Number of interpreters and translators in the U.S. 2012-2023

In 2023, there were over 51,000 interpreters and translators employed in the United States. The number of people working in these positions has been decreasing for several of the last years, as the number of those employed in interpreting and translating services in the United States is currently far from the number registered in 2012.

Language services industry in the United States

The language service industry includes activities aimed at facilitating communication across linguistic and cultural barriers. Activities falling under this category are broad and include translation, interpretation, localization, transcription, and subtitling. Despite some fluctuations, the industry revenue of these services in the United States is expected to grow in the coming years. This positive trend was also confirmed by the mean hourly wage paid out to translators and interpreters in the country, which has increased steadily since 2012. In 2023, Virginia was the state in the U.S. with the highest wages in interpreting and translating services, followed by the District of Columbia, and Vermont.

Leading language services providers

In 2023, English was by far the most spoken language worldwide, followed by Chinese and Hindi. It is therefore not surprising that eight of the ten global leading language service providers were located in English-speaking countries. TransPerfect, the world's largest privately held provider of translation services, led the ranking with annual revenue amounting to 1.2 billion U.S. dollars. The New York-based firm was founded in 1992, and it currently operates in 170 different languages, employing more than 5,000 certified linguists.