Data / Rankings / Business establishments (QCEW) / US states

US states by business establishments (QCEW)

California had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 51 states in 2017, at 1.52 million. Alaska had the lowest, at 21,789. The median was 124,881 and the figure for the United States was 9.84 million. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest1,515,798California
Lowest21,789Alaska
Median124,88151 states
United States9,835,104History

Map of states, 2017

Alabama: 124,881 countAlaska: 21,789 countArizona: 157,531 countArkansas: 89,291 countCalifornia: 1,515,798 countColorado: 198,720 countConnecticut: 118,612 countDelaware: 31,962 countDistrict of Columbia: 39,939 countFlorida: 673,498 countGeorgia: 273,853 countHawaii: 41,078 countIdaho: 61,174 countIllinois: 362,259 countIndiana: 164,727 countIowa: 101,609 countKansas: 88,815 countKentucky: 121,431 countLouisiana: 130,466 countMaine: 53,934 countMaryland: 172,188 countMassachusetts: 252,761 countMichigan: 244,908 countMinnesota: 167,815 countMississippi: 73,073 countMissouri: 205,150 countMontana: 48,777 countNebraska: 72,292 countNevada: 79,585 countNew Hampshire: 51,894 countNew Jersey: 265,159 countNew Mexico: 58,104 countNew York: 637,802 countNorth Carolina: 273,334 countNorth Dakota: 31,917 countOhio: 296,022 countOklahoma: 110,316 countOregon: 149,973 countPennsylvania: 354,024 countRhode Island: 37,355 countSouth Carolina: 129,036 countSouth Dakota: 33,279 countTennessee: 156,905 countTexas: 677,345 countUtah: 98,903 countVermont: 25,525 countVirginia: 270,073 countWashington: 242,082 countWest Virginia: 50,303 countWisconsin: 171,716 countWyoming: 26,125 count
  • Under 40K
  • 40K to 80K
  • 80K to 120K
  • 120K to 170K
  • 170K to 270K
  • 270K and over
count, 2017. Source: BLS, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2017

California: 1,515,798 countCalifornia1,515,798Texas: 677,345 countTexas677,345Florida: 673,498 countFlorida673,498New York: 637,802 countNew York637,802Illinois: 362,259 countIllinois362,259Pennsylvania: 354,024 countPennsylvania354,024Ohio: 296,022 countOhio296,022Georgia: 273,853 countGeorgia273,853North Carolina: 273,334 countNorth Carolina273,334Virginia: 270,073 countVirginia270,073New Jersey: 265,159 countNew Jersey265,159Massachusetts: 252,761 countMassachusetts252,761Michigan: 244,908 countMichigan244,908Washington: 242,082 countWashington242,082Missouri: 205,150 countMissouri205,150Colorado: 198,720 countColorado198,720Maryland: 172,188 countMaryland172,188Wisconsin: 171,716 countWisconsin171,716Minnesota: 167,815 countMinnesota167,815Indiana: 164,727 countIndiana164,727Arizona: 157,531 countArizona157,531Tennessee: 156,905 countTennessee156,905Oregon: 149,973 countOregon149,973Louisiana: 130,466 countLouisiana130,466South Carolina: 129,036 countSouth Carolina129,036Alabama: 124,881 countAlabama124,881Kentucky: 121,431 countKentucky121,431Connecticut: 118,612 countConnecticut118,612Oklahoma: 110,316 countOklahoma110,316Iowa: 101,609 countIowa101,609Utah: 98,903 countUtah98,903Arkansas: 89,291 countArkansas89,291Kansas: 88,815 countKansas88,815Nevada: 79,585 countNevada79,585Mississippi: 73,073 countMississippi73,073Nebraska: 72,292 countNebraska72,292Idaho: 61,174 countIdaho61,174New Mexico: 58,104 countNew Mexico58,104Maine: 53,934 countMaine53,934New Hampshire: 51,894 countNew Hampshire51,894West Virginia: 50,303 countWest Virginia50,303Montana: 48,777 countMontana48,777Hawaii: 41,078 countHawaii41,078District of Columbia: 39,939 countDistrict of Columbia39,939Rhode Island: 37,355 countRhode Island37,355South Dakota: 33,279 countSouth Dakota33,279Delaware: 31,962 countDelaware31,962North Dakota: 31,917 countNorth Dakota31,917Wyoming: 26,125 countWyoming26,125Vermont: 25,525 countVermont25,525Alaska: 21,789 countAlaska21,789California: 1,515,798 countCalifornia1,515,798Texas: 677,345 countTexas677,345Florida: 673,498 countFlorida673,498New York: 637,802 countNew York637,802Illinois: 362,259 countIllinois362,259Pennsylvania: 354,024 countPennsylvania354,024Ohio: 296,022 countOhio296,022Georgia: 273,853 countGeorgia273,853North Carolina: 273,334 countNorth Carolina273,334Virginia: 270,073 countVirginia270,073New Jersey: 265,159 countNew Jersey265,159Massachusetts: 252,761 countMassachusetts252,761Michigan: 244,908 countMichigan244,908Washington: 242,082 countWashington242,082Missouri: 205,150 countMissouri205,150Colorado: 198,720 countColorado198,720Maryland: 172,188 countMaryland172,188Wisconsin: 171,716 countWisconsin171,716Minnesota: 167,815 countMinnesota167,815Indiana: 164,727 countIndiana164,727Arizona: 157,531 countArizona157,531Tennessee: 156,905 countTennessee156,905Oregon: 149,973 countOregon149,973Louisiana: 130,466 countLouisiana130,466South Carolina: 129,036 countSouth Carolina129,036Alabama: 124,881 countAlabama124,881Kentucky: 121,431 countKentucky121,431Connecticut: 118,612 countConnecticut118,612Oklahoma: 110,316 countOklahoma110,316Iowa: 101,609 countIowa101,609Utah: 98,903 countUtah98,903Arkansas: 89,291 countArkansas89,291Kansas: 88,815 countKansas88,815Nevada: 79,585 countNevada79,585Mississippi: 73,073 countMississippi73,073Nebraska: 72,292 countNebraska72,292Idaho: 61,174 countIdaho61,174New Mexico: 58,104 countNew Mexico58,104Maine: 53,934 countMaine53,934New Hampshire: 51,894 countNew Hampshire51,894West Virginia: 50,303 countWest Virginia50,303Montana: 48,777 countMontana48,777Hawaii: 41,078 countHawaii41,078District of Columbia: 39,939 countDistrict of Columbia39,939Rhode Island: 37,355 countRhode Island37,355South Dakota: 33,279 countSouth Dakota33,279Delaware: 31,962 countDelaware31,962North Dakota: 31,917 countNorth Dakota31,917Wyoming: 26,125 countWyoming26,125Vermont: 25,525 countVermont25,525Alaska: 21,789 countAlaska21,789
count. Source: BLS, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2017
count		Change on 2016
1California1,515,798+3%
2Texas677,345+2.8%
3Florida673,498+2.3%
4New York637,802+0.8%
5Illinois362,259-8.7%
6Pennsylvania354,024+0.4%
7Ohio296,022+1%
8Georgia273,853-8.2%
9North Carolina273,334+1.7%
10Virginia270,073+2.2%
11New Jersey265,159+0.9%
12Massachusetts252,761+2.5%
13Michigan244,908+1.6%
14Washington242,082+0.1%
15Missouri205,150+5.7%
16Colorado198,720+3.6%
17Maryland172,188+0.7%
18Wisconsin171,716+1.6%
19Minnesota167,815+4.2%
20Indiana164,727+1.5%
21Arizona157,531+3.5%
22Tennessee156,905+2.4%
23Oregon149,973+3.3%
24Louisiana130,466+1.9%
25South Carolina129,036+3.3%
26Alabama124,881+2.1%
27Kentucky121,431-1.7%
28Connecticut118,612+1.5%
29Oklahoma110,316+1.1%
30Iowa101,609+0.4%
31Utah98,903+3.1%
32Arkansas89,291+1%
33Kansas88,815-1.4%
34Nevada79,585-2.3%
35Mississippi73,073-0.1%
36Nebraska72,292+0.3%
37Idaho61,174+3.9%
38New Mexico58,104-0.2%
39Maine53,934+1.9%
40New Hampshire51,894+1%
41West Virginia50,303+0.6%
42Montana48,777+6%
43Hawaii41,078+3.4%
44District of Columbia39,939+2.8%
45Rhode Island37,355+1.3%
46South Dakota33,279+0.9%
47Delaware31,962+0.8%
48North Dakota31,917-0.5%
49Wyoming26,125+0.3%
50Vermont25,525+1.9%
51Alaska21,789-1.2%

Other periods

About this ranking

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.

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.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the states are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

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/2017/a/industry/10.csv. 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. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties (US states by business establishments (QCEW), 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv

MLA 9

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties, US states by business establishments (QCEW), 2017. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2017. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. US states by business establishments (QCEW), 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2017.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties, US states by business establishments (QCEW), 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_us_states_by_business_2017,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties: US states by business establishments (QCEW), 2017}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2017. Publisher attribution: 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/2017/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average establishments, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties: US states by business establishments (QCEW), 2017
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2017.
N1  - Publisher attribution: 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/2017/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest business establishments (QCEW)?

California, with 1.52 million in 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Alaska, with 21,789 in 2017.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: 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. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Business establishments (QCEW): other rankings

US states: more rankings