Almanac

A statistical look at 1999's Inc. 500 companies and the CEOs who run them.

Inc. Newsletter

WHERE ARE THEY?

THE INC. 500 BY LOCATION

State with the greatest number of Inc. 500 companies:
California, with 75

State with the biggest drop in the number of Inc. 500 companies since last year:
California, with 9 fewer

Most unlucky state:
Nebraska, birthplace of 7 Inc. 500 CEOs, only one of whom stayed to build a business

State that is the birthplace of the greatest number of Inc. 500 CEOs:
New York, where 36 were born

State that draws the most "outsiders":
Georgia, the base of 24 Inc. 500 companies, of which only 3 have CEOs who are Georgia natives

State with the greatest gain in the number of Inc. 500 companies since last year:
Georgia, with 7 more

TOP 10 METRO AREAS
By number of companies
New York 34
Washington, D.C. 34
Los Angeles 31
San Francisco-Oakland 29
Boston 24
Atlanta 23
Dallas-Fort Worth 21
Chicago 21
Philadelphia 20
Detroit 16

THE COMPANIES

THE INC. 500 BY INDUSTRY
Computer-related 46%
Business services 15%
Consumer goods and services 10%
Financial services 6%
Telecommunications 5%
Construction 5%
Health/medical 4%
Industrial products 4%
Transportation 2%
Media 1%
Environmental 1%

Note: Does not add up to 100% because of rounding.

THE INC. 500 BY SECTOR
Service 76%
Manufacturing 11%
Distribution 8%
Retail 5%
BENCHMARKS
SALES
Average five-year sales growth 1,715%
Average 1998 sales $22,102,000
Median 1998 sales $10,225,000
Collective 1998 sales $11,050,832,000
EMPLOYEES
Average number of employees 135
Median number of employees 60
Collective number of employees 67,271
VIRTUOSOS
Number of companies that also
made the list last year
149
Number of companies that broke
$100 million in sales in 1998
16
Number of companies founded in
1994
79
CUSTOMERS
Percentage of companies whose
main source of business is
Fortune 1,000 businesses 44%
Small to midsize businesses 35%
The government 13%
Consumers 12%
Nonprofits 1%