MSPs

Cold email software for MSPs

Acqro gives managed service providers cold email that researches each prospect's company before writing. Below: verified federal data on the industry across all 50 states, the buyers it sells to, and a playbook for outreach that earns replies.

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How many MSPs are in the United States?

Direct answer

The United States had 6,374 establishments in NAICS 541513, computer facilities management services, in 2023, employing 103,562 people. The largest markets by establishments were California, Texas and Florida. Source: U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns.

Verified data

MSPs in the US by the numbers

US establishments
6,374−7.2% vs 2022Census CBP 2023, NAICS 541513
Paid employees
103,562Census CBP 2023
Average annual pay
$101,822Census CBP 2023
Firms under 10 employees
78.6%Census CBP 2023
Largest state
CaliforniaBy establishments, CBP 2023

Census does not publish a separate category for managed service providers; figures use NAICS 541513, Computer Facilities Management Services, the closest official industry. 78.6% of establishments have fewer than 10 employees, so most firms in the industry run outbound with a founder or a very small sales team. The 1,300 firms with 10 to 249 employees are the ones most likely to be building a repeatable outbound process.

The five largest states hold 35.5% of all establishments. Among states with at least 100 establishments, the fastest growth between 2022 and 2023 was in Indiana (+15.5%), Wisconsin (+15.2%) and Michigan (+4.7%). Growing markets bring new competitors and new buyers at the same time, which rewards outreach that is specific rather than volume-driven.

MSPs by state

All states and DC ranked by number of establishments, with the change since 2022.

NAICS 541513, Computer Facilities Management Services. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 and 2022. — = not published.
RankStateEstablishmentsEmployeesChange vs 2022
1California59411,556−13.4%
2Texas4998,275−4.8%
3Florida4614,815−13.5%
4Virginia35512,470−10.1%
5Illinois3544,301−0.8%
6New York3003,090−7.4%
7New Jersey2693,950−8.8%
8Georgia2483,410+0.4%
9Michigan2431,766+4.7%
10Maryland2367,751−14.5%
11Pennsylvania2221,969−2.2%
12Ohio1753,095−9.3%
13Indiana1711,261+15.5%
14Wisconsin159826+15.2%
15North Carolina1561,970−7.1%
16Colorado1455,613−15.7%
17Massachusetts1343,224−3.6%
18Minnesota1241,528−8.8%
19Missouri1233,224−0.8%
20Washington119−3.3%
21Arizona116967−12.8%
22Alabama91843−1.1%
23Tennessee841,249−1.2%
24Kansas731,238+2.8%
25South Carolina721,420−11.1%
26Oregon67649−1.5%
27Oklahoma66+1.5%
28Nevada58585−1.7%
29New Mexico58585+18.4%
30Louisiana57448−12.3%
31Connecticut53643−13.1%
32Utah52465−23.5%
33Idaho34152−5.6%
34New Hampshire34246−5.6%
35Arkansas33370−17.5%
36Kentucky32−28.9%
37District of Columbia30566−23.1%
38Iowa26−23.5%
39Nebraska26235−10.3%
40Alaska24237−4.0%
41Delaware23−4.2%
42Mississippi23171−42.5%
43Montana22180−12.0%
44Rhode Island21180−16.0%
45Hawaii20285−31.0%
46Maine20439−13.0%
47Wyoming17136−15.0%
48West Virginia16178−27.3%
49Vermont1482−26.3%
50North Dakota131980.0%
51South Dakota1267−14.3%

Who MSPs sell to

Common buyer industries for managed service providers, with US establishment counts and how many have 10 to 249 employees.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023. The choice of buyer industries is Acqro's editorial guidance; the counts are Census figures.
Buyer industryEstablishments10–249 employeesEmployees
Offices of Physicians218,06658,9392,771,935
Legal Services181,09223,5111,190,297
Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services137,06917,6541,297,995
Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services117,41729,6231,741,313
Outreach playbook

How MSPs should run cold email

Managed service providers sell outsourced IT management, help desk, security and infrastructure to organisations that lack a full internal IT team. These are the contacts, triggers and messages that make a first email relevant rather than generic.

Who to email

  • Owner or managing partner
  • Practice administrator or office manager
  • Operations director
  • CFO or controller at larger firms

Signals worth researching

  • A new office or location, which means new network, device and access setup
  • Job posts for an in-house IT generalist, which often signals the gap an MSP fills
  • A compliance obligation surfacing: HIPAA for clinics, client data rules for law and accounting firms
  • A recently announced merger or partner addition that doubles the systems to integrate

What to say

  • Lead with the operational event you found, not your service catalogue
  • Frame security and uptime in terms of billable hours or patient appointments lost
  • Offer a short assessment with a concrete output rather than a generic call

What to avoid

  • Fear-based ransomware openers, which buyers now filter as noise
  • Listing every certification your technicians hold in the first email
Questions

Cold email for MSPs, answered

How many MSPs are there in the US?

There were 6,374 establishments in NAICS 541513 (Computer Facilities Management Services) in 2023, employing 103,562 people. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023.

Which states have the most MSPs?

By establishments in 2023: California (594), Texas (499), Florida (461), Virginia (355) and Illinois (354). Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023.

Who should an MSP email first at a small professional firm?

At firms without an IT department the decision usually sits with the owner, managing partner or office manager. Email the person who feels the pain of downtime day to day, and copy the owner only once there is interest. Titles like IT manager rarely exist in the segment most MSPs serve best.

What should an MSP mention in a cold email to stand out?

Reference something specific to the business: a new location, a compliance deadline, a job post for IT help, or a technology change visible on their website. A message built on one verified observation reads as research; a message listing managed services reads as a template.

Is cold email legal in the United States?

Yes. The federal CAN-SPAM Act permits commercial email to business contacts without prior consent, provided the message identifies the sender accurately, uses a truthful subject line, includes a valid physical postal address and a working opt-out, and honours opt-out requests promptly. CAN-SPAM applies in every state and preempts most state commercial email laws, except provisions aimed at falsity or deception. This is general information, not legal advice.

Sources and methodology

Every figure on this page comes from a federal statistical release and is shown with its source and reference year. Figures the agencies withhold or publish with high noise are left out rather than estimated. Page updated September 17, 2026.

  • U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 and 2022: establishments, paid employment for the pay period including March 12, annual payroll, and establishments by employment size. Industries use NAICS 2017 codes.
  • Industry definition: NAICS 541513, Computer Facilities Management Services, used as the closest official category for managed service providers.

Built for MSPs who sell to a finite list

Acqro researches every account on your list and writes the first email from what it finds.

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