Employees per legal staff member

Across 121 named companies in 12 industries, the median is 164.3 employees per staff member, from 30.1 at Hasbro, Inc. to 1,732.0 at Silgan Holdings Inc.. Lean quartile 333.3, heavy quartile 96.8.

Quartiles. Lean quartile 333.3, heavy quartile 96.8 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: compliance, contracts, corporate secretary, ediscovery, ethics, governance.

Building products manufacturers

Across 9 building products manufacturers, the median is 300.0 employees per staff member, from 96.8 at Simpson Strong-Tie to 758.7 at The AZEK Company. Lean quartile 492.9, heavy quartile 164.3.

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 156.2 employees per staff member, from 103.8 at Stanley Black & Decker to 230.4 at Apex Tool Group. 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 80.8 employees per staff member, from 49.6 at Church & Dwight to 237.0 at Mondelez International. Lean quartile 103.1, heavy quartile 76.2.

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 65.2 employees per staff member, from 30.1 at Hasbro, Inc. to 821.3 at Crayola LLC. Lean quartile 164.0, heavy quartile 53.3.

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 130.7 employees per staff member, from 83.3 at Deckers Outdoor Corporation to 208.6 at lululemon athletica inc.. Lean quartile 153.0, heavy quartile 119.1.

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 111.2 employees per staff member, from 72.3 at Amplitude to 152.5 at Olo. Lean quartile 142.5, heavy quartile 93.3.

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

Furniture & furnishings makers

Across 5 furniture & furnishings makers, the median is 324.5 employees per staff member, from 194.7 at HNI Corporation to 1,275.0 at La-Z-Boy Incorporated. Quartiles are published at 8 or more companies; this cut has 5.

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 179.1 employees per staff member, from 67.2 at The Vita Coco Company, Inc. to 640.0 at Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc.. Lean quartile 422.7, heavy quartile 104.8.

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 73.4 employees per staff member, from 33.3 at Cricut, Inc. to 614.6 at Weber. Lean quartile 210.3, heavy quartile 46.4.

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 191.9 employees per staff member, from 47.6 at WD-40 Company to 452.5 at The Sherwin-Williams Company. Lean quartile 247.1, heavy quartile 114.6.

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 623.8 employees per staff member, from 175.8 at Ball Corporation to 1,732.0 at Silgan Holdings Inc.. Lean quartile 750.3, heavy quartile 391.0.

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

Foodservice distribution distributors

Across 9 foodservice distribution distributors, the median is 560.0 employees per staff member, from 247.9 at US Foods Holding Corp. to 1,000.0 at Golden State Foods. Lean quartile 814.8, heavy quartile 333.3.

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

Get this cut as data

$150 per industry cut adds CSV and a benchmark-format row.

Subscription benchmarks publish this kind of figure as anonymous quartiles; the cut here names every company and dates every number.

Read https://sgabenchmarking.com/skill.md and follow the instructions to connect SG&A Benchmarking.