Employees per IT & digital staff member

Across 126 named companies in 12 industries, the median is 43.3 employees per staff member, from 8.9 at Hasbro, Inc. to 294.1 at Shamrock Foods Company. Lean quartile 68.6, heavy quartile 29.7.

Quartiles. Lean quartile 68.6, heavy quartile 29.7 employees per staff member (lean = fewer people per unit, which on this metric is the 75th percentile (each staff member covers more); heavy = the 25th).

Definition

Counts people whose title places them in the function: an exact count for the org and a floor for the process, since someone in another function may perform part of it.

Also called: cloud / mobility, application development, artificial intelligence / machine learning, business intelligence, business service management / itsm, collaboration & web apps.

Building products manufacturers

Across 9 building products manufacturers, the median is 51.5 employees per staff member, from 15.5 at Simpson Strong-Tie to 110.3 at James Hardie. Lean quartile 73.4, heavy quartile 35.4.

Estimated: department tallies corrected by individually classified public job titles, as of July 2026. The building products benchmark.

Tool & industrial manufacturers

Across 7 tool & industrial manufacturers, the median is 31.3 employees per staff member, from 15.4 at Kennametal Inc. to 73.5 at Klein Tools. Quartiles are published at 8 or more companies; this cut has 7.

Estimated: department tallies corrected by individually classified public job titles, as of July 2026. The tool & industrial benchmark.

Food & CPG companies

Across 13 food & CPG companies, the median is 35.1 employees per staff member, from 18.5 at Church & Dwight to 144.2 at Mondelez International. Lean quartile 53.9, heavy quartile 25.7.

Estimated: department tallies corrected by individually classified public job titles, as of July 2026. The food & CPG benchmark.

Toy & game companies

Across 9 toy & game companies, the median is 21.4 employees per staff member, from 8.9 at Hasbro, Inc. to 99.4 at The LEGO Group. Lean quartile 32.4, heavy quartile 20.7.

Estimated: department tallies corrected by individually classified public job titles, as of August 2026. The toy & game benchmark.

Apparel & footwear companies

Across 12 apparel & footwear companies, the median is 30.4 employees per staff member, from 23.0 at Levi Strauss & Co. to 58.6 at Carter's, Inc.. Lean quartile 46.9, heavy quartile 26.9.

Estimated: department tallies corrected by individually classified public job titles, as of August 2026. The apparel & footwear benchmark.

B2B software companies

Across 10 B2B software companies, the median is 41.8 employees per staff member, from 20.0 at Yext to 228.8 at Olo. Lean quartile 60.1, heavy quartile 34.6.

Estimated: department tallies corrected by individually classified public job titles, as of August 2026. The B2B software benchmark.

Furniture & furnishings makers

Across 9 furniture & furnishings makers, the median is 63.2 employees per staff member, from 20.5 at HNI Corporation to 104.1 at La-Z-Boy Incorporated. Lean quartile 73.1, heavy quartile 31.1.

Estimated: department tallies corrected by individually classified public job titles, as of September 2026. The furniture & furnishings benchmark.

Beverage companies

Across 12 beverage companies, the median is 58.1 employees per staff member, from 33.6 at The Vita Coco Company, Inc. to 129.0 at National Beverage Corp.. Lean quartile 79.8, heavy quartile 42.9.

Estimated: department tallies corrected by individually classified public job titles, as of September 2026. The beverage benchmark.

Appliance & housewares makers

Across 10 appliance & housewares makers, the median is 32.3 employees per staff member, from 17.1 at Cricut, Inc. to 86.0 at Weber. Lean quartile 40.9, heavy quartile 23.2.

Estimated: department tallies corrected by individually classified public job titles, as of September 2026. The appliance & housewares benchmark.

Coatings & specialty chemical makers

Across 13 coatings & specialty chemical makers, the median is 37.5 employees per staff member, from 15.5 at WD-40 Company to 70.0 at Innospec Inc.. Lean quartile 42.9, heavy quartile 27.1.

Estimated: department tallies corrected by individually classified public job titles, as of September 2026. The coatings & specialty chemical benchmark.

Packaging & container makers

Across 12 packaging & container makers, the median is 72.3 employees per staff member, from 31.7 at Ball Corporation to 149.3 at Silgan Holdings Inc.. Lean quartile 91.7, heavy quartile 65.8.

Estimated: department tallies corrected by individually classified public job titles, as of September 2026. The packaging & container benchmark.

Foodservice distribution distributors

Across 10 foodservice distribution distributors, the median is 85.5 employees per staff member, from 38.7 at United Natural Foods, Inc. to 294.1 at Shamrock Foods Company. Lean quartile 138.5, heavy quartile 58.9.

Estimated: department tallies corrected by individually classified public job titles, as of September 2026. The foodservice distribution benchmark.

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