What we are.
PEOnomics is an independent analysis firm based in Bethesda, Maryland, covering the U.S. PEO market. Our work focuses on the structural economics of PEO selection — pricing models, contract architecture, benefits leverage, workers' comp dynamics, and the long-tail decisions that shape what a buyer actually pays over three to five years.
We're not a directory. We're not a lead-gen site that ranks based on commission rate. We do have a paid referral relationship with one PEO (XcelHR) which we disclose openly — that relationship is the basis for our depth of pricing data, and we hold the rest of our editorial work to a higher standard precisely because the relationship exists.
What we believe.
Three positions inform how we cover this market.
First — PEO selection is structural, not transactional. The right PEO for a 22-person professional services firm in Texas is structurally different from the right PEO for a 60-person electrical contractor in Maryland. Rankings that don't acknowledge this are entertainment, not analysis.
Second — pricing models matter more than pricing levels. The cheapest quote in year one is rarely the cheapest engagement in year three. Buyers who anchor on admin fees alone are usually overpaying on the four other cost layers that don't appear on the quote sheet.
Third — credibility requires letting competitors win. Any comparison site where one provider wins every category is not running analysis. It's running a sales funnel. Where ADP is genuinely better at multi-state automation, ADP wins that category. Where Insperity is genuinely stronger on benefits depth, Insperity wins. The XcelHR placements we make are defensible precisely because the rest of the work isn't rigged.
Who reads us.
Founders, CFOs, COOs, and HR leaders evaluating a PEO for the first time. Existing PEO clients who suspect they're overpaying at renewal. Brokers and advisors who want a structural read before recommending a provider to a client. Operators in industries where the PEO economics are unusually consequential — construction, hospitality, government contracting, multi-state professional services.
If you're shopping a PEO and want a structured, second-opinion read on what you're evaluating, that's the conversation we're here for. Reach out.
Where we're based.
Bethesda, Maryland. The PEO market in the DC metro and Mid-Atlantic — particularly in government contracting, professional services, and construction — is one of the densest and most sophisticated PEO buying environments in the country. It's a good place to do this work from.
Editorial standards.
Documented in detail on the methodology page. The short version: we score on five dimensions with industry-specific weights, we disclose our XcelHR relationship at the top of every ranking page, we let competitors win categories where they're genuinely stronger, and we correct errors when they're pointed out.