Nonemployer businesses: arts, entertainment and recreation

Number of businesses without paid employees in arts, entertainment, and recreation (NAICS 71), from the U.S. Census Bureau Nonemployer Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.

Nonemployer Statistics: businesses with no paid employees that are subject to federal income tax, mostly the self-employed, counted from tax records, with receipts above small minimum amounts. Census says some years are not comparable with earlier ones, and they are marked as series breaks: 2018 in every sector (businesses were reclassified from their descriptions, which moved many out of other services), 2022 in every sector (new receipts cutoffs) and 2017 in utilities (the same reclassification). Most nonemployers are sole proprietors whose business may be a side activity. Published about 18 months after the reference year.

Key facts

Figures last updated on 2026-10-12.

Rankings

US states by nonemployer businesses: arts, entertainment and recreation, 2024

Top 15. Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

California: 241,947 countCalifornia241,947New York: 153,688 countNew York153,688Texas: 138,289 countTexas138,289Florida: 128,669 countFlorida128,669Illinois: 64,834 countIllinois64,834Pennsylvania: 62,776 countPennsylvania62,776Georgia: 58,708 countGeorgia58,708North Carolina: 54,125 countNorth Carolina54,125Ohio: 54,043 countOhio54,043New Jersey: 49,378 countNew Jersey49,378Michigan: 47,770 countMichigan47,770Tennessee: 47,130 countTennessee47,130Massachusetts: 45,477 countMassachusetts45,477Virginia: 44,618 countVirginia44,618Colorado: 41,139 countColorado41,139California: 241,947 countCalifornia241,947New York: 153,688 countNew York153,688Texas: 138,289 countTexas138,289Florida: 128,669 countFlorida128,669Illinois: 64,834 countIllinois64,834Pennsylvania: 62,776 countPennsylvania62,776Georgia: 58,708 countGeorgia58,708North Carolina: 54,125 countNorth Carolina54,125Ohio: 54,043 countOhio54,043New Jersey: 49,378 countNew Jersey49,378Michigan: 47,770 countMichigan47,770Tennessee: 47,130 countTennessee47,130Massachusetts: 45,477 countMassachusetts45,477Virginia: 44,618 countVirginia44,618Colorado: 41,139 countColorado41,139
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), arts, entertainment, and recreation (NAICS 71), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking of states

Places with data

Published for countries, regions and states.

Countries

Regions and states

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Which places have the highest nonemployer businesses: arts, entertainment and recreation? Use official data and cite it.
rank_places {"indicator":"nonemployer_establishments_arts_entertainment","level":"region","within":"United States"}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=nonemployer_establishments_arts_entertainment&level=region&within=United%20States

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.