How many companies (establishments) build homes in the United States?
According to the Census Bureau’s 2002 Economic Census (which is conducted every five years), there were 88,905 residential construction building establishments. Of these, 26,046 were “New Housing Operative Builders” (they acquire land, building and selling houses on their own land). Of the “non-operative builders” (whom we call “custom builders” – builders who build housing under contract for someone else who owns the land), 58,488 are in “new single-family housing construction”, and 4,370 in “new multifamily housing construction”. Including establishments that are Residential Remodelers raises the total number of firms to 171,655. Another source is the Census Bureau’s 2005 County Business Patterns report. It indicates that there were 200,826 establishments involved in Residential Building Construction, which includes Residential Remodelers.
