PUBLIC MARKET DATA · AUGUST 2026
Business valuation multiples by industry
Compare what reported US small businesses sold for. Search 26 specific business types, including 7 with complete closed-sale quartiles—not asking-price ranges.
26 industries · 16 sectors
Car washes
Nail salons
25th · median · 75th percentile
REPORTED CLOSED-SALE BENCHMARKS
Start with your business type.
Use the full-range tab for categories with published 25th, median, and 75th percentile sale multiples. Click a column to sort, then open any row for context.
| Cash flow rank | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Car washesMiddle 50% range | 4.87×price ÷ SDE | 1.96×price ÷ revenue | $800,000reported median | #1of 26 |
| Laundromats & coin laundriesMiddle 50% range | 3.70×price ÷ SDE | 1.33×price ÷ revenue | $250,000reported median | #2of 26 |
| Websites & ecommerce businesses | 3.37×price ÷ SDE | 1.06×price ÷ revenue | $900,000reported median | #3of 26 |
| Daycare & child care centers | 3.28×price ÷ SDE | 0.88×price ÷ revenue | $380,000reported median | #4of 26 |
| IT & software service businesses | 3.22×price ÷ SDE | 1.08×price ÷ revenue | $726,800reported median | #5of 26 |
| Home health care businesses | 3.00×price ÷ SDE | 0.63×price ÷ revenue | $692,000reported median | #6of 26 |
| Trucking companies | 3.00×price ÷ SDE | 0.66×price ÷ revenue | $1,100,000reported median | #7of 26 |
| Insurance agencies | 2.87×price ÷ SDE | 1.52×price ÷ revenue | $500,000reported median | #8of 26 |
| Auto repair shopsMiddle 50% range | 2.85×price ÷ SDE | 0.65×price ÷ revenue | $430,000reported median | #9of 26 |
| HVAC businessesMiddle 50% range | 2.83×price ÷ SDE | 0.60×price ÷ revenue | $750,000reported median | #10of 26 |
| Electrical & mechanical contractors | 2.77×price ÷ SDE | 0.63×price ÷ revenue | $1,009,000reported median | #11of 26 |
| Dental practices | 2.75×price ÷ SDE | 0.76×price ÷ revenue | $350,000reported median | #12of 26 |
| Property management businesses | 2.66×price ÷ SDE | 0.92×price ÷ revenue | $400,000reported median | #13of 26 |
| Staffing agencies | 2.66×price ÷ SDE | 0.66×price ÷ revenue | $650,000reported median | #14of 26 |
| Plumbing businessesMiddle 50% range | 2.61×price ÷ SDE | 0.69×price ÷ revenue | $699,000reported median | #15of 26 |
| Gyms & fitness centers | 2.54×price ÷ SDE | 0.70×price ÷ revenue | $204,000reported median | #16of 26 |
| Moving & shipping businesses | 2.52×price ÷ SDE | 0.63×price ÷ revenue | $350,000reported median | #17of 26 |
| Landscaping & yard servicesMiddle 50% range | 2.49×price ÷ SDE | 0.72×price ÷ revenue | $449,950reported median | #18of 26 |
| Pest control businesses | 2.46×price ÷ SDE | 1.01×price ÷ revenue | $250,000reported median | #19of 26 |
| Accounting & tax practices | 2.27×price ÷ SDE | 1.08×price ÷ revenue | $450,000reported median | #20of 26 |
| Coffee shops & cafes | 2.27×price ÷ SDE | 0.47×price ÷ revenue | $150,000reported median | #21of 26 |
| Cleaning businesses | 2.25×price ÷ SDE | 0.72×price ÷ revenue | $281,500reported median | #22of 26 |
| RestaurantsMiddle 50% range | 2.18×price ÷ SDE | 0.39×price ÷ revenue | $220,000reported median | #23of 26 |
| Hair salons & barbershops | 2.10×price ÷ SDE | 0.52×price ÷ revenue | $117,375reported median | #24of 26 |
| Food trucks | 2.03×price ÷ SDE | 0.55×price ÷ revenue | $78,000reported median | #25of 26 |
| Nail salons | 1.74×price ÷ SDE | 0.41×price ÷ revenue | $149,000reported median | #26of 26 |
Public aggregates reported by BizBuySell. The headline table covers Q3 2021–Q2 2026; full-range pages use dedicated 2021–2025 reports and keep those periods separate. “Cash flow” refers to seller’s discretionary earnings (SDE). No individual transaction rows are published.
READ THE NUMBERS CORRECTLY
A multiple is a starting point.
The best reference uses the right earnings definition, checks more than one method, and then adjusts for the company buyers would actually inherit.
Start with defensible SDE.
Add back one owner’s compensation and documented personal or non-recurring expenses—without counting the same benefit twice.
Calculate SDECompare cash flow and revenue.
A gap between the methods often points to unusually strong or weak margins. It is a question to investigate, not a number to average blindly.
Compare the same SDE across industriesAccount for transferability.
Growth, recurring revenue, customer concentration, owner dependence, and deal terms influence where a specific business can land.
Check value driversYOUR BUSINESS · PRIVATE
Turn a sector average into your market reference.
Use your actual revenue and SDE. Your account keeps the valuation private; contributing more context unlocks richer anonymized benchmark ranges.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Using industry multiples
What is the average small-business cash-flow multiple?
Across all businesses in this public dataset, the reported average sale-price-to-cash-flow multiple is 2.58×. Sector averages range from 1.74× for nail salons to 4.87× for car washes.
Should I use an SDE multiple or a revenue multiple?
For many owner-operated businesses, an SDE multiple is the more direct starting point because it reflects normalized owner cash flow. Revenue multiples are a useful cross-check, but margins can make the two methods produce very different indications.
Does a sector multiple tell me what my business is worth?
No. A sector multiple is a market reference, not a valuation of one company. Actual value also depends on normalized earnings, growth, customer concentration, recurring revenue, owner dependence, assets, liabilities, deal terms, and the buyer pool.
How current is this business valuation data?
The public sector table covers reported closed US small-business sales from Q3 2021–Q2 2026 and was reviewed in August 2026. The source publishes broad averages, not a complete census of every transaction.