Analysis
NAICS 42448 is the 2022 NAICS industry for fresh fruit and vegetable merchant wholesalers, part of 4244 (Grocery and Related Product Merchant Wholesalers).
It has only one more detailed code, 424480, which covers exactly the same activities; the definition, index entries and statistics are on that page.
County Business Patterns counts 4,914 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 110,154 people at an average annual payroll of $63,137 per employee (39th percentile of national industries). 48% of the establishments have fewer than five employees, which is close to the national mix.
Between 2018 and 2023 the number of establishments fell 2% and employment fell 1%. 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 2nd of the 9 codes at this level within Grocery and Related Product Merchant Wholesalers, with 14.1% of them.
Official definition
See industry description for 424480.
Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.