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Vending machine business earnings

How Much Does a Vending Machine Make? Profit Data

Self-employed vending machine operators averaged $33,785 in yearly receipts in the Census Bureau’s latest figures. Here is how that varies by state, and what a new business can expect to keep.

By Main Street Plans research · Updated October 12, 2026 · Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics
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The national picture

$33,785
Avg. yearly receipts, self-employed (2024)
24,152
Self-employed operators
3,227
Businesses with employees (2023)
$146
Kept per machine a month at $90/week in sales (our model)

Vending businesses with employees average $2,498,200 a year, but that category includes large vending and micro-market operators; self-employed figures are the better guide for a new operator.

Average receipts by state

Bar chart of average yearly sales for vending machine operators in the top states
The twelve states with the highest average receipts for self-employed operators.
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StateSelf-employed avg.
1. Vermont$51,304
2. Tennessee$45,450
3. Kentucky$44,306
4. Kansas$42,551
5. Hawaii$42,290
6. North Dakota$41,980
7. Colorado$41,690
8. Wisconsin$41,064
9. Mississippi$40,097
10. South Carolina$39,481
11. Indiana$39,436
12. New Hampshire$38,771
13. Alabama$38,103
14. Arizona$37,967
15. Utah$37,611
Show all 51 states
1. Vermont$51,304
2. Tennessee$45,450
3. Kentucky$44,306
4. Kansas$42,551
5. Hawaii$42,290
6. North Dakota$41,980
7. Colorado$41,690
8. Wisconsin$41,064
9. Mississippi$40,097
10. South Carolina$39,481
11. Indiana$39,436
12. New Hampshire$38,771
13. Alabama$38,103
14. Arizona$37,967
15. Utah$37,611
16. Minnesota$37,590
17. Idaho$37,579
18. Connecticut$37,563
19. Louisiana$37,559
20. New Mexico$37,459
21. Arkansas$37,403
22. Missouri$35,529
23. California$34,760
24. Rhode Island$34,519
25. Massachusetts$34,473
26. Illinois$34,456
27. North Carolina$34,172
28. Oregon$34,068
29. Oklahoma$33,804
30. Nevada$33,683
31. Texas$33,297
32. Pennsylvania$33,068
33. New Jersey$32,746
34. Nebraska$32,211
35. Ohio$31,521
36. Washington$31,509
37. Iowa$31,415
38. Florida$30,513
39. Georgia$30,280
40. Maine$30,055
41. Alaska$29,774
42. New York$28,731
43. Maryland$28,525
44. Montana$28,524
45. Michigan$27,972
46. Virginia$27,868
47. West Virginia$27,654
48. Delaware$23,344
49. Wyoming$22,283
50. District of Columbia$19,600
51. South Dakota$19,224

States without a published figure are left out; the Census withholds numbers that could reveal individual businesses.

From sales to profit

Sales are not take-home pay. In our model with typical assumptions, costs that rise with sales take 60% of revenue before fixed costs and loan payments. A new vending machine business might look like this:

Chart of a new vending machine business's yearly sales against its break-even point
Yearly sales in years one to three against the sales needed to break even.
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Year 1Year 2Year 3
Sales$18,720$46,800$70,200
Operating profit (before owner pay)$961$11,770$20,733
Margin5.1%25.1%29.5%

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Questions

How much profit does one vending machine make?

At $90 of sales a week, a machine takes in about $390 a month. After product, the location’s commission, card fees and its telemetry fee, about $146 a month is left to cover your vehicle, insurance and time. Busy locations sell far more than this starting assumption; quiet ones less.

How much do self-employed vending machine operators make?

Self-employed operators averaged $33,785 in yearly receipts in the Census Bureau’s 2024 Nonemployer Statistics; many run the business part time.

How much profit can a new one make?

In our example with typical assumptions, a new vending machine business reaches $70,200 in year-three sales and $20,733 in operating profit before the owner’s pay and income tax — a 29.5% margin. Your own prices and costs change that.

Related

Sources

  • U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 — NAICS 445132 (Vending Machine Operators).
  • U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census — receipts, payroll and employment.
  • U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics 2024.
  • U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 — Coin, Vending, and Amusement Machine Servicers and Repairers.
  • Federal Reserve, bank prime loan rate (via FRED).

Figures are computed by Main Street Plans from the published federal files listed above. See how we build our numbers.