Nonemployer businesses: information

Number of businesses without paid employees in information (publishing, media, telecommunications and data processing) (NAICS 51), from the U.S. Census Bureau Nonemployer Statistics.

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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: information, 2024

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

California: 72,410 countCalifornia72,410Texas: 36,204 countTexas36,204New York: 35,639 countNew York35,639Florida: 35,383 countFlorida35,383Georgia: 16,631 countGeorgia16,631Illinois: 13,423 countIllinois13,423Pennsylvania: 12,761 countPennsylvania12,761New Jersey: 12,440 countNew Jersey12,440North Carolina: 11,553 countNorth Carolina11,553Ohio: 10,761 countOhio10,761Tennessee: 10,686 countTennessee10,686Michigan: 10,050 countMichigan10,050Virginia: 9,756 countVirginia9,756Washington: 9,424 countWashington9,424Colorado: 9,075 countColorado9,075California: 72,410 countCalifornia72,410Texas: 36,204 countTexas36,204New York: 35,639 countNew York35,639Florida: 35,383 countFlorida35,383Georgia: 16,631 countGeorgia16,631Illinois: 13,423 countIllinois13,423Pennsylvania: 12,761 countPennsylvania12,761New Jersey: 12,440 countNew Jersey12,440North Carolina: 11,553 countNorth Carolina11,553Ohio: 10,761 countOhio10,761Tennessee: 10,686 countTennessee10,686Michigan: 10,050 countMichigan10,050Virginia: 9,756 countVirginia9,756Washington: 9,424 countWashington9,424Colorado: 9,075 countColorado9,075
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking of states

Places with data

Published for countries, regions and states.

Countries

Regions and states

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Which places have the highest nonemployer businesses: information? Use official data and cite it.
rank_places {"indicator":"nonemployer_establishments_information","level":"region","within":"United States"}
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