This brief captures the 2025 GPS profile for the large-metro segment — agencies operating in the most competitive, highest-cost markets in the country. The signature is a professional-management cost structure: the lowest owner-compensation share of any segment and the highest producer pay. Each figure is a segment benchmark; the companion GPS segment reference compares the geographic and specialization cuts.
§ 01 · ProfitabilityProfitability & cost structure.
The lowest margin of any segment at 8.73% pre-tax — metro cost bases (occupancy, talent) are higher, and the competitive producer market pushes sales compensation to 23.40%, well above owner pay at 11.99%.
| Metric | Benchmark |
|---|---|
| Pre-tax profit margin | 8.73% |
| Total expense ratio | 91.27% |
| Total compensation (% of revenue) | 67.52% |
| Sales (producer) compensation | 23.40% |
| Office (service) compensation | 23.49% |
| Executive / owner compensation | 11.99% |
| Total administrative expenses | 23.76% |
§ 02 · Revenue mixRevenue mix.
Commercial-led at 52.31%, with the lowest personal-lines share among geographic segments (20.90%) and a notable 12.82% health component — the larger-employer base of a metro market.
| Line | % of revenue |
|---|---|
| Commercial lines | 52.31% |
| Personal lines | 20.90% |
| Life | 2.67% |
| Health | 12.82% |
| Contingent / bonus | 8.68% |
| Fees | 0.99% |
| Other | 2.17% |
Revenue mix, at a glance.
Commercial-led with a deep health component. Bar widths are exact percentages of revenue.
§ 03 · Growth & retentionGrowth & retention.
Solid 11% growth, with retention strong in commercial and life & health but softer in personal lines (85%) — the churn cost of a competitive metro PL market.
| Metric | Benchmark |
|---|---|
| Annual revenue growth | 11% |
| Commercial-lines retention | 89% |
| Personal-lines retention | 85% |
| Life & health retention | 90% |
§ 04 · ProductivityProductivity per person.
The highest revenue per person of any geographic segment ($180,808), across a large 16.9-person team with 3.6 producers — the scale a metro book requires.
| Metric | Benchmark |
|---|---|
| Revenue per employee | $180,808 |
| Commission per employee | $159,396 |
| Compensation per producer | $200,323 |
| CL commission per account | $1,867 |
| Total staff (average) | 16.9 |
| Producers (average) | 3.6 |
§ 05 · Balance sheetBalance-sheet & book quality.
Mid-range ratios with efficient 16.5-day collections — the cash discipline of a professionally-managed operation.
| Metric | Benchmark |
|---|---|
| Trust position ratio | 3.11 |
| Collection ratio | 0.51 |
| Current ratio | 2.09 |
| Days working capital | 69.4 |
| Average age of receivables | 16.5 days |
- Professional-management cost structure. Lowest owner-comp share (11.99%), highest producer pay (23.40%).
- Commercial-heavy, health-rich. 52.31% CL and a segment-high 12.82% health share.
- Highest productivity. $180,808 revenue per person — the metro scale dividend.
- Largest valuable accounts. $1,867 CL commission per account.
- Thinnest margin. 8.73% pre-tax — higher metro cost base.
- Competitive PL churn. 85% personal-lines retention, the softest line.
Scale and accounts — at a metro cost base.
GPS benchmarks don't value an agency — they're the operating baseline a valuation is built on. A big-city book reads as scaled and professionally managed: large commercial accounts, deep producer bench, low key-person risk. The watch-items a buyer underwrites are the thin 8.73% reported margin (which a normalized view often improves, since owner comp is already low) and the competitive PL retention. The metrics that move the multiple are commercial-account quality, producer retention, and the durability of the health book.
The companion financial & transactional mechanics reference covers how operating benchmarks translate into a normalized earnings bridge.
What GPS measures. The Growth & Performance Standards study tracks growth, profitability, and stability across reporting independent agencies, segmented here by metro size.
Percentages of revenue. Expense, compensation, and revenue-mix lines are percentages of total agency revenue unless a dollar figure is shown.
Benchmarks, not averages-of-extremes. Each figure is the segment's reported standard — the typical agency, not a blend of outliers.
Frequency. The GPS study publishes annually. Milly Books refreshes this brief with each edition.