Common 2026 benchmarks put healthy open rates around 20–30% for small-business lists, with click rates of 2–4%. But hold both loosely: Apple's privacy features auto-'open' mail nobody read, inflating opens across the board. Which is why we treat opens as directional at best.
The numbers that resist inflation: clicks, replies, unsubscribes, and, above everything, leads and jobs that cite the emails. A 45% open rate that never produces a conversation is decoration; a 18% open rate that books two jobs a month is a channel.
Benchmark against yourself: same list, same send type, trend over quarters. Cross-industry comparisons mostly measure whose subscribers use iPhones.