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The 2024 FTC staff report on 70 MLM income disclosure statements concluded that most MLM distributors earn $1,000 or less per year before expenses. So how much do MLM distributors make on average? Company-specific income disclosure documents confirm the pattern. Amway IBOs at Founders Platinum and below averaged $723 in 2024 average MLM income. LifeVantage earning Consultants averaged $683 in average MLM income. Plexus reported $758 for all Brand Ambassadors. These MLM earnings data points are gross figures, not net of starter kits, autoship, or operating costs. The same MLM income statistics show up across nearly every published disclosure.

How Much Does the Average MLM Distributor Earn Per Year?

Independent academic analysis of FTC data places the MLM success rate of profitable participants below 1%. Jon M. Taylor&#39;s review of 350 MLM compensation plan structures for the FTC concluded that approximately 99% of MLM distributors lose money after accounting for qualifying purchases and operating expenses. The FTC&#39;s own 2024 staff report did not publish a single profitability percentage, but the MLM success rate statistics from the same review documented that 17 of 70 disclosures showed the typical participant earning $0 in MLM income before expenses.

What Percentage of MLM Distributors Make a Profit?

An MLM income disclosure statement is a document an MLM publishes to show what its MLM distributors actually earn over a given period. The income disclosure statement typically breaks earnings down by rank, often shows average MLM income, and may include the percentage of MLM distributors at each rank. U.S. federal law does not require publication of any income disclosure statement. Some MLMs publish anyway as a transparency measure. The 2024 FTC review noted that most published income disclosure statements omit expenses and downplay the percentage of participants earning nothing.

What Is an MLM Income Disclosure Statement (IDS)?

No company publishes a fully transparent income disclosure statement under the FTC&#39;s 2024 criteria. Amway and Nu Skin publish detailed rank-level MLM earnings data with percentage of inactive participants. Mary Kay and LifeVantage publish in narrower formats. Plexus and MONAT include language acknowledging that expenses may exceed MLM earnings. Mary Kay&#39;s Canadian MLM income disclosure goes further by stating directly that the typical participant earns nothing. None of the 70 income disclosure statements reviewed by FTC staff in 2024 met the bar of including expense data alongside MLM earnings data.

Which MLM Companies Publish the Most Transparent Income Data?

Traditional small businesses show a profitability rate of approximately 39% over the lifetime of the business, according to NFIB U.S. census data cited in FTC public-comment filings. MLM success rate statistics for profitability sit below 1% by independent academic estimates. The two models are not strictly comparable. Traditional small-business owners typically invest upfront capital while MLM distributors invest in qualifying purchases over time. The rank-order across every analysis stays consistent: small-business owners outperform MLM distributors on the probability of net positive network marketing earnings. The answer to how much do MLM distributors make versus how much do small-business owners make is therefore a question of probability, not just headline averages.

How Do MLM Income Statistics Compare to Traditional Small-Business Earnings?

Top-tier MLM income varies dramatically by company and by year. Mary Kay&#39;s 2024 Canadian income disclosure showed National Sales Directors averaging CAD $122,000, down from CAD $149,440 in 2023. Amway Diamond IBOs typically earn six-figure network marketing income, but Diamond rank represents a fraction of one percent of the active field. Within any MLM, the top 1% of MLM distributors typically capture a disproportionate share of total network marketing earnings. Median income at the top tier is meaningful only for the small slice of participants who reach the top tier, which the FTC has documented to be below 1% in most published MLM income disclosure documents. Network marketing income statistics for top-tier earners say nothing about the typical recruit.

What Is the Median Income for Top-Tier MLM Distributors?

No. The United States does not require MLM companies to publish any income disclosure statement, and MLM success rate statistics are not legally required either. The FTC&#39;s 2024 Business Guidance on Multi-Level Marketing and the September 2024 staff report on 70 income disclosure statements represent guidance, not enforceable rules. The Direct Selling Self-Regulatory Council has published voluntary standards. Some states have proposed legislation. The result is voluntary, inconsistent MLM income disclosure across companies, which is the gap the 2024 FTC report explicitly criticized. Until federal rules change, network marketing income statistics will remain self-reported and the MLM income statistics that recruits see will keep favoring top-rank earners.

Are MLM Success Rate Statistics Legally Required to be Disclosed?

A data-driven look into 2026 MLM income disclosures, separating the reality of average distributor earnings from corporate recruitment promises.

MLM Income Statistics 2026: What Distributors Really Earn (Data-Driven Analysis)

MLM Income Statistics 2026 | Real Distributor Earnings Data | FlawlessMLM

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