10 Biggest Industries in America

If you are looking for a career field, these are the 10 biggest industries in America that contribute the most to the US GDP.

There are several ways of determining how big the biggest industries in America are.  Two of the most popular are GDP share and number of employees. We went with industry GDP share because we feel that is a more accurate representation of how particular industry impacts country’s economy. Employee count, as important as it is, can be misleading at times. For instance, the single largest employer in the US is the government, with more than 22 million employees. While they provide a valuable service (well, not all of them, the Congress is obviously excluded) their role is more support one and doesn’t influence the economy in the same way as real estate or manufacturing. Still, government services have a GDP share and they are represented on our list. For the most part, this represents how much money government spends on various services and projects.

The US economy is still the largest in the world by far. It represents more than 20% of the global economy.  Although the gap is shrinking, it is still 70% larger than China’s, which is second on the list. Numbers 2 through 7 are taken by Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Brazil, in that order. The United States GDP is larger than all those 6 countries’ GDPs combined. In 2014, it was valued at more than $17.4 trillion. In fact, if biggest industries in America were countries, they would rank in Top 20 per GDP in the world. The smallest industry on our list would still have higher GDP than Switzerland. The fact that almost all of them are among fastest growing industries in America helped secure their positions.

Without getting into how these numbers impact people’s lives, they are still impressive. A lion share of US economy, or 76.8% to be precise, is represented by these 10 biggest industries in America. Let’s see which industries control three-quarters of America’s economy.

10. Information

GDP percent: 4.6%; Nominal GDP share: $807.9 billion

Besides publishing, both traditional and Internet publishing and broadcasting, information industry also includes motion pictures and sound recording.

9. Manufacturing of nondurable goods

GDP percent: 5.5%; Nominal GDP share: $954.8 billion

Nondurable goods include food, textile, apparel and petroleum and coal products.

8. Retail trade

GDP percent: 5.8%; Nominal GDP share: $1,014 billion

The largest part of the retail trade industry is motor vehicles and parts sale. Other significant sectors are general merchandise and food and beverages.

7. Wholesale trade

GDP percent: 6.0%; Nominal GDP share: $1,037.6 billion

Wholesale trade is a major part of America’s GDP, with more than one trillion dollars’ worth of sales.

6. Manufacturing of durable goods

GDP percent: 6.5%; Nominal GDP share: $1,135.8 billion

Although slowly declining as manufacturing companies move their production lines to the countries with the cheaper labor force, manufacturing of durable goods is still a big part of US economy.

5. Health care and social assistance

GDP percent: 7.1%; Nominal GDP share: $1,244.2 billion

Number 5 on our list of 10 biggest industries in America is health care and social assistance. The social assistance part counts for just 0.8% of industry’s 7.1% of GDP share.

4. Finance and insurance

GDP percent: 7.2%; Nominal GDP share: $1,261.2 billion

Federal Reserve is a big part of this industry, with 3.1% of GDP share. The rest consists of insurance carriers, funds, trusts and other financial vehicles.

3. State and local government

GDP percent: 9.1%; Nominal GDP share: $1,538.7

This includes both government’s agencies and enterprises on state and local level.

2. Professional and business services

GDP percent: 12.0%; Nominal GDP share: $2,098.3 billion

Professional and business services industry consists of various sectors. The most important in terms of GDP share are professional, scientific, and technical services, which include legal services and computer system design.

1. Real estate and rental and leasing

GDP percent: 13.0%; Nominal GDP share: $2,265.7 billion

With 13% of nation’s GDP, real estate is the biggest industry in America. The 2008 financial crisis almost crippled both real estate and finance and insurance industry, which between them make for one-fifth of the US economy. That is why the effects of it were so terrible and far-reaching.