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

US states by business establishments (QCEW)

California had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 51 states in 2019, at 1.59 million. Alaska had the lowest, at 22,117. The median was 129,465 and the figure for the United States was 10.23 million. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest1,589,417California
Lowest22,117Alaska
Median129,46551 states
United States10,233,822History

Map of states, 2019

Alabama: 129,465 countAlaska: 22,117 countArizona: 164,808 countArkansas: 91,905 countCalifornia: 1,589,417 countColorado: 210,965 countConnecticut: 122,995 countDelaware: 34,416 countDistrict of Columbia: 40,713 countFlorida: 717,855 countGeorgia: 288,579 countHawaii: 44,048 countIdaho: 63,424 countIllinois: 374,453 countIndiana: 168,916 countIowa: 104,258 countKansas: 87,515 countKentucky: 122,908 countLouisiana: 134,744 countMaine: 53,538 countMaryland: 176,160 countMassachusetts: 261,238 countMichigan: 261,511 countMinnesota: 178,313 countMississippi: 73,760 countMissouri: 208,913 countMontana: 50,141 countNebraska: 71,399 countNevada: 82,637 countNew Hampshire: 53,672 countNew Jersey: 277,044 countNew Mexico: 62,865 countNew York: 643,213 countNorth Carolina: 286,744 countNorth Dakota: 31,897 countOhio: 301,813 countOklahoma: 111,608 countOregon: 158,282 countPennsylvania: 359,117 countRhode Island: 38,871 countSouth Carolina: 140,545 countSouth Dakota: 34,232 countTennessee: 166,368 countTexas: 714,982 countUtah: 108,070 countVermont: 25,970 countVirginia: 280,066 countWashington: 253,429 countWest Virginia: 50,998 countWisconsin: 176,205 countWyoming: 26,730 count
  • Under 50K
  • 50K to 80K
  • 80K to 130K
  • 130K to 180K
  • 180K to 280K
  • 280K and over
count, 2019. 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, 2019

California: 1,589,417 countCalifornia1,589,417Florida: 717,855 countFlorida717,855Texas: 714,982 countTexas714,982New York: 643,213 countNew York643,213Illinois: 374,453 countIllinois374,453Pennsylvania: 359,117 countPennsylvania359,117Ohio: 301,813 countOhio301,813Georgia: 288,579 countGeorgia288,579North Carolina: 286,744 countNorth Carolina286,744Virginia: 280,066 countVirginia280,066New Jersey: 277,044 countNew Jersey277,044Michigan: 261,511 countMichigan261,511Massachusetts: 261,238 countMassachusetts261,238Washington: 253,429 countWashington253,429Colorado: 210,965 countColorado210,965Missouri: 208,913 countMissouri208,913Minnesota: 178,313 countMinnesota178,313Wisconsin: 176,205 countWisconsin176,205Maryland: 176,160 countMaryland176,160Indiana: 168,916 countIndiana168,916Tennessee: 166,368 countTennessee166,368Arizona: 164,808 countArizona164,808Oregon: 158,282 countOregon158,282South Carolina: 140,545 countSouth Carolina140,545Louisiana: 134,744 countLouisiana134,744Alabama: 129,465 countAlabama129,465Connecticut: 122,995 countConnecticut122,995Kentucky: 122,908 countKentucky122,908Oklahoma: 111,608 countOklahoma111,608Utah: 108,070 countUtah108,070Iowa: 104,258 countIowa104,258Arkansas: 91,905 countArkansas91,905Kansas: 87,515 countKansas87,515Nevada: 82,637 countNevada82,637Mississippi: 73,760 countMississippi73,760Nebraska: 71,399 countNebraska71,399Idaho: 63,424 countIdaho63,424New Mexico: 62,865 countNew Mexico62,865New Hampshire: 53,672 countNew Hampshire53,672Maine: 53,538 countMaine53,538West Virginia: 50,998 countWest Virginia50,998Montana: 50,141 countMontana50,141Hawaii: 44,048 countHawaii44,048District of Columbia: 40,713 countDistrict of Columbia40,713Rhode Island: 38,871 countRhode Island38,871Delaware: 34,416 countDelaware34,416South Dakota: 34,232 countSouth Dakota34,232North Dakota: 31,897 countNorth Dakota31,897Wyoming: 26,730 countWyoming26,730Vermont: 25,970 countVermont25,970Alaska: 22,117 countAlaska22,117California: 1,589,417 countCalifornia1,589,417Florida: 717,855 countFlorida717,855Texas: 714,982 countTexas714,982New York: 643,213 countNew York643,213Illinois: 374,453 countIllinois374,453Pennsylvania: 359,117 countPennsylvania359,117Ohio: 301,813 countOhio301,813Georgia: 288,579 countGeorgia288,579North Carolina: 286,744 countNorth Carolina286,744Virginia: 280,066 countVirginia280,066New Jersey: 277,044 countNew Jersey277,044Michigan: 261,511 countMichigan261,511Massachusetts: 261,238 countMassachusetts261,238Washington: 253,429 countWashington253,429Colorado: 210,965 countColorado210,965Missouri: 208,913 countMissouri208,913Minnesota: 178,313 countMinnesota178,313Wisconsin: 176,205 countWisconsin176,205Maryland: 176,160 countMaryland176,160Indiana: 168,916 countIndiana168,916Tennessee: 166,368 countTennessee166,368Arizona: 164,808 countArizona164,808Oregon: 158,282 countOregon158,282South Carolina: 140,545 countSouth Carolina140,545Louisiana: 134,744 countLouisiana134,744Alabama: 129,465 countAlabama129,465Connecticut: 122,995 countConnecticut122,995Kentucky: 122,908 countKentucky122,908Oklahoma: 111,608 countOklahoma111,608Utah: 108,070 countUtah108,070Iowa: 104,258 countIowa104,258Arkansas: 91,905 countArkansas91,905Kansas: 87,515 countKansas87,515Nevada: 82,637 countNevada82,637Mississippi: 73,760 countMississippi73,760Nebraska: 71,399 countNebraska71,399Idaho: 63,424 countIdaho63,424New Mexico: 62,865 countNew Mexico62,865New Hampshire: 53,672 countNew Hampshire53,672Maine: 53,538 countMaine53,538West Virginia: 50,998 countWest Virginia50,998Montana: 50,141 countMontana50,141Hawaii: 44,048 countHawaii44,048District of Columbia: 40,713 countDistrict of Columbia40,713Rhode Island: 38,871 countRhode Island38,871Delaware: 34,416 countDelaware34,416South Dakota: 34,232 countSouth Dakota34,232North Dakota: 31,897 countNorth Dakota31,897Wyoming: 26,730 countWyoming26,730Vermont: 25,970 countVermont25,970Alaska: 22,117 countAlaska22,117
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

RankStates2019
count		Change on 2018
1California1,589,417+2.3%
2Florida717,855+4%
3Texas714,982+2.8%
4New York643,213+0.7%
5Illinois374,453+2%
6Pennsylvania359,117+0.9%
7Ohio301,813+1.5%
8Georgia288,579+3.5%
9North Carolina286,744+3.1%
10Virginia280,066+0.6%
11New Jersey277,044+3.1%
12Michigan261,511+5.3%
13Massachusetts261,238+1.5%
14Washington253,429+1.8%
15Colorado210,965+2.8%
16Missouri208,913+4.2%
17Minnesota178,313+1.5%
18Wisconsin176,205+0.7%
19Maryland176,160+1.6%
20Indiana168,916+0.8%
21Tennessee166,368+2.9%
22Arizona164,808+3.4%
23Oregon158,282+2.4%
24South Carolina140,545+6.2%
25Louisiana134,744+2.1%
26Alabama129,465+1.7%
27Connecticut122,995+1.8%
28Kentucky122,908+0.5%
29Oklahoma111,608+0.9%
30Utah108,070+4.3%
31Iowa104,258+1.3%
32Arkansas91,905+1.6%
33Kansas87,515-1.4%
34Nevada82,637+2.1%
35Mississippi73,760-0.1%
36Nebraska71,399-0.3%
37Idaho63,424-0.3%
38New Mexico62,865+4.3%
39New Hampshire53,672+2%
40Maine53,538+1.3%
41West Virginia50,998-0.2%
42Montana50,1410%
43Hawaii44,048+4.4%
44District of Columbia40,713+2.6%
45Rhode Island38,871+2.3%
46Delaware34,416+3.8%
47South Dakota34,232+1.5%
48North Dakota31,897+0.1%
49Wyoming26,730+1.4%
50Vermont25,970+1.2%
51Alaska22,117+1.3%

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/2019/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), 2019) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/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), 2019. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2019. 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), 2019. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2019.

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), 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_us_states_by_business_2019,
  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), 2019}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2019. 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/2019/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), 2019
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2019/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2019.
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/2019/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest business establishments (QCEW)?

California, with 1.59 million in 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Alaska, with 22,117 in 2019.

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