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Income disclosure reference

Who is counted in MLM income disclosures?

A disclosure can look very different depending on whether it counts everyone who signed up, only active participants, only people who earned money, or only a narrower group.

Last reviewed: 2026-06-18

Short answer

Before relying on any income figure, ask who is inside the number and who is outside it. This page gathers counting-rule clues from the existing company guide summaries.

This is a source-finding aid. It is not a ranking and it does not decide whether one disclosure is better than another. Open the linked guide before relying on a row.

Company Counting-rule clues from the summary Company guide
Amway
  • The disclosure does not by itself show each participant’s net income after product, travel, events, samples, training, websites, taxes, shipping, or other business costs.
  • A reader still needs to understand who is excluded from each table or percentage group.
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Arbonne
  • Net income after expenses, since fees and business costs are excluded.
  • Whole-population results, because averages are computed over consultants who had earnings.
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Color Street
  • Reported as: Still excludes other business expenses
  • The income-including-fees figure still excludes expenses such as advertising, samples, training, rent, travel, and telecommunication.
  • The disclosure does not show full net income after all ordinary costs.
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doTERRA
  • Received no commissions: Approximately 58% of U.S. active Wellness Advocates
  • Most participants: Join only for a product discount
  • An annual figure that includes the roughly half who earned no commissions.
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Herbalife
  • Most participants: Join only for the product discount
  • The statement does not by itself show each distributor’s net income after all ordinary expenses.
  • A reader still needs to distinguish discount buyers, occasional sellers, active distributors, and people pursuing the business opportunity.
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It Works!
  • Note: A company-wide average; the disclosure does not publish a median. Excludes personal sales
  • It does not show a current result if a newer disclosure exists outside the sources reviewed.
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LuLaRoe
  • How retailers who became inactive during the year are counted.
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Mary Kay
  • Canada (where required): Typical participant earns no commissions; 86.8% not eligible
  • Commission-eligible average: About $214 (2025)
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MONAT
  • Median at the most common rank: $8 for the year
  • All-rank average: $665 for all U.S. Market Partners
  • Inactive/no commissions: 44% of U.S. Market Partners
  • The disclosure does not show net income after product, samples, shipping, renewal fees, events, training, taxes, travel, or other costs.
  • It does not show the typical first-year net result for a new Market Partner.
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Nu Skin
  • Active earning payment: 26.67% in an average month
  • Average sales compensation: $178.75 per month across U.S. Active Brand Affiliates
  • Active share of total: 46.54% of total U.S. Brand Affiliates
  • The summary does not show a typical first-year result for a new Brand Affiliate.
  • Outcomes can look different depending on whether a claim is about all Brand Affiliates, Active Brand Affiliates, or only people who earned a payment.
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OPTAVIA
  • It is not clear how inactive or personal-use-only Coaches are separated from people pursuing the opportunity.
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Pampered Chef No separate counting-rule note appears in this site's fact summary. Read guide
Plexus
  • Average (all ambassadors): $771 for the year
  • Average (active ambassadors): $2,923 for the year
  • Median earnings for all Brand Ambassadors are not provided in the disclosure.
  • The disclosure does not show net income after all expenses.
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Primerica
  • Reported for: Life-licensed representatives only
  • Not shown: Recruits who paid to start but never got licensed; the median
  • The statement is for life-licensed sales force members, so it should not be assumed to describe everyone who pays to start, trains, or never becomes licensed.
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Scentsy
  • Median (joined within the year): $77.68
  • Median (with Scentsy all year): $466.56
  • It does not isolate a first-year participant who actively tried to build the business.
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USANA
  • The disclosure states it does not include expenses an Associate chooses to spend promoting the business, so it does not show each participant's net income after those costs.
  • It is not fully clear how enrollees who made no purchase, or who left mid-year, are counted in the totals.
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Young Living
  • Median (all Brand Partners): $0 for the year (average $778)
  • Lowest rank: 73.9% of Brand Partners (median $0)
  • It is not fully clear how members who enrolled but did not purchase are counted.
  • The statement does not state a typical net result for a newly enrolled member.
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Younique
  • It is global rather than U.S.-only, so it may not describe U.S. participants by itself.
  • We did not locate a newer public U.S. income disclosure in the sources reviewed.
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What is not clear from the disclosure alone

A disclosure may not show people who signed up but never became active, people who left during the year, discount buyers, or people who paid costs but earned nothing. Each company guide notes the limits visible in the reviewed sources.

Questions to ask before joining

Sources

This page reuses the existing disclosure objects from the income-disclosure library. Source links and access dates live on the linked company guide pages.

Correction request

To request a correction, email corrections@boringanddevastating.com with this page URL, the specific text at issue, and supporting public sources.

Related context: Average vs. Median Income and What MLMs pay.