How much does a Light Industrial Staffing Agency cost to buy?

A typical Light Industrial Staffing Agency sells for 2.3x to 3.7x seller's discretionary earnings. With estimated SDE of $240K, expect to pay roughly $552K to $888K before adjustments for assets, debt, growth, and local market quality.

How much does it cost to start a Light Industrial Staffing Agency?

Startup costs range from $50K to $250K depending on location, equipment, and scale.

Service

Light Industrial Staffing Agency

Q: What are the profit margins for a Light Industrial Staffing Agency?

The average profit margin for a Light Industrial Staffing Agency is around 16%. Largest costs are temporary labor payroll, recruiters and account managers, workers' comp insurance, payroll funding, office overhead, and bad-debt risk. Spread management matters more than vanity revenue.

A payroll-heavy middleman business that can print cash when client concentration stays sane

Bottom line

Worth studying, but do not buy without strong local proof.

Light industrial staffing agencies recruit and place temporary warehouse, production, and logistics workers for employers that need fast labor coverage. BizBuySell's staffing-agency benchmarks show median revenue of $1.31 million, median owner earnings of $301,147, and average earnings multiples of 2.74x. The surprising angle is that buyers are often really purchasing customer contracts, recruiter workflows, and working-capital discipline more than a traditional service brand.

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Acquisition score

Fair

Avg Revenue

$1.5M

Profit Margin

16%

Acquisition Multiple

2.3x - 3.7x

Startup Cost

$50K - $250K

How It Works

The agency signs B2B clients, recruits hourly workers, handles payroll and workers' comp, and earns the spread between bill rate and pay rate. Revenue scales with filled shifts and retention, while good operators stay obsessive about gross margin by account, client concentration, and back-office billing accuracy.

Revenue Range

Low End

$600K

Typical

$1.5M

High End

$5.0M

Real Acquisitions in This Category

SBA 7(a) change-of-ownership loans · NAICS 561320 · Temporary Help Services

Deals tracked

11 in last 24 mo

Median loan

$993K

$470K–$2.0M p25/p75

Implied deal size

$1.2M

median · ~85% LTV

Charge-off rate

—

not enough resolved loans

Deal Size Distribution

<$150K

$150K–500K

$500K–1M

$1M–2M

>$2M

Deal Flow Over Time

12-month momentum

-62.5%

deal volume vs prior 12 mo

Median loan Δ

+71.4%

3 recent · 8 prior

Financing Profile

Median rate

10.00%

18% fixed · last 24 mo

Median term

120 mo

standard 10-yr

Collateralized

of loans secured

Median jobs

supported per deal

Top lenders in this space

The Huntington National Bank3

First Internet Bank of Indiana3

U.S. Bank, National Association2

Old National Bank1

Bank of America, National Association1

Where deals happen

OH4

CA3

GA2

TX2

MI1

MD1

AZ1

MA1

MN1

WI1

Franchise vs independent

Franchised acquisitions finance at $500K median vs $1.4M for independents — a -64% franchise discount. Franchises make up 35% of deals tracked.

Recent Comparable Deals

Closed	State	Loan	Implied deal	Jobs	Franchise
Dec 2025	MA	$5.0M	$5.9M	—	—
Sep 2025	AZ	$843K	$992K	5	—
Jun 2025	MD	$2.1M	$2.5M	11	—
Apr 2025	TX	$1.4M	$1.6M	1	—
Mar 2025	GA	$950K	$1.1M	7	Express Employment Professional
Mar 2025	MN	$1.0M	$1.2M	45	—
Oct 2024	UT	$3.5M	$4.1M	32	Spherion General Staffing
Aug 2024	IL	$2.0M	$2.3M	—	—
Jul 2024	OH	$500K	$588K	6	Express Employment Professional
Jul 2024	OH	$50K	$59K	6	Express Employment Professional

Volume rank #261/544Deal-size rank #153/544Momentum rank #344p90 loan: $3.2MData as of Mar 2026

Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA dataset, filtered to acquisitions (loans where business age is "Change of Ownership"). Implied deal size assumes an 85% loan-to-purchase ratio, a common SBA change-of-ownership structure. Charge-off rate shown only when 10+ loans have resolved (paid in full or charged off). Interest rates reflect last 24 months only. Actual deal values vary with equity injections, seller financing, and working capital terms.

Pros

+Can scale revenue quickly once clients and recruiters are in place
+Recurring demand from warehouses, manufacturers, and logistics firms
+Asset-light model compared with most million-dollar businesses
+Specialized local relationships create defensibility

Cons

-Working-capital needs can be painful because payroll comes before collections
-Customer concentration risk can crush value
-Labor market downturns or hiring freezes hit fast

Best For

Operators comfortable with B2B sales, back-office discipline, and working-capital management

Operating Costs

Largest costs are temporary labor payroll, recruiters and account managers, workers' comp insurance, payroll funding, office overhead, and bad-debt risk. Spread management matters more than vanity revenue.

SBA Financing Estimator

Adjust the deal — see if it cash flows after debt service

$-10329/mo

after debt service

Deal price — $2.7M

Range: $2.7M (2.3×) to $7.0M (3.7×+)

Down payment — 15% ($405K)

SBA minimum equity injection is 10% for change-of-ownership

Interest rate — 10.00%

SBA median for this category: 10.0%

Loan term — 10 years (120 mo)

SBA median for this category: 120 months

Down payment

$405K

15% equity injection

Loan amount

$2.3M

85% SBA-financed

Monthly payment

$30K/mo

$1.3M total interest

Monthly profit

$20K/mo

at 16% margin

Monthly cash flow after debt service

$-10329/mo

Margin does not cover debt service at these terms. Lower the deal price, increase the down payment, or extend the loan term.

Estimates only. Excludes owner compensation, capex, working capital draws, and taxes. Margin assumes average occupancy and volume. Actual SBA terms vary by lender and borrower profile.