A current ratio only means something next to the figures of similar businesses. This table shows, for each industry, the current ratio of the typical company and the range that the middle half of companies fall in. Every figure is calculated from the balance sheets that US-listed companies file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, so you can check how it was measured.
To place your own figure, enter it in the current ratio calculator and choose your industry under the result.
Median current ratio for each industry
| Middle half 25th–75th percentile | Range chart | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 1.94 | 1.13–3.76 | 3,456 | |
| Pharmaceuticals and biotech | 4.39 | 2.23–9.04 | 605 | |
| Mining | 3.46 | 1.88–7.84 | 62 | |
| Aerospace and defense | 3.09 | 1.62–4.51 | 49 | |
| Medical devices and supplies | 3.02 | 1.73–5.55 | 181 | |
| Semiconductors and electronic components | 2.78 | 2.03–4.67 | 123 | |
| Scientific and measuring instruments | 2.60 | 1.73–4.46 | 69 | |
| Fabricated metal products | 2.52 | 1.46–4.07 | 52 | |
| Industrial machinery | 2.26 | 1.67–2.96 | 113 | |
| Apparel, textiles and footwear | 2.08 | 1.54–2.62 | 36 | |
| Chemicals and personal care | 2.07 | 1.37–2.98 | 99 | |
| Other manufacturing | 2.06 | 1.51–2.83 | 32 | |
| Electrical and communications equipment | 2.05 | 1.33–3.48 | 117 | |
| Building materials and metals | 2.00 | 1.61–3.29 | 48 | |
| Paper, wood and furniture | 1.89 | 1.41–2.75 | 39 | |
| Wholesale distribution | 1.87 | 1.16–2.83 | 97 | |
| Motor vehicles and transport equipment | 1.81 | 1.25–2.50 | 76 | |
| Software and IT services | 1.79 | 1.06–3.30 | 393 | |
| Agriculture | 1.77 | 1.20–2.52 | 18 | |
| Oil and gas services | 1.71 | 1.30–2.04 | 30 | |
| Education | 1.67 | 0.94–3.46 | 33 | |
| Healthcare services | 1.66 | 1.07–3.38 | 77 | |
| Printing and publishing | 1.54 | 0.83–1.81 | 17 | |
| Food, beverage and tobacco | 1.52 | 0.87–2.73 | 84 | |
| Telecommunications and media distribution | 1.51 | 1.00–2.42 | 66 | |
| Business services | 1.50 | 1.03–2.34 | 153 | |
| Apparel and footwear retail | 1.49 | 1.21–1.63 | 23 | |
| Transportation and logistics | 1.46 | 0.95–2.25 | 108 | |
| Computers and hardware | 1.45 | 1.02–2.97 | 53 | |
| Engineering, research and consulting | 1.43 | 1.05–2.65 | 55 | |
| Construction | 1.36 | 1.17–1.85 | 39 | |
| General merchandise and home retail | 1.33 | 1.07–1.84 | 31 | |
| Online and specialty retail | 1.28 | 0.96–1.69 | 66 | |
| Auto dealers and gas stations | 1.11 | 0.88–1.35 | 22 | |
| Restaurants | 0.96 | 0.44–1.55 | 47 | |
| Personal and repair services | 0.92 | 0.68–1.63 | 23 | |
| Oil and gas production | 0.91 | 0.66–1.57 | 69 | |
| Hotels, entertainment and leisure | 0.81 | 0.62–1.22 | 74 | |
| Utilities and waste services | 0.81 | 0.65–1.20 | 119 | |
| Airlines and air freight | 0.65 | 0.48–0.95 | 19 |
The median is the middle company. Half of the companies in each industry fall in the middle-half range. Industries with fewer than 15 companies are counted in "All industries" but not shown on their own. Download the table for every year as CSV (free to reuse with credit, CC BY 4.0).
Reading the table
- The median is the middle company: half the companies in the industry have a higher current ratio and half a lower one. It is less affected by a few unusual companies than an average would be.
- The 25th and 75th percentiles mark the middle half of companies. A quarter of companies sit below the first figure and a quarter above the second.
- A figure outside the middle half is not wrong. It is a reason to ask why the business differs from most of its industry.
Industries differ because their businesses work differently. A business that sells for cash and pays its suppliers later can run with fewer current assets than its current liabilities. A business that holds a lot of stock, or waits months to be paid, needs more current assets to cover the same obligations. Companies that are still spending money raised from investors, rather than earning it, often hold far more cash than they owe in the coming year. The guide to why financial ratios vary by industry explains these differences in more detail.
How the median has changed
| Year | Median | Middle half | Companies |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2.22 | 1.33–4.63 | 2,924 |
| 2022 | 2.05 | 1.21–3.84 | 3,042 |
| 2023 | 1.90 | 1.15–3.67 | 3,205 |
| 2024 | 1.85 | 1.10–3.48 | 3,370 |
| 2025 | 1.94 | 1.13–3.76 | 3,456 |
How the figures are measured
- Source: company filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, read through the SEC's free XBRL data API. SEC data is in the public domain.
- Figures: Current assets (
us-gaap:AssetsCurrent); Current liabilities (us-gaap:LiabilitiesCurrent), as each company tagged them in its filing. - Calculation: the current ratio is calculated for each company with the same formula as the calculator on this site, then the companies are ranked.
- Period: Balance sheets dated closest to 31 December 2025. For a company whose financial year ends at another time, a balance sheet near 31 December is usually a quarterly one.
- Companies: Companies listed on Nasdaq, NYSE or Cboe when the data was built, reporting under US GAAP. Blank-check companies (SPACs) are left out. Banks, insurers, brokers and real estate companies are left out: their balance sheets do not separate current from non-current items.
- Industries: each company's SIC code, as recorded by the SEC, grouped into plain-language industries. The SIC codes in each group are listed in the CSV download.
- Limits: these are public companies, which are larger than most businesses. The list is today's listed companies, so earlier years leave out companies that have since delisted. Companies tag figures themselves, and some tag them inconsistently; medians and quartiles are used because one odd figure barely moves them.
Built on 19 October 2026 from SEC data for 2025 and the four years before.
Using these figures for a smaller business
Listed companies are larger than most businesses and often have easier access to credit, so a small business in the same industry can have a different current ratio for good reasons. Use the industry range as a rough reference, and compare most closely with your own earlier periods and with businesses of a similar size and model. The quick ratio and the cash ratio give stricter views of the same question.