A Statistical Snapshot of ESOPs: Company and Participant Numbers, and Industry Distribution

How many ESOPs and participants are there? What industries are represented? 2026 Update

The most common form of employee ownership by far in the US is an ESOP (employee stock ownership plan), a retirement plan that acquires company stock in accounts for employees. About 6,411 companies (mostly closely held) have an ESOP, and an average of 270 more ESOPs are created yearly. (Because some companies have more than one ESOP, there are 6,609 ESOPs in all.) ESOPs are found in all industries but particularly in ones like manufacturing. About 10.9 million employees, or about 8% of the private-sector workforce, are ESOP participants, plus several million more participants who have left employment and are not fully paid out yet. For more ESOP statistics, see Employee Ownership by the Numbers.