Staffing Agency Valuation With Staffing Company Valuation Multiples and What Staffing Agencies Sell For
Enter the agency's billings and owner earnings and read a range benchmarked to what staffing agencies actually closed at, whether you are setting an asking price or checking a listing before you make an offer.
Estimated business value
Method breakdown
What moves this number
Estimate, not a certified appraisal. Your figures are not stored.
US staffing agencies sold across the five years 2021 to 2025 went for a median of 2.69x seller discretionary earnings, or 0.51x annual revenue, with a lower quartile of 2.04x and an upper quartile of 3.22x. The median agency sold for $670,000, on median billings of $1,306,129 and median owner earnings of $301,147, after a median 162 days on the market.
Financing is rarely what holds the price down. An SBA buyer drawing $80,000 a year can finance about $1,214,011 on the median earnings. What a staffing buyer has to plan for is payroll: temps are paid every week, clients pay in 45 to 75 days, and receivables on the median agency run $161,030 to $268,383. This is a benchmark and an estimator, not a certified appraisal.
Median staffing agency sale price by year
BizBuySell yearly medians. The 2024 median fell 54.1 percent from 2023 as hiring slowed, then 2025 recovered 79.3 percent. Percentages computed here.
Closed transactions
01What staffing agencies actually sold for
These are sale prices, not asking prices, from staffing and recruiting agencies sold across the five years 2021 to 2025. The source describes them as local businesses placing temporary and permanent workers with business customers, often franchised brands, with independent specialty agencies included. Most staffing valuation guides quote an EBITDA band for firms several times this size. This is the closed record for the agencies that actually change hands on main street. If you have been pricing from a listing site's instant estimate, our comparison of BizBuySell valuation alternatives explains what those tools leave out.
Median sale price
$670,000
What the middle staffing agency actually closed at, 2021 to 2025
Median asking price
$725,000
What the same sold agencies were listed at
Median revenue
$1,306,129
Annual billings of the middle agency sold, the highest of 16 service categories
Median owner earnings (SDE)
$301,147
Seller discretionary earnings, a 23.1 percent owner margin
| Staffing agencies sold, 2021 to 2025 | Lower quartile | Median | Average | Upper quartile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seller discretionary earnings multiple | 2.04x | 2.69x | 2.74x | 3.22x |
| Revenue multiple (multiple of annual billings) | 0.28x | 0.51x | 0.65x | 0.82x |
| Revenue | $596,055 | $1,306,129 | $2,367,048 | $2,505,410 |
| Owner earnings (SDE) | $161,425 | $301,147 | $366,835 | $492,459 |
| Staffing agencies listed for sale now | Lower quartile | Median | Average | Upper quartile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seller discretionary earnings multiple | 2.01x | 2.86x | 3.08x | 3.83x |
| Revenue multiple | 0.33x | 0.68x | 0.96x | 1.31x |
| Revenue | $726,489 | $1,335,000 | $3,398,115 | $2,316,637 |
| Owner earnings (SDE) | $181,172 | $344,448 | $612,432 | $559,396 |
Source: BizBuySell staffing agency business valuation benchmarks, businesses reported sold on the platform 2021 to 2025 and recent listings, read October 2026. In two rows the published average sits above the upper quartile, which happens when a few very large agencies pull the mean. Benchmarks, not quotes.
Three things stand out. First, the agencies for sale today are bigger and asking more: the median listing earns $344,448, 14.4 percent more than the median sold agency, and asks 2.86x, 6.3 percent above the 2.69x sold median. Second, multiplying the medians gives a higher number than the median sale. Median earnings at the median multiple come to $810,085, 20.9 percent above $670,000, because the median price, median earnings and median multiple come from different agencies; median revenue at the median revenue multiple lands on $666,126, within 0.6 percent. Third, this is a cyclical trade. The yearly table below is the most important thing on this page if you are buying or selling right after a slow hiring year. If you are working out how to calculate SDE for the agency in front of you, do that first, then find its row in section 06.
| Year sold | Median sale | Median ask | Sale to ask | Average SDE multiple | Median revenue | Median SDE | Owner margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $700,000 | $700,000 | 0.91 | 2.91x | $1,300,000 | $214,000 | 16.5% |
| 2022 | $700,000 | $800,000 | 0.93 | 3.05x | $1,312,257 | $326,154 | 24.9% |
| 2023 | $790,000 | $810,000 | 0.93 | 2.93x | $1,326,745 | $400,000 | 30.1% |
| 2024 | $362,500 | $547,000 | 0.79 | 2.32x | $1,132,238 | $174,614 | 15.4% |
| 2025 | $650,000 | $750,000 | 0.90 | 2.43x | $1,903,734 | $325,000 | 17.1% |
Source: BizBuySell yearly medians for staffing agencies sold, as published. In 2024 median revenue fell 14.7 percent and median earnings 56.3 percent from the 2023 medians (BizBuySell describes the 2024 drop as 27 and 42 percent on its own basis). Our percentages are computed from the table.
In 2024 the median sale fell to $362,500 and the sale to ask ratio dropped to 0.79, the lowest yearly reading we have seen in any sector we track. Buyers did not stop buying; they paid for weaker earnings and negotiated harder. The 2025 median of $650,000 came back on agencies that held their numbers, with $1,903,734 of median billings but only a 17.1 percent margin. A seller listing now is priced against that 2025 buyer, who has seen a down year recently and will ask for three years of monthly billings by client.
Our calculation
02An SBA buyer can finance about $1.2 million on the median earnings
Many staffing agencies at this size go to an owner-operator with an SBA 7(a) loan, often a former branch manager or recruiter. What that buyer can borrow sets a practical ceiling. The table runs a loan at 10 years, 10.5 percent, 1.25x debt service coverage and a 10 percent injection against the median $301,147 of owner earnings, at each level of salary the buyer takes out. Everything in it is computed here, not quoted.
SBA-supportable price at an $80,000 draw, against the median sale
Scale $0 to $1,300,000
$350,000
The SBA line above which the lender must order an independent valuation.
$670,000
What the median staffing agency sold for.
$1,214,011
What $301,147 of earnings supports once the buyer takes $80,000 a year.
| Owner draw the buyer takes | Left for debt service | Supportable purchase price | As a multiple of $301,147 SDE |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0 (buyer takes no salary) | $301,147 | $1,653,180 | 5.49x |
| $60,000 | $241,147 | $1,323,803 | 4.40x |
| $80,000 | $221,147 | $1,214,011 | 4.03x |
| $100,000 | $201,147 | $1,104,219 | 3.67x |
Computed here. Annual loan constant 0.16192 for a 10 year loan at 10.5 percent, so the supportable price is (SDE minus draw) divided by 1.25, divided by 0.16192, divided by 0.90. Illustrative arithmetic, not a loan offer or a credit decision.
Work it backwards and a financed buyer could take $179,098 a year and still pay exactly the median price, or needs only $202,049 of earnings to pay $670,000 and draw $80,000. The median agency earns $301,147, about $99,000 more than it needs. On paper that is $544,011 of borrowing room above the median price. In practice a good part of that room is spoken for before closing, because the same loan, or a separate line, has to fund the payroll float in the next section.
Cash to close on the median agency
$80,568
A $670,000 purchase at 10 percent down is a $67,000 injection and a $603,000 loan, with a 3 percent SBA guaranty fee of $13,568 on the $452,250 guaranteed portion. Annual debt service is about $97,639, covered 3.08 times by $301,147 of earnings before the owner is paid, leaving $203,508. Working capital, the independent valuation and legal fees come on top.
The lower quartile agency
$446,992
An agency earning $161,425 is worth $329,307 at the lower quartile 2.04x, and once a buyer takes $80,000 a year those earnings still support a loan on about $446,992. The small agency finances; what it lacks is margin for a bad quarter. Its price is also under the $350,000 line, so the lender may value it in house.
What makes staffing different
03Payroll goes out every Friday and clients pay in 45 to 75 days
A staffing agency is a payroll business. It employs the temps, pays them weekly with taxes and workers compensation, and invoices the client afterwards. Every dollar of billings that has not been collected is a dollar the agency has already paid out. That float is the working capital, and in a sale somebody has to own it.
One week of temp hours, from shift to cash
Week 1
Temps work at the client site
Friday of week 2
Agency pays wages, payroll taxes, workers comp
Invoice sent
Bill rate times hours, net 30 to net 60
Day 45 to 75
Client pays, the cash comes back
Receivables on the median agency, $1,306,129 of billings
Computed here as billings times days divided by 365. CT Acquisitions puts typical staffing working capital at 12 to 18 percent of revenue, $156,735 to $235,103 on the median agency, and AR cycles at 60 to 90 days.
| Working capital the buyer funds on the loan | Left for the purchase at an $80,000 draw | Room above the $670,000 median |
|---|---|---|
| No working capital on the loan | $1,214,011 | $544,011 |
| $100,000 of working capital on the loan | $1,114,011 | $444,011 |
| $156,735 (12 percent of revenue) | $1,057,276 | $387,276 |
| $235,103 (18 percent of revenue) | $978,908 | $308,908 |
Computed here. The supportable total at an $80,000 draw, $1,214,011, less the working capital financed in the same loan. A separate line of credit costs interest too, so the result is similar.
How the SBA treats the payroll float
On a Standard 7(a) loan above $350,000, SBA SOP 50 10 8.1 requires the lender's credit memo to include an analysis of working capital adequacy for at least the next 12 months, and to explain why when 50 percent or more of the proceeds go to working capital. For the revolving part, the SBA Working Capital CAPLine is open to borrowers that generate accounts receivable, which every staffing agency does; its proceeds may not pay delinquent withholding taxes.
The unemployment tax rate does not simply come with the agency
State unemployment tax is a large cost for an agency with hundreds of W-2 temps, and the rate depends on claims history. Federal law, 42 U.S.C. 503(k), requires states to transfer the experience when buyer and seller are "under substantially common ownership, management, or control," and to refuse the transfer when a buyer that is not already an employer acquired the business "solely or primarily for the purpose of obtaining a lower rate of contributions." Every other case is state law. Get the buyer's expected rate in writing before you price payroll.
For a buyer, the first question on any staffing listing is not the multiple, it is whether the price includes the receivables and how much working capital has to be left in the business at closing. A $670,000 agency that hands over $200,000 of current receivables is a different deal from one where the seller collects them and you fund the next eight Fridays of payroll yourself. For a seller, a clean receivables aging, a short collection period and a written working capital target make the price easier to defend. If the books are in QuickBooks or another ledger, our guide to business valuation for an SBA loan lists what the lender will ask for.
Sources: SBA SOP 50 10 8.1, effective October 1, 2026, Section B chapter 1 (credit memorandum, page 120) and chapter 4 (CAPLines, page 144); 42 U.S.C. 503(k)(1)(A) and (B); CT Acquisitions, staffing company valuation multiples 2026. A summary for pricing, not legal or tax advice.
Our calculation
04What the price means if clients leave after closing
Losing a client hurts a staffing agency less per dollar than it hurts most service businesses, because the temp wages, payroll taxes and workers compensation on that account leave with it. What goes is the gross profit. The rows below take billings away from the median agency and assume 22 cents of each lost dollar was gross profit, inside the 20 to 25 percent gross margin CT Acquisitions quotes for clerical and admin staffing. That share is our assumption for the illustration, not a published figure.
Owner earnings left on the median agency, by share of billings lost after closing
| After closing | Owner earnings left | $670,000 price as a multiple of that | Value at the 2.69x median multiple |
|---|---|---|---|
| No clients leave | $301,147 | 2.22x | $810,085 |
| 10 percent of billings leave ($130,613) | $272,412 | 2.46x | $732,789 |
| 20 percent of billings leave ($261,226) | $243,677 | 2.75x | $655,492 |
| 30 percent of billings leave ($391,839) | $214,942 | 3.12x | $578,195 |
Computed here on the BizBuySell medians. Lost billings are a share of the median $1,306,129; 22 percent of them is assumed to be gross profit, and no overhead is cut. A light industrial desk at 15 to 20 percent margin loses less per dollar; an IT or finance desk at 25 to 35 percent loses more.
Even losing 30 percent of billings leaves the $670,000 price at 3.12x, just under the 3.22x upper quartile. That resilience is real, and it is also why staffing buyers watch something else: the recruiter or salesperson who owns the client relationship. If that person leaves, several clients usually go at once. CT Acquisitions puts the concentration line at 15 percent of revenue in one client and calls more than 35 percent a deal killer or a reason for heavy structure. For a buyer, ask for billings by client and the names on each account. For a seller, written client agreements and non-solicits for your recruiters are worth more than another quarter of growth.
Our calculation
05What the agency is worth once the owner stops recruiting
Seller discretionary earnings include the owner's pay, and in an agency billing $1.3 million the owner usually still sells to the largest clients and fills the hardest orders. An investor buyer has to pay someone to do that. The rows below replace the owner with one hire at the Bureau of Labor Statistics national median wage for May 2025, plus employer FICA.
The same $670,000 price
2.22x
to a buyer who runs the desk
3.05x
with a recruiter hired
4.77x
with a branch manager hired
| Who does the owner work | Earnings left | Price as a multiple | SBA, no draw | SBA, $80,000 draw |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner recruits, sells and manages, no hire | $301,147 | 2.22x | $1,653,180 | $1,214,011 |
| A recruiter hired in the owner seat ($81,749) | $219,398 | 3.05x | $1,204,408 | $765,239 |
| A branch manager hired ($160,700) | $140,447 | 4.77x | $771,000 | $331,831 |
Computed here. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, national estimates for May 2025: human resources specialists (SOC 13-1071, which includes recruiters), median $75,940 a year, 912,430 jobs; human resources managers (SOC 11-3121), median $149,280, 220,660 jobs. Plus 7.65 percent employer FICA. Benefits and commissions cost more on top.
To a buyer who will recruit, sell and run payroll the way the seller did, $670,000 is 2.22x earnings, below the median multiple. With one recruiter hired in the owner seat it is 3.05x, still inside the sold range. With a manager at the median wage for the role, it is 4.77x, far above the 3.22x upper quartile, and the price the earnings support with an $80,000 draw drops to $331,831. The natural buyer for the median agency is an operator from inside staffing, or an existing agency that adds the clients to its own back office. For a seller, that second buyer can usually pay the most.
Find your row
06What a staffing agency at your earnings is worth
Each row takes an earnings level from the sold record and prices it at the lower quartile, median and upper quartile multiple, next to what an SBA buyer drawing $80,000 a year could finance before any working capital.
| Owner earnings (SDE) | At 2.04x | At 2.69x | At 3.22x | SBA-supportable, $80,000 draw |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $161,425 (lower quartile sold) | $329,307 | $434,233 | $519,789 | $446,992 |
| $301,147 (median sold) | $614,340 | $810,085 | $969,693 | $1,214,011 |
| $325,000 (2025 median) | $663,000 | $874,250 | $1,046,500 | $1,344,955 |
| $366,835 (average sold) | $748,343 | $986,786 | $1,181,209 | $1,574,613 |
| $492,459 (upper quartile sold) | $1,004,616 | $1,324,715 | $1,585,718 | $2,264,240 |
Computed here. SBA column on the same terms as section 02, before working capital. Illustrative arithmetic, not a loan offer.
Unlike most of the sectors we track, the SBA column sits above the upper quartile price on every row from the median up, and the lower quartile agency still finances above its price at the 2.69x median multiple. Subtract the working capital from section 03 and the gap closes quickly on the small rows. If your numbers sit between rows, the estimator at the top of the page will place them.
Value drivers
07What moves a staffing agency between the quartiles
The distance between the lower and upper quartile multiple is 2.04x to 3.22x, which on $301,147 of earnings is the difference between $614,340 and $969,693. Revenue multiples make the specialty effect visible, because they put every desk on the same scale. The chart sets the sold range next to the bands one M&A adviser quotes by specialty.
Revenue multiple ranges by specialty, on one scale
0x to 1.0x revenue
Sold, middle half (BizBuySell)
0.28x to 0.82x revenue
Light industrial (CT Acquisitions)
0.25x to 0.35x
General clerical and admin
0.30x to 0.40x
Travel nursing
0.35x to 0.50x
IT and engineering
0.40x to 0.55x
Finance and accounting
0.45x to 0.60x
IT contract-to-hire and locum tenens
0.50x to 0.65x
Sold range is the BizBuySell lower to upper quartile revenue multiple. Specialty bands quoted from CT Acquisitions, staffing company valuation multiples in 2026, which describes firms larger than the median main street agency. Gross margins behind them run from 15 to 20 percent in light industrial to 28 to 35 percent in finance and locum tenens.
Specialty and gross margin
Light industrial and general labor desks run on 15 to 20 percent gross margins, IT and finance on 22 to 35 percent, according to CT Acquisitions. A higher margin desk earns more per hour billed and sells at a higher revenue multiple, which the bands in the chart above show.
Client concentration
Ask for billings by client for three years. CT Acquisitions describes no discount below a 15 percent top-client share, 5 to 10 percent multiple compression from 15 to 25 percent, 15 to 25 percent compression from 25 to 35 percent, and a deal killer or a heavy earnout above that.
Master service agreements and conversion fees
Written agreements with set bill rates, terms and markups are worth more than a handshake. Conversion and direct-hire fees add high-margin revenue; CT Acquisitions says a 15 to 25 percent conversion-fee mix can add one to two turns of EBITDA.
Receivables quality
Days sales outstanding and the share of invoices past 90 days. CT Acquisitions flags an agency collecting in more than 75 days with over 10 percent past 90 days, and puts the compression at 10 to 15 percent. Slow payers also raise the working capital the buyer has to bring.
Sales volume
BizBuySell states that a staffing agency with sales over $2.5 million may sell for an earnings multiple of 3.2 or higher, while one under $600,000 may trade below 2 times SDE. Those thresholds sit right on the sold revenue quartiles of $596,055 and $2,505,410.
Recruiters, the desk and the economy
Who owns the client relationships, the owner or a recruiter with a non-solicit, and whether the temps on assignment stay through the transition. The 2024 sales show how fast the market reprices this trade when hiring slows: the median sale fell 54.1 percent in one year.
Against other service businesses
08Staffing agencies against fifteen other service businesses
Staffing agencies have the highest median revenue of the 16 service categories on the comparison and the second highest median earnings, behind architecture and engineering firms. They also have the second thinnest owner margin and the second lowest revenue multiple, both behind catering, because so much of each dollar is payroll. On earnings, the 2.74x average sits mid-table, sixth of 16. The closest comparison is security businesses: guards are also W-2 labor billed by the hour, the median security business earned $241,687 and sold for $750,000. Our SDE multiples by industry page shows the whole market, and the cleaning business valuation page shows another labor-heavy service priced on who owns the contracts.
| Service category | Median revenue | Average revenue multiple | Median SDE | Average SDE multiple | Owner margin | Median sale | Median ask | Sale to ask |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funeral homes | $750,000 | 1.67x | $318,000 | 4.28x | 42.4% | $1,500,000 | $1,800,000 | 0.85 |
| Laundromats and coin laundries | $219,878 | 1.33x | $76,560 | 3.65x | 34.8% | $250,000 | $275,000 | 0.92 |
| Medical billing businesses | $614,000 | 1.24x | $180,000 | 3.63x | 29.3% | $500,000 | $599,000 | 1.01 |
| Waste management and recycling | $710,000 | 0.95x | $176,635 | 3.31x | 24.9% | $525,000 | $625,000 | 0.91 |
| Commercial laundry businesses | $198,000 | 1.25x | $112,000 | 2.83x | 56.6% | $250,000 | $269,000 | 0.92 |
| Staffing agencies | $1,306,129 | 0.65x | $301,147 | 2.74x | 23.1% | $670,000 | $725,000 | 0.90 |
| Security businesses | $862,943 | 0.85x | $241,687 | 2.73x | 28.0% | $750,000 | $750,000 | 0.89 |
| Property management businesses | $565,658 | 0.93x | $167,000 | 2.70x | 29.5% | $397,500 | $425,000 | 0.94 |
| All service businesses | $455,000 | 0.86x | $146,927 | 2.62x | 32.3% | $325,000 | $350,000 | 0.92 |
| Architecture and engineering firms | $1,090,000 | 0.74x | $332,171 | 2.59x | 30.5% | $742,000 | $800,000 | 0.90 |
| Landscaping and yard service | $708,412 | 0.70x | $187,761 | 2.46x | 26.5% | $425,000 | $450,000 | 0.93 |
| Pest control businesses | $263,597 | 0.99x | $124,184 | 2.40x | 47.1% | $249,000 | $277,000 | 0.91 |
| Locksmith businesses | $550,776 | 0.70x | $166,567 | 2.36x | 30.2% | $300,000 | $300,000 | 0.94 |
| Cleaning and janitorial businesses | $433,327 | 0.70x | $136,326 | 2.19x | 31.5% | $260,000 | $295,000 | 0.92 |
| Dry cleaners | $360,000 | 0.76x | $132,513 | 2.09x | 36.8% | $250,000 | $275,000 | 0.93 |
| Catering companies | $931,891 | 0.44x | $212,204 | 2.00x | 22.8% | $332,500 | $442,500 | 0.87 |
| Legal services and law firms | $921,000 | 0.72x | $281,411 | 1.96x | 30.6% | $500,000 | $575,000 | 0.90 |
Source: BizBuySell service business valuation benchmark comparison, 2021 to 2025, as published on the staffing agency page (16 categories plus the all-service row). Owner margin (median SDE over median revenue) computed here. Ordered by average SDE multiple.
Methods
09The five ways a staffing agency gets valued
You will meet most of them in one sale. A lender counts earnings, a competitor counts gross profit per desk, a larger staffing group counts EBITDA, and everyone argues about working capital at the end. Knowing which one the other side is using is most of the negotiation.
Seller discretionary earnings multiple
The primary method for an owner-run agency and the one an SBA lender underwrites. Normalized SDE times a multiple, where half of all sales landed between 2.04x and 3.22x. Normalize first: owner salary, a spouse on payroll, a personal vehicle, and one-time costs such as a software migration or a lawsuit settlement all come back into earnings.
Revenue multiple
Staffing agencies sold at a median 0.51x revenue and an average of 0.65x, second lowest of 16 service categories, because most of each billing dollar passes straight through to temp wages. Use it as a sanity check only. Two agencies billing $1.3 million can earn $150,000 and $400,000, as the 2023 and 2024 medians show.
EBITDA multiple
Once the owner no longer recruits or sells and a branch manager runs the desk, buyers switch to EBITDA. CT Acquisitions, an M&A adviser, quotes 4x to 7x EBITDA across staffing, from 4x to 5x for light industrial to 6x to 8x for IT contract-to-hire and locum tenens. Those are larger firms than most of the sales on this page.
Gross profit multiple
Industry buyers often price on gross profit (billings minus temp wages, payroll taxes and workers compensation), because that is what a branch actually produces. It strips out the pass-through payroll that makes revenue multiples look tiny, and it compares a light industrial desk with a professional one on the same footing.
Working capital adjusted price
Not a separate method but a step every staffing deal needs. Agree whether the price includes receivables, and set a working capital target the business must deliver at closing. A price that looks fair at 2.69x can be expensive once you fund two months of payroll on top. Section 03 prices that.
Questions
Staffing agency valuation questions, answered against the sold record
How much is a staffing agency worth?
The median US staffing agency sold between 2021 and 2025 went for $670,000, on median billings of $1,306,129 and median owner earnings of $301,147. That is about 2.22 times owner earnings and 0.51 times revenue on the reported medians. Half of all sales landed between 2.04x and 3.22x owner earnings, which on $301,147 is $614,340 to $969,693.
How do you value a staffing company?
Start from normalized seller discretionary earnings: net profit plus owner salary, owner benefits, interest, depreciation and one-time costs. Apply a multiple between about 2.04x and 3.22x, higher for larger agencies with specialty desks and spread-out clients. Then agree whether receivables are included and how much working capital the business must leave behind, because payroll has to be funded before clients pay.
What are staffing agency multiples?
Staffing agencies sold at an average of 2.74 times seller discretionary earnings and a median of 2.69 times, with a lower quartile of 2.04x and an upper quartile of 3.22x. On revenue the median was 0.51x and the average 0.65x. Larger firms valued on EBITDA trade at 4x to 7x, depending on specialty, according to CT Acquisitions.
How much does a staffing agency make?
The median staffing agency sold on BizBuySell billed $1,306,129 a year and earned its owner $301,147, a 23.1 percent owner margin. The lower quartile earned $161,425 on $596,055 and the upper quartile $492,459 on $2,505,410. Those earnings include the owner working the desk; hire a recruiter in the owner seat and the median falls to about $219,398.
How much does a staffing agency owner make?
On the sold record, the median staffing agency owner took home $301,147 of discretionary earnings a year across 2021 to 2025. The figure moved hard with the labor market: $400,000 at the 2023 median, $174,614 at the 2024 median, and $325,000 in 2025. After buying with an SBA loan at the median price, about $203,508 is left before the owner draws a salary.
How long does it take to sell a staffing agency?
BizBuySell reports a median of 162 days on the market for staffing agencies that sold, a little over five months from listing to an accepted deal. Diligence on client agreements, receivables aging, payroll tax filings and workers compensation history, plus the lender valuation, usually adds one to three months before closing.
Can you get an SBA loan to buy a staffing agency?
Usually, yes. Staffing is an eligible service business. At 10 years, 10.5 percent, 1.25x coverage and 10 percent down, the median $301,147 of owner earnings supports about $1,214,011 if the buyer draws $80,000 a year. The catch is working capital: the lender has to analyze at least 12 months of it, and a staffing agency needs a lot.
What happens to the unemployment tax rate when you buy a staffing agency?
Federal law sets two floors. If buyer and seller are under substantially common ownership, management or control, the seller unemployment experience must transfer to the buyer. If a buyer who is not already an employer acquires a business mainly to get a lower rate, it must not transfer. Everything else is state law, so ask the state agency before you price payroll.
How much does a staffing agency valuation cost?
A formal business valuation commonly runs $1,500 to $8,000 for a calculation engagement and $5,000 to $15,000 for a full conclusion of value. On a $670,000 staffing agency that is 0.22 to 1.19 percent of the price for a calculation and 0.75 to 2.24 percent for a full report, lower than in most sectors we track because staffing deals are large.
Asked another way
What agency owners and buyers ask when they are deciding
These come up once the numbers are understood and the decision is the real problem, whether that is making an offer, timing a sale after a slow year or settling working capital. Answered against the same sold record.
Is a staffing agency listed at 3.5 times earnings a fair price?
Only for a larger agency. Sold staffing agencies traded at a median 2.69x and an upper quartile of 3.22x, and BizBuySell ties a multiple of 3.2 or more to agencies with sales above $2.5 million. On an agency billing $1.3 million, 3.5x is above the upper quartile; ask what justifies it, and check that the price still works after you fund payroll.
Should I buy a staffing agency after a weak year?
A weak year is when prices are lowest, which can favor a buyer with a long view. In 2024 the median staffing agency sold for $362,500, 54.1 percent below 2023, then the 2025 median recovered to $650,000. Price on normalized earnings across three years, not on the best or the worst one, and tie part of the price to the clients staying.
Is buying a staffing agency a good investment?
For an operator who can sell and recruit, the numbers often work. The median agency sold for $670,000 and returns about 44.9 percent of the price in owner earnings a year before debt. The risks are clients leaving, recruiters leaving with the seller, a hiring slowdown like 2024, and the cash tied up in receivables, all of which this page prices.
Do I need a formal appraisal or is an estimate enough?
An estimate is enough to set an asking range or decide whether a listing deserves an offer. Under SBA rules effective October 1, 2026, a purchase above $350,000 needs an independent valuation ordered by the lender, and the $670,000 median staffing agency is well above that line. Partner buyouts, estates and litigation need one too.
Does the purchase price of a staffing agency include accounts receivable?
It depends on the deal, so put it in writing. Many small business asset sales leave cash and receivables with the seller, and the buyer then funds the first weeks of payroll from its own money or a credit line. On the median agency, receivables at 60 days of billings come to about $214,706, roughly a third of the price.
Benchmarks behind the estimate
Find out where in the range a staffing agency sits
Enter billings and owner earnings, for your own agency or for a listing you are considering, and read a value range against real staffing agency sales. An estimate in a few minutes, before you pay a broker or an appraiser.