Short answer: the US had 3,243 vending machine operator businesses with employees in 2022, and Canada had 257 vending operator locations with employees in June 2025. Most are small: 66% of the US businesses have fewer than 5 employees. Meanwhile 1,178,642 US workplaces and 179,111 Canadian ones have 20 or more employees, the rough size where a break-room machine starts to make sense.
Key numbers
Vending operators by size
Vending is an industry of small operators. These counts are businesses with employees, by how many employees they have. Owner-operators with no payroll aren't in either table, so the real number of operators is higher.
| Employees (US / Canada band) | US businesses, 2022 | Canada locations, June 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer than 5 / 1 to 4 | 2,138 | 185 |
| 5 to 9 / 5 to 9 | 401 | 35 |
| 10 to 19 / 10 to 19 | 257 | 17 |
| 20 to 49 / 20 to 49 | 265 | 17 |
| 50 to 99 / 50 to 99 | 117 | 2 |
| 100 or more / 100 or more | 64 | 1 |
| Total | 3,243 | 257 |
US: Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2022, NAICS 454210; one US business with 500 or more employees isn't published separately and is only in the total. The US businesses employed 38,830 people with an annual payroll of about $1.59 billion. Canada: Statistics Canada Table 33-10-1014-01, NAICS 445132; the US and Canadian employee bands differ slightly (fewer than 5 versus 1 to 4).
Vending operators by province
| Province | Locations |
|---|---|
| Quebec | 75 |
| Ontario | 75 |
| Alberta | 36 |
| British Columbia | 33 |
| Saskatchewan | 11 |
| New Brunswick | 8 |
| Nova Scotia | 7 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 5 |
| Manitoba | 5 |
| Prince Edward Island | 2 |
| Canada | 257 |
Source: Statistics Canada Table 33-10-1014-01. The table lists no vending operator locations in the territories.
Workplaces big enough for a machine
A vending machine needs people on site every day. Operators often look for 20 or more people on site, and many want 50 or more for a full-size machine. These are business locations (Canada) and establishments (US) by employees on payroll at that location, which is not the same as people on site at one time.
| Industry | Canada, 20+ | Canada, 50+ | US, 20+ | US, 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 179,111 | 66,589 | 1,178,642 | 436,376 |
| Manufacturing | 14,951 | 7,056 | 89,242 | 47,112 |
| Warehousing and storage | 876 | 410 | 6,997 | 3,929 |
| Health care and social assistance | 19,600 | 7,550 | 164,070 | 64,264 |
| Hospitals | 839 | 774 | 6,632 | 6,335 |
| Nursing care facilities | 1,811 | 1,493 | 13,878 | 11,274 |
| Educational services | 3,817 | 1,877 | 23,870 | 10,431 |
| Hotels and other accommodation | 3,049 | 1,101 | 17,341 | 5,219 |
| Construction | 14,269 | 4,817 | 71,922 | 24,069 |
| Automotive repair and maintenance | 925 | 109 | 7,010 | 966 |
Canada: Statistics Canada Table 33-10-1014-01 (June 2025). US: Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2022. 20+ adds the 20 to 49 band and every larger band. US hotels are NAICS 7211 (traveller accommodation); Canadian hotels are accommodation services.
Energy use
Since January 8, 2019, every new refrigerated bottled or canned drink machine sold in the US must stay under a federal daily energy cap set by its type and refrigerated volume. Canada regulates the same machines under its Energy Efficiency Regulations.
| Machine class | Max kWh a day (V = refrigerated cubic feet) |
|---|---|
| Class A (glass-front) | 0.052 × V + 2.43 |
| Class B | 0.052 × V + 2.20 |
| Combination A | 0.086 × V + 2.66 |
| Combination B | 0.111 × V + 2.04 |
A 25 cubic foot glass-front machine is capped at 3.73 kWh a day, about 1,361 kWh a year. At the US average commercial electricity price for July 2026 (14.53¢ per kWh), that's roughly $16 a month at most; many machines use less. Sources: 10 CFR 431.296, EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A.
Rules that apply
- US calorie labeling for vending machines. Operators of 20 or more food vending machines must show calories for items whose Nutrition Facts label can't be seen before purchase. Source: 21 CFR 101.8.
- USDA Smart Snacks in School. Snacks sold to students during the school day: no more than 200 calories and 200 mg sodium per item; total fat no more than 35% of calories; saturated fat under 10% of calories; sugar no more than 35% by weight. Source: 7 CFR 210.11.
- FTC Business Opportunity Rule. Covers sellers of business opportunities, including vending machine routes and location services: a disclosure document at least 7 days before a buyer signs or pays. Source: 16 CFR Part 437.
- Canada energy efficiency, refrigerated vending machines. Regulated under the Energy Efficiency Regulations for machines made from January 8, 2019, with a test standard aligned with the US procedure. Source: Natural Resources Canada.
Metro Vancouver data
Metro Vancouver is VendFynd's first market, so we've counted it closely from city open data, CMHC and municipal bylaws. Each number links to the article with its full method and sources.
Method and how to cite
Every figure on this page comes from a public source linked next to it; we did the sums (bands added, shares rounded to whole percent). Government tables are revised from time to time, so check the source before relying on a number for a decision. The full data is in one file: vending-stats-2026-10.json.
Cite this page: VendFynd, "Vending machine statistics: Canada and the US", vendfynd.com/stats, updated October 16, 2026. You're welcome to quote any number with a link to this page.
Questions about a number, or a source we should add? Email hello@vendfynd.com.
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