Employer establishments: wholesale trade in United States

Employer establishments: wholesale trade in the United States was 382,081 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is down 1.7% from 2022.

2023, count382,081

Change on 2022-1.7%

Series high420,5012012

Series low382,0812023

Next release: Thursday, 24 June 2027, estimated by Invokely from past publication dates (low confidence), not announced by the publisher. Release calendar

Employer establishments: wholesale trade in United States, 2012 to 2023

count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), wholesale trade (NAICS 42), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12, published 2025-06-26.

All 12 values

Period	count
2023	382,081
2022	388,706
2021	390,842
2020	391,114
2019	397,365
2018	403,648
2017	409,656
2016	412,526
2015	413,437
2014	416,593
2013	419,648
2012	420,501

Rankings

US states by employer establishments: wholesale trade 51 places

Definition

Number of establishments with paid employees in wholesale trade (NAICS 42), from the U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns.

County Business Patterns: establishments (single physical locations, not firms) with paid employees during the pay period including 12 March. Excludes the self-employed and businesses without employees (nonemployer_establishments_*), government employers, crop and animal production, rail transportation, the Postal Service and private households. Establishment counts are not perturbed; the noise Census adds since 2017 applies to employment and payroll, which are not served here. Published about 18 months after the reference year.

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How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), wholesale trade (NAICS 42), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Census Bureau. (2025). County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), wholesale trade (NAICS 42), all legal forms (Employer establishments: wholesale trade, United States, 2012 to 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/

MLA 9

County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), wholesale trade (NAICS 42), all legal forms, Employer establishments: wholesale trade, United States, 2012 to 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 26 June 2025, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-establishments-wholesale-trade/united-states. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), wholesale trade (NAICS 42), all legal forms. Employer establishments: wholesale trade, United States, 2012 to 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-establishments-wholesale-trade/united-states.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), wholesale trade (NAICS 42), all legal forms, Employer establishments: wholesale trade, United States, 2012 to 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/employer-establishments-wholesale-trade/united-states (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_employer_establishments_wholesale_trade_2023,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), wholesale trade (NAICS 42), all legal forms: Employer establishments: wholesale trade, United States, 2012 to 2023}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-establishments-wholesale-trade/united-states. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), wholesale trade (NAICS 42), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), wholesale trade (NAICS 42), all legal forms: Employer establishments: wholesale trade, United States, 2012 to 2023
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/06/26
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/employer-establishments-wholesale-trade/united-states
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/employer-establishments-wholesale-trade/united-states.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), wholesale trade (NAICS 42), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

What is the employer establishments: wholesale trade in United States?

Employer establishments: wholesale trade in the United States was 382,081 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is down 1.7% from 2022.

Where does this figure come from?

U.S. Census Bureau. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), wholesale trade (NAICS 42), all legal forms. Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.

What was the highest employer establishments: wholesale trade in United States?

420,501 in 2012, the highest value since 2012 in this series.

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