U.S. Market Research Industry: Size, Growth, and Participant Recruitment

Industry Size and Growth Trajectory

<cite index="1-2">The U.S. market research industry reached $36.4 billion in 2025</cite>, representing a significant pillar of the broader global market. <cite index="12-1">The global market research industry grew 37.25% from $102 billion to $140 billion between 2021 and 2024</cite>, with <cite index="12-1">the U.S. market leading globally with $48 billion in revenue</cite>.

<cite index="1-1">The U.S. market research industry increased 3.9% in 2024</cite>, though growth has moderated from earlier expansion phases. <cite index="3-32">From 2014 to 2019, the U.S. market research industry grew at a strong pace, propelled by increasing expenditures on research and development and internet advertising</cite>. <cite index="11-2">Employment of market research analysts is projected to grow 7 percent from 2024 to 2034, much faster than the average for all occupations</cite>.

Market Concentration and Industry Leaders

<cite index="3-2">The top 50 companies generate about 60% of industry revenue</cite>, indicating a highly concentrated market dominated by established players. <cite index="16-13">Leading market research companies include Kantar (UK), Gartner (U.S.), IQVIA (U.S.), Ipsos (France), and Salesforce (U.S.)</cite>. <cite index="11-1">The median annual wage for market research analysts was $76,950 in May 2024</cite>.

Methodology Trends and Digital Shift

<cite index="12-6">Online surveys rank as the most used quantitative method among market research professionals with 85% of respondents who say they use this method regularly</cite>. <cite index="5-11">Over 6-in-10 (61.1%) survey responses worldwide were submitted from mobile devices in Q3 2024</cite>, reflecting the industry's digital-first evolution.

<cite index="12-4">69% of market researchers have incorporated synthetic data into their research efforts</cite>, while <cite index="12-5">around 47% of researchers worldwide use AI regularly in their market research activities</cite>. <cite index="12-14">83% of market research professionals claim their organizations plan to invest in AI for their research activities in 2025</cite>.

How Brands Recruit High-Value Participants

Successful participant recruitment requires strategic planning and multi-layered screening. <cite index="24-1">Brands work with their research partners to set parameters for market research recruitment – things like annual income of household/firm, buyer motivations, challenges, pain points, etc.</cite>

<cite index="21-19">A screener survey is a series of qualifying questions to determine if the respondent matches specific criteria to further participate in a qualitative or quantitative research study</cite>. <cite index="21-20,21-21">Popular forms of criteria for which researchers screen include age, gender, zip code, income, and other key demographics, but potential participants can also be targeted by more specific criteria such as cell phone provider, preference of music, number of children, and so on</cite>.

<cite index="22-1">Platforms such as Facebook enable researchers to target respondents based on demographic information such as age, gender, lifestyle, relationship status and job role</cite>. <cite index="22-4">Social media is a great way to reach out to a large number of people in a fast and cost-effective way so you can access a bigger audience than ever before</cite>.

<cite index="23-28">Research from the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that people responded best to a $5 or $10 pre-survey payment, along with $20 after completing survey</cite>. <cite index="25-25">In most cases, your budget should include an allowance for paying incentives to participants in the form of cash or vouchers</cite>.

<cite index="24-2,24-3">Well-executed participant recruitment is essential to reliable market research, and any study – whether involving recruitment for qualitative or quantitative research – needs high-quality respondents who give honest and thorough responses to questions</cite>. <cite index="24-17,24-18">A reliable market research firm will put checks in place to make sure the respondents are authentic, such as checking for suspicious IP addresses outside the target market geographic area</cite>.

Recruitment at Scale

<cite index="40-13">Firms at various points in the research value chain dedicate time to recruiting participants for research among groups that are likely to have valuable insights, creating pools of high-quality respondents that are ready to go as soon as a brand has its research questions</cite>. <cite index="38-1,38-4">There are thousands of third-party market research panels across the country, and having access to these participants allows teams to recruit large groups of people more quickly and easily</cite>.

Outlook

<cite index="7-1">Market research services market is projected to reach $116.02 billion by 2030 at 4.6% CAGR, driven by AI insights, automation, and real-time analytics</cite>. As brands demand faster, more personalized consumer insights, the industry's evolution toward AI-powered screening, synthetic data integration, and precision targeting will continue reshaping how high-value participants are identified and engaged.