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

US states by business establishments (QCEW)

California had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 51 states in 2018, at 1.55 million. Alaska had the lowest, at 21,829. The median was 127,260 and the figure for the United States was 10.01 million. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest1,553,799California
Lowest21,829Alaska
Median127,26051 states
United States10,011,038History

Map of states, 2018

Alabama: 127,260 countAlaska: 21,829 countArizona: 159,408 countArkansas: 90,444 countCalifornia: 1,553,799 countColorado: 205,137 countConnecticut: 120,871 countDelaware: 33,147 countDistrict of Columbia: 39,695 countFlorida: 690,555 countGeorgia: 278,738 countHawaii: 42,174 countIdaho: 63,632 countIllinois: 367,100 countIndiana: 167,627 countIowa: 102,889 countKansas: 88,793 countKentucky: 122,313 countLouisiana: 131,999 countMaine: 52,856 countMaryland: 173,354 countMassachusetts: 257,444 countMichigan: 248,439 countMinnesota: 175,640 countMississippi: 73,797 countMissouri: 200,530 countMontana: 50,116 countNebraska: 71,615 countNevada: 80,911 countNew Hampshire: 52,613 countNew Jersey: 268,606 countNew Mexico: 60,287 countNew York: 638,891 countNorth Carolina: 278,142 countNorth Dakota: 31,881 countOhio: 297,482 countOklahoma: 110,574 countOregon: 154,521 countPennsylvania: 355,798 countRhode Island: 38,005 countSouth Carolina: 132,343 countSouth Dakota: 33,720 countTennessee: 161,696 countTexas: 695,268 countUtah: 103,577 countVermont: 25,661 countVirginia: 278,349 countWashington: 248,977 countWest Virginia: 51,121 countWisconsin: 175,065 countWyoming: 26,355 count
  • Under 40K
  • 40K to 80K
  • 80K to 130K
  • 130K to 180K
  • 180K to 280K
  • 280K and over
count, 2018. 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, 2018

California: 1,553,799 countCalifornia1,553,799Texas: 695,268 countTexas695,268Florida: 690,555 countFlorida690,555New York: 638,891 countNew York638,891Illinois: 367,100 countIllinois367,100Pennsylvania: 355,798 countPennsylvania355,798Ohio: 297,482 countOhio297,482Georgia: 278,738 countGeorgia278,738Virginia: 278,349 countVirginia278,349North Carolina: 278,142 countNorth Carolina278,142New Jersey: 268,606 countNew Jersey268,606Massachusetts: 257,444 countMassachusetts257,444Washington: 248,977 countWashington248,977Michigan: 248,439 countMichigan248,439Colorado: 205,137 countColorado205,137Missouri: 200,530 countMissouri200,530Minnesota: 175,640 countMinnesota175,640Wisconsin: 175,065 countWisconsin175,065Maryland: 173,354 countMaryland173,354Indiana: 167,627 countIndiana167,627Tennessee: 161,696 countTennessee161,696Arizona: 159,408 countArizona159,408Oregon: 154,521 countOregon154,521South Carolina: 132,343 countSouth Carolina132,343Louisiana: 131,999 countLouisiana131,999Alabama: 127,260 countAlabama127,260Kentucky: 122,313 countKentucky122,313Connecticut: 120,871 countConnecticut120,871Oklahoma: 110,574 countOklahoma110,574Utah: 103,577 countUtah103,577Iowa: 102,889 countIowa102,889Arkansas: 90,444 countArkansas90,444Kansas: 88,793 countKansas88,793Nevada: 80,911 countNevada80,911Mississippi: 73,797 countMississippi73,797Nebraska: 71,615 countNebraska71,615Idaho: 63,632 countIdaho63,632New Mexico: 60,287 countNew Mexico60,287Maine: 52,856 countMaine52,856New Hampshire: 52,613 countNew Hampshire52,613West Virginia: 51,121 countWest Virginia51,121Montana: 50,116 countMontana50,116Hawaii: 42,174 countHawaii42,174District of Columbia: 39,695 countDistrict of Columbia39,695Rhode Island: 38,005 countRhode Island38,005South Dakota: 33,720 countSouth Dakota33,720Delaware: 33,147 countDelaware33,147North Dakota: 31,881 countNorth Dakota31,881Wyoming: 26,355 countWyoming26,355Vermont: 25,661 countVermont25,661Alaska: 21,829 countAlaska21,829California: 1,553,799 countCalifornia1,553,799Texas: 695,268 countTexas695,268Florida: 690,555 countFlorida690,555New York: 638,891 countNew York638,891Illinois: 367,100 countIllinois367,100Pennsylvania: 355,798 countPennsylvania355,798Ohio: 297,482 countOhio297,482Georgia: 278,738 countGeorgia278,738Virginia: 278,349 countVirginia278,349North Carolina: 278,142 countNorth Carolina278,142New Jersey: 268,606 countNew Jersey268,606Massachusetts: 257,444 countMassachusetts257,444Washington: 248,977 countWashington248,977Michigan: 248,439 countMichigan248,439Colorado: 205,137 countColorado205,137Missouri: 200,530 countMissouri200,530Minnesota: 175,640 countMinnesota175,640Wisconsin: 175,065 countWisconsin175,065Maryland: 173,354 countMaryland173,354Indiana: 167,627 countIndiana167,627Tennessee: 161,696 countTennessee161,696Arizona: 159,408 countArizona159,408Oregon: 154,521 countOregon154,521South Carolina: 132,343 countSouth Carolina132,343Louisiana: 131,999 countLouisiana131,999Alabama: 127,260 countAlabama127,260Kentucky: 122,313 countKentucky122,313Connecticut: 120,871 countConnecticut120,871Oklahoma: 110,574 countOklahoma110,574Utah: 103,577 countUtah103,577Iowa: 102,889 countIowa102,889Arkansas: 90,444 countArkansas90,444Kansas: 88,793 countKansas88,793Nevada: 80,911 countNevada80,911Mississippi: 73,797 countMississippi73,797Nebraska: 71,615 countNebraska71,615Idaho: 63,632 countIdaho63,632New Mexico: 60,287 countNew Mexico60,287Maine: 52,856 countMaine52,856New Hampshire: 52,613 countNew Hampshire52,613West Virginia: 51,121 countWest Virginia51,121Montana: 50,116 countMontana50,116Hawaii: 42,174 countHawaii42,174District of Columbia: 39,695 countDistrict of Columbia39,695Rhode Island: 38,005 countRhode Island38,005South Dakota: 33,720 countSouth Dakota33,720Delaware: 33,147 countDelaware33,147North Dakota: 31,881 countNorth Dakota31,881Wyoming: 26,355 countWyoming26,355Vermont: 25,661 countVermont25,661Alaska: 21,829 countAlaska21,829
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

RankStates2018
count		Change on 2017
1California1,553,799+2.5%
2Texas695,268+2.6%
3Florida690,555+2.5%
4New York638,891+0.2%
5Illinois367,100+1.3%
6Pennsylvania355,798+0.5%
7Ohio297,482+0.5%
8Georgia278,738+1.8%
9Virginia278,349+3.1%
10North Carolina278,142+1.8%
11New Jersey268,606+1.3%
12Massachusetts257,444+1.9%
13Washington248,977+2.8%
14Michigan248,439+1.4%
15Colorado205,137+3.2%
16Missouri200,530-2.3%
17Minnesota175,640+4.7%
18Wisconsin175,065+2%
19Maryland173,354+0.7%
20Indiana167,627+1.8%
21Tennessee161,696+3.1%
22Arizona159,408+1.2%
23Oregon154,521+3%
24South Carolina132,343+2.6%
25Louisiana131,999+1.2%
26Alabama127,260+1.9%
27Kentucky122,313+0.7%
28Connecticut120,871+1.9%
29Oklahoma110,574+0.2%
30Utah103,577+4.7%
31Iowa102,889+1.3%
32Arkansas90,444+1.3%
33Kansas88,793-0%
34Nevada80,911+1.7%
35Mississippi73,797+1%
36Nebraska71,615-0.9%
37Idaho63,632+4%
38New Mexico60,287+3.8%
39Maine52,856-2%
40New Hampshire52,613+1.4%
41West Virginia51,121+1.6%
42Montana50,116+2.7%
43Hawaii42,174+2.7%
44District of Columbia39,695-0.6%
45Rhode Island38,005+1.7%
46South Dakota33,720+1.3%
47Delaware33,147+3.7%
48North Dakota31,881-0.1%
49Wyoming26,355+0.9%
50Vermont25,661+0.5%
51Alaska21,829+0.2%

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/2018/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), 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/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), 2018. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2018. 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), 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2018.

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), 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_us_states_by_business_2018,
  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), 2018}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2018. 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/2018/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), 2018
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2018/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2018.
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/2018/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest business establishments (QCEW)?

California, with 1.55 million in 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Alaska, with 21,829 in 2018.

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