Amusement Arcade Revenue Benchmark

Average Amusement Arcade Revenue per Year 2022 Economic Census

The 2022 Economic Census counts every amusement arcade with paid employees and publishes their combined annual receipts. Dividing that total by the number of arcades gives the average annual revenue per employer establishment shown below.

≈$1,732,000 /year

Average annual gross revenue per employer establishment

How this is calculated: about $6.5 billion in combined annual receipts divided by 3,754 employer establishments works out to an average annual revenue of $1,732,000 per employer establishment.

Scope: Amusement Arcades, NAICS 713120. The category covers amusement arcades and game rooms operating coin-operated or card-operated amusement machines. Bowling centers, casinos and amusement parks are counted in separate categories. Classified separately in group 7131: 713110 Amusement and Theme Parks. Nothing outside that code is counted on this page.

Source US Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census, Summary Statistics (ECNBASIC): ESTAB, RCPTOT and PAYANN by NAICS · Vintage 2022 Economic Census · Calculation BusinessNES · Accessed September 2026

Employer Establishments at Year Five Varies by cohort

Amusement parks and arcades, NAICS 7131, the 2018 starting count compared with the count of five-year-old establishments in 2023.

Across the 2014 to 2018 cohorts, five-year results ranged from 28.6 to 48.1 percent. This benchmark covers Amusement parks and arcades, NAICS 7131, as a whole, and this category accounts for 3,754 of the 4,317 employer establishments in it. A count by age is not a survival rate, because the figures compare two headcounts rather than follow one set of businesses.

Payroll as a Share of Revenue Official data

Payroll divided by receipts, both as published for the same year.

Payroll share of receipts, Amusement Arcades, United States, 2022 Economic Census.

Approximately 26.0 percent of every revenue dollar goes to annual payroll, a modest share in a business where the machines do most of the work and staff cover the floor, the prize counter and food service.

Payroll here excludes benefits, employer taxes and owner compensation, and it excludes the games themselves, redemption prizes, card systems and the rent on a large floor, which shape the cost base of an arcade.

Business Scale and Ownership Structure Official data

How large the average establishment is, and whether the population is independent operators or multi-site companies.

Scale and ownership, Amusement Arcades, United States, 2022 Economic Census.

The average establishment employed about 20.9 people, and the industry counted 1.2 employer establishments per firm. An arcade of that size staffs a game floor, a prize counter and often a kitchen and party rooms, and the establishments per firm figure shows a mix of chain entertainment centers and single-site operators.

These are arithmetic industry averages. They state the size of the average establishment and show that multi-establishment ownership exists. They do not show the distribution of business sizes and they do not measure market concentration.

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Data Source Notice

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures above are from the 2022 Economic Census reference year, released by the Census Bureau in 2024 and 2025; markets have moved since.

Questions Worth Asking BusinessNES analysis

Amusement Arcade: what the machines, prizes and parties behind an average are worth.

Before you rely on this benchmark

• Who owns the games? Arcades may own their machines outright, lease them or share revenue with a route operator who places and services them. The ownership model decides how much of each play the arcade keeps and how much capital it needs, and the census does not distinguish it.
• How much revenue is redemption? Redemption games pay out tickets exchanged for prizes, and the cost of those prizes relative to the play revenue is a central ratio. An arcade heavy on redemption can look busy while giving much of its revenue back over the counter.
• Is it a pure arcade or an entertainment center? Many arcades are part of larger venues with bowling, laser tag, food and bars, and the census counts an establishment by its main activity. The average blends small arcades with family entertainment centers, so revenue per site varies widely.
• Where does the traffic come from? Malls, boardwalks, tourist districts and suburban strip centers deliver very different visitors and seasons, and an arcade's revenue often follows the traffic of its landlord rather than its own marketing. Location is a larger factor here than in most trades.
• What do parties and events contribute? Birthday parties, group bookings and corporate events bring predictable revenue and food sales, but they need rooms, staff and scheduling. The share of revenue from events is a strategic choice the benchmark cannot show.
• How quickly do games age? New titles draw players and old ones fade, so an arcade must keep buying or rotating machines to hold interest. Game replacement is a recurring capital cost that sits outside the revenue figure entirely.