# Business establishments (QCEW) Average number of establishments with jobs covered by unemployment insurance during the year, all industries, private and government, from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. An establishment is a single place of business, such as a factory, store or office; a company with several locations has several. ## Key facts - Business establishments (QCEW) in the United States was 12.11 million in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. - California had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 51 states in 2025, at 1.88 million, and Alaska the lowest, at 25,169. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. - Published for 3,195 places, with figures from 2001 to 2025. - Figures last updated on 2026-10-12. - Indicator id: `establishments_qcew` - Unit: count - Note: Counts places of business, not firms: for firms use employer_firms. Changes in how large employers report their locations can move the count without any change in activity. - Web page: https://invokely.ai/en/business-establishments - API: https://invokely.ai/api/v1/indicators/establishments_qcew ## Latest figures | Place | Period | count | Source | |---|---|---:|---| | United States | 2025 | 12,112,924 | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2025/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12. | ## Rankings - [US states](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states.md) (51 places) - [US counties](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-counties.md) (3143 places) - [Counties in Texas](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/texas-counties.md) (254 places) - [Counties in Georgia](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/georgia-counties.md) (159 places) - [Counties in Virginia](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/virginia-counties.md) (133 places) - [Counties in Kentucky](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/kentucky-counties.md) (120 places) - [Counties in Missouri](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/missouri-counties.md) (115 places) - [Counties in Kansas](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/kansas-counties.md) (105 places) - [Counties in Illinois](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/illinois-counties.md) (102 places) - [Counties in North Carolina](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-carolina-counties.md) (100 places) - [Counties in Iowa](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/iowa-counties.md) (99 places) - [Counties in Tennessee](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/tennessee-counties.md) (95 places) - [Counties in Nebraska](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/nebraska-counties.md) (93 places) - [Counties in Indiana](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/indiana-counties.md) (92 places) - [Counties in Ohio](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/ohio-counties.md) (88 places) - [Counties in Minnesota](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/minnesota-counties.md) (87 places) - [Counties in Michigan](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/michigan-counties.md) (83 places) - [Counties in Mississippi](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/mississippi-counties.md) (82 places) - [Counties in Oklahoma](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/oklahoma-counties.md) (77 places) - [Counties in Arkansas](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/arkansas-counties.md) (75 places) - [Counties in Wisconsin](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/wisconsin-counties.md) (72 places) - [Counties in Alabama](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/alabama-counties.md) (67 places) - [Counties in Florida](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/florida-counties.md) (67 places) - [Counties in Pennsylvania](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/pennsylvania-counties.md) (67 places) - [Counties in South Dakota](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-dakota-counties.md) (66 places) - [Counties in Colorado](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/colorado-counties.md) (64 places) - [Counties in Louisiana](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/louisiana-counties.md) (64 places) - [Counties in New York](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/new-york-counties.md) (62 places) - [Counties in California](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/california-counties.md) (58 places) - [Counties in Montana](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/montana-counties.md) (56 places) - [Counties in West Virginia](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/west-virginia-counties.md) (55 places) - [Counties in North Dakota](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/north-dakota-counties.md) (53 places) - [Counties in South Carolina](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/south-carolina-counties.md) (46 places) - [Counties in Idaho](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/idaho-counties.md) (44 places) - [Counties in Washington](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/washington-counties.md) (39 places) - [Counties in Oregon](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/oregon-counties.md) (36 places) - [Counties in New Mexico](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/new-mexico-counties.md) (33 places) - [Counties in Alaska](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/alaska-counties.md) (30 places) - [Counties in Utah](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/utah-counties.md) (29 places) - [Counties in Maryland](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/maryland-counties.md) (24 places) - [Counties in Wyoming](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/wyoming-counties.md) (23 places) - [Counties in New Jersey](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/new-jersey-counties.md) (21 places) - [Counties in Nevada](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/nevada-counties.md) (17 places) - [Counties in Maine](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/maine-counties.md) (16 places) - [Counties in Arizona](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/arizona-counties.md) (15 places) - [Counties in Massachusetts](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/massachusetts-counties.md) (14 places) - [Counties in Vermont](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/vermont-counties.md) (14 places) - [Counties in New Hampshire](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/new-hampshire-counties.md) (10 places) - [Counties in Connecticut](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/connecticut-counties.md) (9 places) - [Counties in Rhode Island](https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/rhode-island-counties.md) (5 places)