U.S. Market Research: Size, Growth & High-Value Participant Recruitment
The $36.8B U.S. market research industry grows steadily at 3% annually, with brands leveraging digital methods and AI to recruit authentic, high-value research participants.
# U.S. Market Research: Size, Growth & High-Value Participant Recruitment
The U.S. market research industry reached $36.8 billion in 2025, with growth of 3.0% that year. This represents a maturing but resilient sector that commands significant investment from brands seeking consumer insights.
Market Size & Growth Trajectory
The U.S. holds 55% of total market research market share, underscoring American dominance in the global research landscape. Employment of market research analysts is projected to grow 7 percent from 2024 to 2034, much faster than the average for all occupations, signaling strong industry expansion.
The U.S. market research industry has grown at a 3.0% CAGR between 2020 and 2025, with the market size projected at $37.7 billion in 2026, representing 2.4% growth. While modest compared to historical peaks, this reflects steady demand from enterprises across sectors.
Methodological Shift: Digital Dominance
Online surveys rank as the most used quantitative method among market research professionals with 85% of respondents who say they use this method regularly. In the U.S., 51.5% of survey responses came from mobile versus 47.3% non-mobile in Q3 2024—the first time mobile overtook desktop in American survey responses.
Online in-depth interviews with webcams rank as the most used qualitative research method, with over one-third (34%) of researchers using it regularly. This shift reflects both cost efficiency and the pandemic's lasting impact on research infrastructure.
How Brands Recruit High-Value Participants
Successful participant recruitment requires precision and strategy. 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.
Enlisting the services of organizations that have connections to relevant markets is a tried-and-true participant recruitment tactic for reliable market research. 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.