US Educational Services Sector NAICS 61
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Industry Summary
The 115,000 educational services establishments in the US provide instruction and training across a wide variety of subjects. The sector consists of formal educational services providers (elementary and secondary schools, colleges, universities) and specialized education services providers (technical and trade schools, tutoring services).
Demographic Challenges
The decreasing birth rate and smaller families have led to a gradual decrease in the number of children in the US, a factor that affects school enrollment and revenue from government sources.
Dependence on Government Funding
Public K-12 schools and universities are highly dependent on public funding.
Recent Developments
Oct 5, 2025 - States Still Evaluating Federal Tax-Credit Scholarship
- Most states have yet to make formal decisions on opting in on the first federal tax-credit scholarship, according to Education Week. The US Congress in July included a tax-credit scholarship in the One, Big Beautiful Bill Act, allowing taxpayers to claim tax credits in exchange for donations to organizations that grant private school scholarships. State officials are awaiting federal rules and guidance clarifying the provision before deciding on whether to participate. Republicans who have responded to Education Week’s inquiries have been supportive of the federal choice program. Democrats have been more skeptical, but a handful have said they’re looking into how the funding could help low-income students or support public schools.
- Billionaires have publicly donated or pledged to give about $185 billion since 2015, according to Altrata, according to the Wall Street Journal. Top causes include education and medical research. Billionaires gave $90 billion to those two in the past 10 years. Some billionaires, including Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have openly pledged to give away much of their wealth, others have donated little so far. About a quarter of the billionaires identified by the Wall Street Journal have known donations of less than $1 million in the past decade.
- Moody's Ratings has revised its outlook for the US higher education sector from stable to negative. The credit rating agency cited recent and potential federal policy changes that have created a more difficult operating environment for colleges and universities. Key factors driving the negative outlook include cuts to research funding, enforcement actions against diversity programs, staff reductions at the US Department of Education, uncertainty over federal student aid, and possible expanded taxes on endowments.
- Educational services sector employment continued rebounding during 2023 and exceeded pre-pandemic levels by mid-2024, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Educational services sector sales are forecast to increase at a 6.04% compounded annual rate from 2025 to 2029, faster than the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc.
Industry Revenue
US Educational Services Sector
Industry Structure
Industry size & Structure
The educational services sector is comprised of 115,000 establishments that employ 4 million workers and generate $91.6 billion in annual revenue, according to government sources.
- The educational services sector represents 1% of the nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs 2.9% of the country's workers.
- The sector is fragmented with the 20 largest firms representing 15.2% of revenue.
- In addition to employer establishments, the educational services sector has 895,000 owner-operated establishments with no employees. The owners of nonemployer firms typically perform the work and may outsource support functions like marketing and accounting.
- The education and health services sectors shed 167,000 establishments in 2021, which equals about 8.2% of existing establishments, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, the two sectors added about 250,000 new establishments, which is equivalent to 12.3% of existing establishments. As a result, the sectors had a growth rate of 4.1%.
- The education services sector is forecast to grow its employment base by 5.8% overall in 2021-2031, which is comparable to the national average of 5.3% for all jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Industry Forecast
Industry Forecast
US Educational Services Sector Industry Growth
Source: Vertical IQ and Inforum
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