufacturing).
It has only one more detailed code, 332510, which covers exactly the same activities; the definition, index entries and statistics are on that page.
County Business Patterns counts 532 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 29,290 people at an average annual payroll of $65,693 per employee (44th percentile of national industries). 31% of the establishments have fewer than five employees, which is close to the national mix.
Between 2018 and 2023 the number of establishments fell 10% and employment rose 2%. 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 332510.
Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.