Analysis
NAICS 54162 is the 2022 NAICS industry for environmental consulting services, part of 5416 (Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services).
It has only one more detailed code, 541620, which covers exactly the same activities; the definition, index entries and statistics are on that page.
County Business Patterns counts 9,696 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 88,934 people at an average annual payroll of $85,025 per employee (73rd percentile of national industries). 63% of the establishments have fewer than five employees, which marks it as a small-business industry.
By establishments it ranks 3rd of the 3 codes at this level within Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services, with 4.3% of them.
Between 2018 and 2023 the number of establishments fell 3% 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 541620.
Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.