Across 12 industries and 126 named companies, HR runs 2.0% to 17.3% of SG&A headcount, median 7.8%. In people that is 3.8 to 73.2 per 1,000 employees, median 21.9, about 2.2 per 100. The lean quartile is 5.8% of SG&A headcount and the heavy quartile 10.2%. Measured from 440,636 public job titles, each classified one at a time, at every company named on this page. September 2026.
Median of the named companies on each industry page. Click through for the per-function detail and the filed-spend table.
| Industry | Companies | HR share of SG&A, median | Range | Lean quartile | Heavy quartile | Per 1,000 employees, median | Per 100 employees | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Packaging & container | 12 | 11.3% | 6.3% to 14.6% | 9.1% | 12.6% | 14.9 | 1.49 | September 2026 |
| Apparel & footwear | 12 | 10.2% | 7.8% to 12.5% | 8.4% | 11.0% | 27.4 | 2.74 | August 2026 |
| Building products | 9 | 10.0% | 8.2% to 13.4% | 9.4% | 12.6% | 19.5 | 1.95 | July 2026 |
| Food & CPG | 13 | 9.7% | 6.7% to 13.8% | 8.6% | 11.6% | 30.1 | 3.01 | July 2026 |
| B2B software | 10 | 9.0% | 5.6% to 11.5% | 8.3% | 9.9% | 40.0 | 4.00 | August 2026 |
| Tool & industrial | 7 | 8.5% | 6.3% to 13.2% | n/a | n/a | 28.3 | 2.83 | July 2026 |
| Furniture & furnishings | 9 | 6.8% | 4.4% to 8.3% | 5.6% | 7.5% | 14.0 | 1.40 | September 2026 |
| Coatings & specialty chemical | 13 | 6.5% | 2.0% to 9.9% | 5.5% | 7.1% | 21.7 | 2.17 | September 2026 |
| Beverage | 12 | 6.0% | 2.5% to 11.7% | 5.4% | 6.6% | 17.6 | 1.76 | September 2026 |
| Toy & game | 9 | 5.8% | 4.1% to 8.3% | 5.3% | 6.2% | 29.0 | 2.90 | August 2026 |
| Appliance & housewares | 10 | 5.8% | 2.9% to 7.7% | 4.7% | 6.9% | 24.9 | 2.49 | September 2026 |
| Foodservice distribution | 10 | 5.5% | 2.7% to 17.3% | 4.1% | 8.0% | 12.0 | 1.20 | September 2026 |
| Company | Industry | Share of SG&A | Observed contacts | Employees | Per 1,000 employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golden State Foods | Foodservice distribution | 17.3% | 77 | 6,000 | 12.8 |
| Silgan Holdings Inc. | Packaging & container | 14.6% | 156 | 17,320 | 9.0 |
| Dot Foods | Foodservice distribution | 14.5% | 195 | 6,300 | 31.0 |
| Crown Holdings, Inc. | Packaging & container | 14.1% | 286 | 23,000 | 12.4 |
| Ingredion | Food & CPG | 13.8% | 447 | 11,200 | 39.9 |
| Louisiana-Pacific | Building products | 13.4% | 136 | 4,300 | 31.6 |
| Klein Tools | Tool & industrial | 13.2% | 75 | 2,500 | 30.0 |
| Ball Corporation | Packaging & container | 12.8% | 501 | 16,000 | 31.3 |
| Masonite International | Building products | 12.6% | 150 | 10,000 | 15.0 |
| James Hardie | Building products | 12.6% | 83 | 7,500 | 11.1 |
| lululemon athletica inc. | Apparel & footwear | 12.5% | 591 | 39,000 | 15.2 |
| AptarGroup, Inc. | Packaging & container | 12.3% | 218 | 14,000 | 15.6 |
| Conagra Brands | Food & CPG | 12.2% | 441 | 17,400 | 25.3 |
| O-I Glass, Inc. | Packaging & container | 12.1% | 235 | 19,000 | 12.4 |
| Enerpac Tool Group | Tool & industrial | 12.0% | 85 | 2,100 | 40.5 |
| Hormel Foods | Food & CPG | 11.9% | 387 | 20,000 | 19.3 |
| MGP Ingredients, Inc. | Beverage | 11.7% | 15 | 617 | 24.3 |
| The Campbell's Company | Food & CPG | 11.6% | 428 | 13,700 | 31.2 |
| Sonoco Products Company | Packaging & container | 11.6% | 336 | 22,000 | 15.3 |
| Tapestry, Inc. | Apparel & footwear | 11.5% | 680 | 19,000 | 35.8 |
| Yext | B2B software | 11.5% | 82 | 1,120 | 73.2 |
| Amcor plc | Packaging & container | 11.1% | 921 | 75,000 | 12.3 |
| Greif, Inc. | Packaging & container | 11.1% | 231 | 12,000 | 19.2 |
| Simpson Strong-Tie | Building products | 11.0% | 174 | 3,000 | 58.0 |
| Ralph Lauren Corporation | Apparel & footwear | 11.0% | 760 | 23,600 | 32.2 |
| Under Armour, Inc. | Apparel & footwear | 11.0% | 300 | 14,100 | 21.3 |
| The Kraft Heinz Company | Food & CPG | 10.8% | 1,784 | 35,000 | 51.0 |
| Semrush | B2B software | 10.7% | 88 | 1,567 | 56.2 |
| Graphic Packaging Holding Company | Packaging & container | 10.6% | 416 | 23,000 | 18.1 |
| Columbia Sportswear Company | Apparel & footwear | 10.5% | 275 | 9,620 | 28.6 |
| VF Corporation | Apparel & footwear | 10.4% | 1,104 | 26,000 | 42.5 |
| McCormick & Company | Food & CPG | 10.2% | 459 | 14,100 | 32.6 |
| Trex Company | Building products | 10.0% | 53 | 1,839 | 28.8 |
| PVH Corp. | Apparel & footwear | 9.9% | 874 | 26,000 | 33.6 |
| PagerDuty | B2B software | 9.9% | 61 | 1,155 | 52.8 |
| Olo | B2B software | 9.9% | 18 | 915 | 19.7 |
| Cabot Corporation | Coatings & specialty chemical | 9.9% | 137 | 4,064 | 33.7 |
| Mondelez International | Food & CPG | 9.7% | 1,868 | 91,000 | 20.5 |
| Gibraltar Industries | Building products | 9.6% | 62 | 2,300 | 27.0 |
| UFP Industries | Building products | 9.4% | 269 | 13,800 | 19.5 |
| The Clorox Company | Food & CPG | 9.3% | 408 | 7,600 | 53.7 |
| The J.M. Smucker Company | Food & CPG | 9.2% | 286 | 8,000 | 35.8 |
| Zuora | B2B software | 9.2% | 41 | 1,200 | 34.2 |
| Carter's, Inc. | Apparel & footwear | 9.1% | 250 | 15,400 | 16.2 |
| nCino | B2B software | 8.8% | 42 | 1,684 | 24.9 |
| Kennametal Inc. | Tool & industrial | 8.6% | 284 | 8,100 | 35.1 |
| The Hershey Company | Food & CPG | 8.6% | 561 | 20,000 | 28.0 |
| Stanley Black & Decker | Tool & industrial | 8.5% | 1,230 | 43,500 | 28.3 |
| Amplitude | B2B software | 8.5% | 39 | 795 | 49.1 |
| Deckers Outdoor Corporation | Apparel & footwear | 8.4% | 157 | 6,000 | 26.2 |
| The AZEK Company | Building products | 8.3% | 29 | 2,276 | 12.7 |
| The LEGO Group | Toy & game | 8.3% | 544 | 33,000 | 16.5 |
| Levi Strauss & Co. | Apparel & footwear | 8.3% | 569 | 19,000 | 29.9 |
| BlackLine | B2B software | 8.3% | 69 | 1,850 | 37.3 |
| MillerKnoll, Inc. | Furniture & furnishings | 8.3% | 139 | 10,544 | 13.2 |
| JELD-WEN | Building products | 8.2% | 257 | 13,900 | 18.5 |
| HNI Corporation | Furniture & furnishings | 8.2% | 471 | 18,500 | 25.5 |
| Primo Brands Corporation | Beverage | 8.1% | 185 | 12,000 | 15.4 |
| United Natural Foods, Inc. | Foodservice distribution | 8.0% | 564 | 25,600 | 22.0 |
| Crocs, Inc. | Apparel & footwear | 7.9% | 192 | 8,010 | 24.0 |
| General Mills | Food & CPG | 7.8% | 994 | 33,000 | 30.1 |
| International Flavors & Fragrances | Food & CPG | 7.8% | 494 | 21,500 | 23.0 |
| Oxford Industries, Inc. | Apparel & footwear | 7.8% | 91 | 6,000 | 15.2 |
| Sprout Social | B2B software | 7.8% | 58 | 1,362 | 42.6 |
| Cricut, Inc. | Appliance & housewares | 7.7% | 26 | 700 | 37.1 |
| Avient Corporation | Coatings & specialty chemical | 7.7% | 200 | 9,000 | 22.2 |
| Whirlpool Corporation | Appliance & housewares | 7.6% | 783 | 41,000 | 19.1 |
| Haworth | Furniture & furnishings | 7.5% | 161 | 8,000 | 20.1 |
| Flexsteel Industries, Inc. | Furniture & furnishings | 7.5% | 14 | 1,200 | 11.7 |
| Sensient Technologies Corporation | Coatings & specialty chemical | 7.5% | 98 | 4,070 | 24.1 |
| Avery Dennison Corporation | Packaging & container | 7.5% | 507 | 35,000 | 14.5 |
| Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. | Coatings & specialty chemical | 7.1% | 264 | 12,200 | 21.6 |
| H.B. Fuller Company | Coatings & specialty chemical | 7.0% | 193 | 7,100 | 27.2 |
| Mattel, Inc. | Toy & game | 6.9% | 503 | 31,000 | 16.2 |
| Weber | Appliance & housewares | 6.9% | 41 | 4,302 | 9.5 |
| La-Z-Boy Incorporated | Furniture & furnishings | 6.8% | 120 | 10,200 | 11.8 |
| Quaker Houghton | Coatings & specialty chemical | 6.8% | 55 | 4,700 | 11.7 |
| Sealed Air Corporation | Packaging & container | 6.8% | 276 | 16,100 | 17.1 |
| IDEAL Industries | Tool & industrial | 6.7% | 32 | 2,502 | 12.8 |
| Church & Dwight | Food & CPG | 6.7% | 162 | 5,550 | 29.2 |
| Constellation Brands, Inc. | Beverage | 6.7% | 170 | 9,400 | 18.1 |
| Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. | Beverage | 6.5% | 231 | 16,000 | 14.4 |
| PPG Industries, Inc. | Coatings & specialty chemical | 6.5% | 765 | 43,500 | 17.6 |
| Snap-on Incorporated | Tool & industrial | 6.3% | 339 | 13,000 | 26.1 |
| Apex Tool Group | Tool & industrial | 6.3% | 90 | 5,300 | 17.0 |
| Molson Coors Beverage Company | Beverage | 6.3% | 325 | 16,200 | 20.1 |
| Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Company | Appliance & housewares | 6.3% | 20 | 650 | 30.8 |
| Packaging Corporation of America | Packaging & container | 6.3% | 147 | 16,800 | 8.8 |
| Funko, Inc. | Toy & game | 6.2% | 39 | 1,104 | 35.3 |
| Brown-Forman Corporation | Beverage | 6.2% | 149 | 4,900 | 30.4 |
| Interface, Inc. | Furniture & furnishings | 6.1% | 71 | 3,570 | 19.9 |
| Crayola LLC | Toy & game | 6.0% | 41 | 2,464 | 16.6 |
| SharkNinja, Inc. | Appliance & housewares | 6.0% | 111 | 4,143 | 26.8 |
| Innospec Inc. | Coatings & specialty chemical | 6.0% | 32 | 2,450 | 13.1 |
| The Pokémon Company International | Toy & game | 5.8% | 53 | 2,663 | 19.9 |
| Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. | Beverage | 5.8% | 272 | 30,600 | 8.9 |
| National Beverage Corp. | Beverage | 5.8% | 10 | 1,677 | 6.0 |
| Newell Brands Inc. | Appliance & housewares | 5.7% | 404 | 21,900 | 18.4 |
| Shamrock Foods Company | Foodservice distribution | 5.7% | 19 | 5,000 | 3.8 |
| JAKKS Pacific, Inc. | Toy & game | 5.6% | 44 | 652 | 67.5 |
| Domo | B2B software | 5.6% | 29 | 876 | 33.1 |
| Virco Manufacturing Corporation | Furniture & furnishings | 5.6% | 8 | 731 | 10.9 |
| Sysco Corporation | Foodservice distribution | 5.6% | 997 | 75,000 | 13.3 |
| Ecolab Inc. | Coatings & specialty chemical | 5.5% | 1,042 | 48,000 | 21.7 |
| Ashland Inc. | Coatings & specialty chemical | 5.5% | 78 | 2,900 | 26.9 |
| The Boston Beer Company, Inc. | Beverage | 5.4% | 66 | 2,736 | 24.1 |
| The Vita Coco Company, Inc. | Beverage | 5.4% | 17 | 336 | 50.6 |
| Performance Food Group Company | Foodservice distribution | 5.4% | 270 | 43,780 | 6.2 |
| Hasbro, Inc. | Toy & game | 5.3% | 230 | 4,520 | 50.9 |
| Helen of Troy Limited | Appliance & housewares | 4.8% | 43 | 1,854 | 23.2 |
| Bassett Furniture Industries | Furniture & furnishings | 4.7% | 31 | 1,194 | 26.0 |
| YETI Holdings, Inc. | Appliance & housewares | 4.7% | 37 | 1,390 | 26.6 |
| RPM International Inc. | Coatings & specialty chemical | 4.6% | 176 | 17,546 | 10.0 |
| Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. | Furniture & furnishings | 4.4% | 43 | 3,062 | 14.0 |
| Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. | Appliance & housewares | 4.4% | 95 | 3,000 | 31.7 |
| The Chefs' Warehouse, Inc. | Foodservice distribution | 4.3% | 40 | 5,156 | 7.8 |
| Spin Master Corp. | Toy & game | 4.2% | 87 | 3,000 | 29.0 |
| WD-40 Company | Coatings & specialty chemical | 4.2% | 20 | 714 | 28.0 |
| MGA Entertainment, Inc. | Toy & game | 4.1% | 38 | 1,200 | 31.7 |
| Gordon Food Service | Foodservice distribution | 4.1% | 247 | 22,000 | 11.2 |
| US Foods Holding Corp. | Foodservice distribution | 3.9% | 438 | 30,000 | 14.6 |
| Traeger, Inc. | Appliance & housewares | 2.9% | 8 | 433 | 18.5 |
| Monster Beverage Corporation | Beverage | 2.7% | 108 | 6,332 | 17.1 |
| Ben E. Keith Company | Foodservice distribution | 2.7% | 62 | 5,600 | 11.1 |
| Celsius Holdings, Inc. | Beverage | 2.5% | 21 | 1,497 | 14.0 |
| The Sherwin-Williams Company | Coatings & specialty chemical | 2.0% | 918 | 64,249 | 14.3 |
Three steps, the same for every company on the page. The long version, including what these numbers cannot tell you, is on how it’s measured and as data at methodology.json.
We pull each company's public workforce signals: department tallies and the actual job titles behind them. No survey, no self-reporting, no login.
Each title is classified into the ten-function SG&A map. This is where about a third of department labels move: procurement buyers filed under Finance, whole Sourcing and Facilities teams hiding inside Operations.
Levels are the classified people we actually observed, capped at each company's profile-visible workforce. That makes them a floor, never an inflated model, which is why the share of SG&A leads and the per-1,000 figure follows.
Across 12 industries and 126 named companies, HR runs 2.0% to 17.3% of SG&A headcount, median 7.8%. In people that is 3.8 to 73.2 per 1,000 employees, median 21.9, about 2.2 per 100. The lean quartile is 5.8% of SG&A headcount and the heavy quartile 10.2%. Measured from 440,636 public job titles, each classified one at a time, at every company named on this page. September 2026. Use the share of SG&A to compare companies of different sizes.
Packaging & container carries the most HR, at a median of 11.3% of SG&A headcount. Foodservice distribution carries the least, at 5.5%. In between: apparel & footwear 10.2%, building products 10.0%, food & CPG 9.7%, B2B software 9.0%, tool & industrial 8.5%, furniture & furnishings 6.8%, coatings & specialty chemical 6.5%, beverage 6.0%, toy & game 5.8%, appliance & housewares 5.8%. Measured per 1,000 employees the order changes: foodservice distribution is thinnest at 12.0 and B2B software is densest at 40.0.
Lean quartile is 5.8% of SG&A headcount and heavy quartile 10.2%, across 126 named companies. We say lean and heavy rather than top and bottom because a smaller HR team is not automatically the better one: lean = 25th percentile of staffing intensity (fewer people per unit), heavy = 75th. Quartiles are published for a cut of 8 or more companies; below that they are absent rather than estimated.
We read every public job title at each company and put it in one of ten SG&A functions, one title at a time. No survey, no self-reporting, and no company has to take part. The full method is at https://sgabenchmarking.com/how-its-measured/.
Take your HR headcount as a share of your total SG&A headcount and read it against the range above. That comparison holds at any company size. If you want us to measure your company the same way we measured these, add it at the top of this page and we will email you the result.
Surveys count what respondents tell them, and only companies that chose to respond appear. We count the same way at every company whether it participates or not, from public job titles. That is why you can see named outliers here instead of an average. For an exact count of your own people, the paid census lands within 5 to 8 percent of true headcount.
Every number here is available as JSON, and any company can be compared against these cohorts over plain HTTP. No key, no form. Each response also names the next step.
data.json beside it, linked as rel="alternate".https://sgabenchmarking.com/api/compare?industry=packaging&function=HR&employees=4000&fte=30https://sgabenchmarking.com/api/snapshot?industry=packaging&company=COMPANY+NAMEhttps://sgabenchmarking.com/api/benchmark-interest?industry=packaging&company=COMPANY+NAME&email=YOU@COMPANY.COM&src=assistanthttps://sgabenchmarking.com/catalog.json · https://sgabenchmarking.com/llms.txt · method and limits: https://sgabenchmarking.com/methodology.json
SG&A Benchmarking