Nonemployer businesses: wholesale trade in United States

Nonemployer businesses: wholesale trade in the United States was 472,266 in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is up 3% from 2023.

2024, count472,266

Change on 2023+3%

Series high472,2662024

Series low387,1652021

Next release: Tuesday, 29 June 2027, estimated by Invokely from past publication dates (low confidence), not announced by the publisher. Release calendar

Nonemployer businesses: wholesale trade in United States, 2012 to 2024

count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), wholesale trade (NAICS 42), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12, published 2026-09-29.

All 13 values

Period	count
2024	472,266
2023	458,466
2022	445,919 Series break
2021	387,165
2020	393,682
2019	391,670
2018	399,400 Series break
2017	399,261
2016	406,938
2015	417,272
2014	416,799
2013	406,469
2012	408,487

Rankings

US states by nonemployer businesses: wholesale trade 51 places

Definition

Number of businesses without paid employees in wholesale trade (NAICS 42), from the U.S. Census Bureau Nonemployer Statistics.

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.

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How to cite

U.S. Census Bureau. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), wholesale trade (NAICS 42), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2024/historical-datasets/. 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. (2026). Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), wholesale trade (NAICS 42), all legal forms (Nonemployer businesses: wholesale trade, United States, 2012 to 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2024/historical-datasets/

MLA 9

Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), wholesale trade (NAICS 42), all legal forms, Nonemployer businesses: wholesale trade, United States, 2012 to 2024. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Sept. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2024/historical-datasets/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/nonemployer-businesses-wholesale-trade/united-states. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), wholesale trade (NAICS 42), all legal forms. Nonemployer businesses: wholesale trade, United States, 2012 to 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2024/historical-datasets/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/nonemployer-businesses-wholesale-trade/united-states.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), wholesale trade (NAICS 42), all legal forms, Nonemployer businesses: wholesale trade, United States, 2012 to 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2024/historical-datasets/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/nonemployer-businesses-wholesale-trade/united-states (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_nonemployer_businesses_wholesale_trade_2024,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), wholesale trade (NAICS 42), all legal forms: Nonemployer businesses: wholesale trade, United States, 2012 to 2024}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2024/historical-datasets/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/nonemployer-businesses-wholesale-trade/united-states. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), wholesale trade (NAICS 42), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2024/historical-datasets/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), wholesale trade (NAICS 42), all legal forms: Nonemployer businesses: wholesale trade, United States, 2012 to 2024
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/29
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2024/historical-datasets/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/nonemployer-businesses-wholesale-trade/united-states
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/nonemployer-businesses-wholesale-trade/united-states.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), wholesale trade (NAICS 42), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2024/historical-datasets/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

What is the nonemployer businesses: wholesale trade in United States?

Nonemployer businesses: wholesale trade in the United States was 472,266 in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That is up 3% from 2023.

Where does this figure come from?

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

What was the highest nonemployer businesses: wholesale trade in United States?

472,266 in 2024, the highest value since 2012 in this series.

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