45% of Associate Members are Subcontracting/Specialty Trade Contractors

Every year since 2008, the NAHB has conducted a member census in order to better understand the composition and characteristics of the people who belong to its organization.  Similar to a previous post about builder members, NAHB conducted a related analysis of its associate members.  In 2023, 65% of NAHB’s members were associate members—those involved in a wide range of support industries and professions including, among others, trade contractors, manufacturers, retailers/distributors, designers, and architects.

Of the 69,645 associate members, 45% are primarily subcontractor/specialty trade contractors, 11% have a professional specialty, 10% are retail dealerships or distributorships, 8% are in financial services, 5% are wholesale dealerships or distributorships, and 17% have some other type of primary activity (Exhibit 1).

In 2023, associate members had a median of 12 employees on payroll, which ties an all-time high set in 2022.  Twenty-two percent of associate members had 1-4 employees, 20% had 5 to 9, 37% had 10 to 49, and 20% had 50 or more employees.  Two percent had no payroll at all.

The median revenue of NAHB associate members was $3.0 million in 2023, an increase from $2.8 million in 2022 and the highest in the 16-year history of the Census (Exhibit 2).

In 2023, the median age of NAHB associate members was 56 which is unchanged from 2022.  Four percent of associate members were less than 35 years old, 15% were 35 to 44, 26% were 45 to 54, 34% were 55 to 64, and 21% were 65 or older.  The share of associate members who identify as female snapped a string of six consecutive annual increases, falling 2 percentage points to 24% from an all-time survey high of 26% in 2022.

For more details about NAHB associate members and a profile of each type of member, please visit housingeconomics.com or click here for the full article.