NAICS 315120

Overview

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the framework Federal statistical agencies use to categorize business establishments for collecting, analyzing, and publishing data on the U.S. economy. Developed under the Office of Management and Budget and adopted in 1997 to replace SIC, NAICS is maintained jointly with Statistics Canada and Mexico’s INEGI and is updated on a five-year cycle, with the current vintage being 2022. ¹

NAICS 315120 (Apparel Knitting Mills) sits in Subsector 315 (Apparel Manufacturing). Official materials describe this industry as establishments primarily engaged in knitting apparel, or knitting fabric and then manufacturing apparel; knitting alone (without manufacturing apparel) is classified in Textile Mills, while cut-and-sew from purchased fabric is classified in Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing. Cross-references also note that finishing-only activities are separately classified. ²

What this NAICS covers

• Knitting of outerwear garments such as shirts, sweaters, sweat suits, and similar knit outerwear. ²
• Knitting of underwear and nightwear (e.g., briefs, underwear T-shirts, pajamas, nightshirts). ²
• Integrated operations that knit fabric and then cut/sew and finish garments within the same establishment. ²
• Entrepreneurial “jobber” functions tied to knitting apparel and accessories (e.g., sourcing, arranging manufacture, marketing). ²
• Knitted apparel accessories (e.g., mittens, gloves, hats, caps) when produced by knitting mills. ²
• Apparel knitting combined with finishing of the knit apparel (as part of producing complete garments). ²

Related NAICS and PSC codes

Type	Code	Descriptor
NAICS	315110	Hosiery and Sock Mills
NAICS	313240	Knit Fabric Mills
PSC	8415	Clothing, Special Purpose
PSC	8405	Outerwear, Men's

Key exclusions and boundaries

• Knitting fabric without making apparel is classified under Textile Mills (e.g., 313240 Knit Fabric Mills), not 315120. ²
• Cutting and sewing apparel from purchased woven or knit fabric belongs to Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing (industry group 3152). ²
• Finishing apparel products only is classified in Textile and Fabric Finishing Mills (e.g., 31331). ²
• Hosiery and socks are covered under 315110, separate from apparel knitting mills. ²

NAICS 2022 update notes

• Current code label: 315120 “Apparel Knitting Mills” is used in NAICS 2022-based Census program code lists. ³
• Prior vintage reference: NAICS 2017 materials and datasets commonly used 315190 “Other Apparel Knitting Mills.” ⁶
• The Census Bureau documents its transition to NAICS 2022 and provides concordances and bridge/comparative statistics explaining code changes. ⁴

Frequently asked questions

• What activities define NAICS 315120?

  • Establishments that knit apparel, or knit fabric and then manufacture complete garments, fall here; knitting alone is in Textile Mills, and cut-and-sew from purchased fabric is in Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing. Integrated knit-to-garment operations are included when conducted within the same establishment. ²

• How does 315120 differ from 315110 and 313240?

  • 315110 covers hosiery and socks; 313240 covers knitting fabric without making garments. 315120 covers knitting apparel and integrated knit-to-garment operations within the same establishment, including finishing as part of garment production. ²

• Did the code change in NAICS 2022?

  • Yes. Census program materials for NAICS 2022 show 315120 in use; earlier vintages often used 315190. The Census Bureau provides implementation documentation and crosswalks for the transition. ⁴

• What PSCs commonly appear with knitted apparel buys?

  • Clothing-related PSCs include 8405, 8410, 8415, 8420, 8425, 8450, and 8475, cited in DFARS PGI examples of PSCs that contain items of clothing. ⁵

• What is the SBA small business size standard for 315120?

  • SBA maintains the official table of size standards by NAICS. Refer to the most current Table of Size Standards and the SBA Size Standards Tool for the applicable employee or receipts threshold for 315120. SBA updates these thresholds periodically to reflect market conditions and inflation. ⁷

Useful resources

• G2X — NAICS 315120 overview
• U.S. Census Bureau — Implementation of the 2022 NAICS (overview, timeline, and change files). ⁴
• U.S. Census Bureau — Sector 31–33 (Manufacturing) narrative and 315 Apparel Manufacturing/3151 Apparel Knitting Mills definitions. ²
• U.S. Census Bureau — LEHD Selected Codebook Value Labels (shows NAICS 315120 label). ³

References

1. U.S. Census Bureau — About Industry: background and NAICS update cadence through 2022. https://www.census.gov/topics/employment/industry-occupation/about/industry.html
2. U.S. Census Bureau — NAICS Manufacturing (Sector 31–33) resources including 315 Apparel Manufacturing and 3151 Apparel Knitting Mills definitions/cross-references. https://www.census.gov/naics/resources/archives/sect31-33.html
3. U.S. Census Bureau (LEHD) — Selected Codebook Value Labels (S2023_R2024Q4) listing NAICS 315120 “Apparel Knitting Mills.” https://lehd.ces.census.gov/data/lehd-snapshot-doc/latest/appendices/value_labels.html
4. U.S. Census Bureau — The Census Bureau’s Implementation of the 2022 NAICS (with links to change files and timeline). https://www.census.gov/library/reference/code-lists/naics/2022/implementation-timeline.html
5. Acquisition.gov — DFARS PGI 225.7002-1: examples of PSCs that include clothing (e.g., 8405, 8410, 8415, 8420, 8425, 8450, 8475). https://www.acquisition.gov/node/56056/printable/print
6. U.S. Census Bureau (LEHD) — Selected Codebook Value Labels (S2021_R2022Q4) showing NAICS 315190 “Other Apparel Knitting Mills.” https://lehd.ces.census.gov/data/lehd-snapshot-doc/S2021/appendices/value_labels.html
7. U.S. Small Business Administration — Table of size standards (current official size thresholds by NAICS). https://www.sba.gov/document/support--table-size-standards