Towing is classified specifically as NAICS 488410, covering establishments that tow light or heavy motor vehicles locally or over long distances. The strongest current BLS measures available here are for the broader U.S. NAICS 488 support-activities-for-transportation subsector, so those figures include towing alongside other transportation support services.
Key Towing Industry Statistics
The most useful national figures span workforce scale, pay, safety, establishments, prices and indexed incident records:
- In August 2026, NAICS 488 employed 829.7 thousand people in the United States, seasonally adjusted and preliminary.
- In July 2026, NAICS 488 production and nonsupervisory employment was 676.7 thousand in the United States, preliminary.
- In June 2026, average hourly earnings were $36.44 for all NAICS 488 employees in the United States.
- In July 2026, average weekly hours were 38.6 for all NAICS 488 employees in the United States, preliminary.
- In July 2026, production and nonsupervisory employees averaged $31.90 per hour in NAICS 488 in the United States, preliminary.
- In 2025, 67,720 heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers appeared in the NAICS 488 occupation table for the United States, an estimate for a broader subsector rather than tow-truck drivers alone.
- In 2025, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers had a $49,320 median annual wage in NAICS 488 in the United States.
- In 2025, dispatchers had a $46,660 median annual wage in NAICS 488 in the United States.
- In 2024, NAICS 488 recorded 90 workplace fatalities in the United States under the current NAICS series.
- In 2024, NAICS 488 had 2.4 total recordable injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers in the United States.
- In 2024, NAICS 488 had 1.1 cases involving days away from work per 100 full-time workers in the United States.
- In August 2026, the NAICS 488 producer price index was 164.550 in the United States, preliminary.
- In the first quarter of 2026, NAICS 488 had 59,026 private establishments in the United States, preliminary.
- In June 2024, NAICS 4884 average hourly earnings were $27.97 in the United States.
- When accessed on October 3, 2026, OSHA’s “Tow Truck” keyword search returned 241 indexed records in its United States database.
- On the first OSHA results page, 17 of 20 displayed records were labeled NAICS 488410 based on the page’s NAICS column.
- The displayed OSHA first page contained 12 fatality-marked records dated in 2024.
- The displayed OSHA first page contained 8 fatality-marked records dated in 2023.
Contents
- Key Towing Industry Statistics
- Towing Industry Employment and Workforce Scale
- Towing Industry Pay and Working Hours
- Occupations Connected to Towing Operations
- Towing Industry Safety Statistics
- Towing Industry Price and Establishment Trends
- Tow-Truck Workplace Incidents and Industry Scope
Towing Industry Employment and Workforce Scale
NAICS 488 is a broad benchmark rather than a towing-only headcount. The Bureau of Labor Statistics describes it as support activities for transportation, spanning transportation support services that include motor vehicle towing but also air, rail, water, road support and freight arrangement.
BLS employment observations for all employees show a relatively narrow monthly range in spring and summer 2026:
| Period | All employees | Measurement status |
|---|---|---|
| May 2026 | 825.1 thousand | Observed, seasonally adjusted |
| June 2026 | 826.9 thousand | Observed, seasonally adjusted |
| July 2026 | 826.6 thousand | Preliminary, seasonally adjusted |
| August 2026 | 829.7 thousand | Preliminary, seasonally adjusted |
Source: Support Activities for Transportation: NAICS 488.
Production and nonsupervisory employment was 673.5 thousand in May 2026, 676.6 thousand in June, and 676.7 thousand in July, with the July figure preliminary. These are useful indicators of the labor base serving the wider subsector, but they should not be presented as the number of tow-truck employees.
Towing Industry Pay and Working Hours
BLS CES data place average earnings for all NAICS 488 employees between $36.16 and $36.44 per hour from April through June 2026, followed by a preliminary $36.37 in July. The corresponding average workweek ranged from 38.3 to 38.6 hours.
| Period | Average hourly earnings, all employees | Average weekly hours, all employees |
|---|---|---|
| April 2026 | $36.16 | 38.3 |
| May 2026 | $36.39 | 38.6 |
| June 2026 | $36.44 | 38.5 |
| July 2026 | $36.37, preliminary | 38.6, preliminary |
Source: Support Activities for Transportation: NAICS 488.
For production and nonsupervisory employees, average hourly earnings were $31.94 in April 2026, $31.73 in May, $31.76 in June and $31.90 in July, with July preliminary. The series covers the broad NAICS 488 subsector, not towing alone.
A more specific road-support view is available for NAICS 4884. In June 2024, average hourly earnings were $27.97 and average weekly earnings were $1,102.02 for support activities for road transportation; that category includes motor vehicle towing and other road services.
Occupations Connected to Towing Operations
The 2025 BLS occupation table for NAICS 488 shows the mix of jobs common in the wider support-transportation subsector. It is not an isolated count of tow-truck drivers, and several listed occupations are outside towing operations.
| Occupation | Workers in 2025 | Wage measure in 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers | 67,720 | $23.71 median hourly; $49,320 median annual |
| Laborers and freight, stock and material movers | 65,950 | $21.37 mean hourly; $41,650 median annual |
| Cargo and freight agents | 62,270 | $56,250 mean annual |
| Aircraft mechanics and service technicians | 43,000 | $73,140 mean annual |
| Dispatchers, except police, fire and ambulance | 19,340 | $46,660 median annual |
Source: Support Activities for Transportation: NAICS 488.
For heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in NAICS 488, the 2025 mean hourly wage was $25.77 and the mean annual wage was $53,600. The figures are occupation estimates within the broader industry and should not be treated as tow-truck-driver-only pay.
The same table reports $41,650 as the median annual wage for laborers and freight movers, $56,250 as the mean annual wage for cargo and freight agents, and $73,140 as the mean annual wage for aircraft mechanics. Those comparisons describe the broader subsector’s occupational composition rather than a typical towing-company payroll.
Towing Industry Safety Statistics
BLS safety data provide a broader benchmark for transportation support work. Under the current NAICS series, support activities for transportation recorded 110 workplace fatalities in 2023 and 90 in 2024; BLS notes a series break beginning in 2023 because of NAICS 2022.
For 2024, the NAICS 488 incidence measures were:
- 2.4 total recordable injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers.
- 1.7 cases involving days away, restriction or transfer per 100 full-time workers.
- 1.1 cases involving days away from work per 100 full-time workers.
- 0.6 cases involving job transfer or restriction per 100 full-time workers.
Source: Support Activities for Transportation: NAICS 488.
These are rates per 100 full-time workers, not counts of towing incidents. Because NAICS 488 includes multiple transportation-support activities, the measures should be used as context for towing rather than as a precise towing-only safety rate.
Towing Industry Price and Establishment Trends
The BLS producer price index for NAICS 488 was 162.331 in May 2026, 163.644 in June, 164.278 in July preliminary, and 164.550 in August preliminary. The index has an unspecified base in the supplied series, so the levels are best read as observations of the broader subsector’s producer-price measure rather than as towing invoices.
| Period | NAICS 488 producer price index | Status or change |
|---|---|---|
| May 2026 | 162.331 | Observed |
| June 2026 | 163.644 | Observed; 0.6% month over month |
| July 2026 | 164.278 | Preliminary; 0.8% month over month |
| August 2026 | 164.550 | Preliminary |
Source: Support Activities for Transportation: NAICS 488.
Private establishments in the same broad category numbered 57,732 in the second quarter of 2025, 58,165 in the third quarter, 58,337 in the fourth quarter and 59,026 in the first quarter of 2026, preliminary. These establishment counts include support businesses beyond motor vehicle towing.
The establishment series is therefore useful for describing the size of the wider commercial ecosystem, while the NAICS 488410 definition is necessary when the intended subject is towing specifically.
Tow-Truck Workplace Incidents and Industry Scope
OSHA’s “Tow Truck” keyword search returned 241 indexed accident records when accessed on October 3, 2026. The first results page displayed 20 records; 17 were labeled NAICS 488410 motor vehicle towing based on the page’s NAICS column.
The first-page snapshot also contained 12 fatality-marked records dated in 2024 and 8 fatality-marked records dated in 2023. Among the displayed 2024 records, 7 event descriptions involved a worker being struck, hit or run over by a vehicle or truck, while one record described a fatal shooting during a vehicle tow on June 12, 2024.
Source: Accident Search Results: Tow Truck.
Those OSHA figures are indexed database observations, not a census, annual frequency estimate or rate. The keyword results include records outside NAICS 488410, and the page counts reflect only the displayed first-page snapshot.
The U.S. Census defines NAICS 488410 as establishments primarily engaged in towing light or heavy motor vehicles, both local and long distance, with incidental storage and emergency road repair. Statistics Canada’s NAICS Canada 2022 classification also identifies motor vehicle towing as NAICS 488410 and includes incidental tire repair, battery boosting and emergency road services.
Sources: North American Industry Classification System: 488410 Motor Vehicle Towing; North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Canada 2022 Version 1.0.
The Canadian definition is a classification reference, not a U.S. market statistic. Keeping the geography and classification explicit prevents broader transportation-support measures from being mistaken for a complete count of the towing industry.