Sale multiples report

SDE Multiples by Industry

Every Main Street industry this site tracks, on one page — average SDE multiple, average revenue multiple, and median sale price, transcribed from published sold-business transaction data (businesses sold Q3 2021 – Q2 2026). No search box; this is the whole table.

Valuing your own business? Use the interactive lookup instead — it hands your industry straight to the calculator.

Food & drink

Industry	SDE multiple	Revenue multiple	Median sale price
Restaurant	2.18×	0.39×	$220,000
Bar, pub, or tavern	2.76×	0.51×	$296,500
Coffee shop or cafe	2.27×	0.47×	$150,000
Bakery	2.44×	0.51×	$200,963
Food truck	2.03×	0.55×	$78,000
Catering company	2.07×	0.45×	$416,000
Ice cream or frozen yogurt shop	2.48×	0.57×	$166,500

Beauty & personal care

Industry	SDE multiple	Revenue multiple	Median sale price
Hair salon or barber shop	2.10×	0.52×	$117,375
Nail salon	1.74×	0.41×	$149,000
Spa	2.31×	0.63×	$250,500
Massage business	2.21×	0.48×	$235,000
Tanning salon	2.24×	0.52×	$125,000

Contracting & trades

Industry	SDE multiple	Revenue multiple	Median sale price
HVAC business	2.83×	0.60×	$750,000
Plumbing business	2.61×	0.69×	$699,000
Electrical or mechanical contractor	2.77×	0.63×	$1,009,000
Concrete business	2.54×	0.61×	$780,000
Heavy construction business	2.78×	0.62×	$1,000,000
Landscaping or yard service	2.49×	0.72×	$449,950
Cleaning business	2.25×	0.72×	$281,500

Other Main Street businesses

Industry	SDE multiple	Revenue multiple	Median sale price
Auto repair or service shop	2.85×	0.65×	$430,000
Gym or fitness center	2.54×	0.70×	$204,000
Convenience store	2.41×	0.40×	$209,000
Liquor store	3.39×	0.50×	$425,000
Pet grooming business	2.30×	0.63×	$152,500
Dry cleaner	2.11×	0.77×	$253,500
Laundromat or coin laundry	3.70×	1.33×	$250,000
Day care or child care center	3.28×	0.88×	$380,000

By sector — if your business isn't listed

Industry	SDE multiple	Revenue multiple	Median sale price
Automotive and boat	3.10×	0.71×	$500,000
Beauty and personal care	2.12×	0.54×	$145,000
Building and construction	2.65×	0.59×	$750,500
Communication and media	2.47×	0.91×	$365,000
Education and children	2.89×	0.84×	$350,000
Entertainment and recreation	2.81×	0.91×	$375,000
Financial services	2.46×	1.21×	$450,000
Food and restaurants	2.27×	0.42×	$200,000
Health care and fitness	2.72×	0.75×	$441,162
Manufacturing	3.04×	0.73×	$726,914
Online and technology	3.28×	1.09×	$850,000
Pet services	2.59×	0.73×	$226,000
Retail	2.63×	0.55×	$286,000
Service businesses	2.61×	0.83×	$350,000
Transportation and storage	1.95×	0.64×	$150,000
Wholesale and distributors	2.93×	0.55×	$604,000

Methodology — where these figures come from

Every figure above is transcribed verbatim from BizBuySell, Business Valuation Multiples by Industry, which aggregates real reported sales of small businesses over a trailing five-year window — currently businesses sold Q3 2021 – Q2 2026 — and refreshes the window biannually. 80% of businesses in the source data set sold between $50,000 and $2,000,000 — the “main street” segment. Nothing here is estimated, rounded, or invented.

SDE multiple= average sale price ÷ Seller’s Discretionary Earnings. Revenue multiple = average sale price ÷ annual gross revenue. Median sale price = the middle reported sale price in that industry, describing typical deal size rather than what a specific business is worth.

Source: BizBuySell, Business Valuation Multiples by Industry (businesses sold Q3 2021 – Q2 2026).
Last reviewed: July 2026. This report is informational only and is not professional, financial, or valuation advice.

Frequently asked questions

How is this different from the Industry Multiple Lookup tool?

The lookup tool (/business-valuation-multiples) is search-first — you find your industry and hand it off to the valuation calculator. This page is the reference version: every industry's multiple and median sale price, on one page, meant to be cited or linked to directly rather than searched.

Can I cite or link to this page?

Yes — that's what it's for. Link to this page, or to a specific industry's row, as the source for a Main Street business sale multiple. The underlying figures are transcribed verbatim from the source below, not modeled or estimated.

How often is this data updated?

The source refreshes its window biannually. When it does, every figure on this page is re-transcribed to match — see "Last reviewed" below for the current update.

What if my industry isn't listed by name?

Use the sector averages in the last group — the source publishes sector-level figures covering essentially every Main Street business. A sector average is a looser starting point than a named industry, since it blends businesses with different economics.

Related tools

Industry Multiple Lookup

Look up the published SDE and revenue multiples — and median sale prices — for dozens of Main Street industries, from real sold-business transaction data.

Open tool →SDE Business Valuation Calculator

Estimate what your Main Street business would sell for: IBBA-method SDE from your own P&L, an industry multiple from published sold-business data, and every factor behind the number named and priced.

Open tool →SDE Calculator & Add-Back Worksheet

Work out Seller's Discretionary Earnings line by line — owner compensation, financing and non-cash expenses, one-time items, and the normalization adjustments that cut both ways — per the IBBA's standard definition.

Open tool →Asking Price Checker

Check a business-for-sale listing the buyer's way: the SDE multiple its asking price implies, next to the average multiple similar businesses actually sold for, from published transaction data.

Open tool →