SIC code for excavation: 1794, and NAICS 238910 for excavation and demolition

This page is for excavation, grading and demolition contractors filling in a SIC or NAICS field (a bonding or insurance application, a bank, a prime contractor's subcontractor form, SAM.gov) and for sellers building lists of site work contractors.

The SIC codes for excavation and demolition

The SIC manual drew a line NAICS dropped: excavation for buildings was 1794, while trenching and earthmoving not related to building construction were heavy construction (Major Group 16). If you dig for both and a form wants one SIC code, 1794 is the simpler answer. The SEC's EDGAR list doesn't carry 1794 or 1795; listed contractors use 1600 (heavy construction) or 1700 (specialty trade).

The NAICS code: 238910 Site Preparation Contractors

238910 sits in Subsector 238, Specialty Trade Contractors. The Census Bureau's definition: site preparation such as excavating and grading, demolition of buildings and other structures, and septic system installation, plus earthmoving and land clearing for all types of sites (building, nonbuilding and mining) and construction equipment rental with an operator, except cranes.

The Census index lists, among others: excavation and foundation digging, grading, backfilling and soil compacting, land clearing and leveling, trenching (except underwater), dewatering, blasting, test boring and core drilling, drilled piers and caissons, pile driving for building foundations, septic tank and drainage installation, building and interior demolition, house razing, hydrodemolition, whole building deconstruction, and removal of dams, culverts and bridges.

How to choose: what 238910 leaves out

The cross-reference that matters most is utility work: building distribution lines for water, sewer, gas, power or communications is Industry Group 2371, even though most of the job is digging. A contractor that trenches for its own pipe installs is a utility contractor; one that digs trenches for the utility contractor is 238910. For demolition, the line is hazardous material: a demolition contractor that also abates asbestos stays in 238910 if demolition is most of its revenue, and moves to 562910 if abatement is.

How many site preparation contractors there are

County Business Patterns 2023 counts 41,777 establishments in 238910 with 472,783 employees and $36.47 billion in annual payroll, on a 2017 NAICS basis (238910 is unchanged in 2022). CBP doesn't split excavation from demolition, because NAICS doesn't.

The top states are Texas (2,794), California (2,711), Florida (2,051), New York (1,861) and Pennsylvania (1,805). For comparison, 237110 water and sewer contractors number 10,841 establishments and 237310 highway contractors 9,256, averaging 15 and 34 employees per establishment against 11 in 238910.

CBP counts locations with paid employees, so owner-operators running a single machine without payroll aren't in it.

SBA size standards

From the SBA's table effective March 17, 2023, in average annual receipts over the last five completed fiscal years:

The gap matters on federal bids: a firm with $30 million in average receipts is too big for a 238910 set-aside but small under 237110. The contracting officer picks one code per solicitation, and that code's standard applies.

Where the code gets used, and what a wrong one costs

• Bonding and insurance. Sureties and insurers ask for the code to classify the work. Demolition, blasting and trenching carry different risks from grading, so describe your actual mix even though one code covers it.
• Federal work. On USAspending.gov, federal contract obligations coded 238910 totaled $148.4 million in fiscal year 2025, spread thinly (the largest recipient received $9.0 million). Register the heavy civil codes you'd also bid under, so agencies searching those codes find you.
• Tax returns. The IRS Schedule C list uses 238910, Site preparation contractors, the same as NAICS.

Finding excavation and demolition companies

No SEC-listed company is mainly an excavation or demolition contractor. The closest is Sterling Infrastructure (The Woodlands, TX; SIC 1600), whose E-Infrastructure Solutions segment provides large-scale site development for data centers, semiconductor plants, manufacturing and distribution centers; its total 2025 revenue was $2,490.0 million. The EDGAR list for SIC 1600 shows the other listed heavy contractors, most of them far broader than site work.

For the 41,777 establishments, filter by size and specialty: the 5,179 with 20 or more employees own fleets, bid on commercial work and buy equipment, fuel, parts, insurance and software. Demolition specialists also show up in local demolition permit records and, where your state licenses asbestos work, its contractor lists. Bebop finds site work contractors from a plain-language description and researches each account.

Worked example

Illustrative example. The company and figures are invented to show the method.

Ironridge Sitework (ironridge.example) has 48 employees in North Carolina. Revenue: 60% excavation and grading for commercial pads, 25% building demolition, 10% storm and sewer pipe installation, 5% equipment rental with operators.

1. SIC for a surety form: 1794. Excavation is the largest share; demolition (1795) maps to the same NAICS code.
2. Primary NAICS code: 238910 covers excavation, demolition and operated equipment rental: 90% of revenue.
3. Secondary code: 237110 for the pipe work, listed in SAM.gov for municipal and federal utility bids.
4. Size check: average annual receipts of $16.4 million. Small under 238910 ($19.0 million) and 237110 ($45.0 million). Growth past $19.0 million would end 238910 set-asides first.

Next step: see how the other trades are coded on the NAICS code for construction page.