Analysis
NAICS 56144 is the 2022 NAICS industry for collection agencies, part of 5614 (Business Support Services).
It has only one more detailed code, 561440, which covers exactly the same activities; the definition, index entries and statistics are on that page.
Between 2018 and 2023 the number of establishments fell 22% and employment fell 32%. 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.
County Business Patterns counts 2,877 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 91,811 people at an average annual payroll of $50,946 per employee (18th percentile of national industries). 44% of the establishments have fewer than five employees, which is close to the national mix.
By establishments it ranks 5th of the 6 codes at this level within Business Support Services, with 9.9% of them.
Official definition
See industry description for 561440.
Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.