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

US states by business establishments (QCEW)

California had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 51 states in 2020, at 1.62 million. Alaska had the lowest, at 22,594. The median was 132,126 and the figure for the United States was 10.49 million. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest1,621,590California
Lowest22,594Alaska
Median132,12651 states
United States10,487,687History

Map of states, 2020

Alabama: 132,126 countAlaska: 22,594 countArizona: 169,862 countArkansas: 93,392 countCalifornia: 1,621,590 countColorado: 218,502 countConnecticut: 124,952 countDelaware: 35,242 countDistrict of Columbia: 42,535 countFlorida: 746,409 countGeorgia: 309,584 countHawaii: 45,799 countIdaho: 69,408 countIllinois: 376,773 countIndiana: 172,647 countIowa: 105,097 countKansas: 87,594 countKentucky: 127,482 countLouisiana: 138,317 countMaine: 54,303 countMaryland: 174,807 countMassachusetts: 262,946 countMichigan: 267,166 countMinnesota: 181,960 countMississippi: 74,436 countMissouri: 217,324 countMontana: 52,600 countNebraska: 70,438 countNevada: 86,819 countNew Hampshire: 55,285 countNew Jersey: 283,231 countNew Mexico: 63,576 countNew York: 651,911 countNorth Carolina: 298,506 countNorth Dakota: 32,401 countOhio: 305,255 countOklahoma: 112,637 countOregon: 162,751 countPennsylvania: 361,303 countRhode Island: 39,966 countSouth Carolina: 145,770 countSouth Dakota: 35,005 countTennessee: 172,474 countTexas: 737,064 countUtah: 112,985 countVermont: 26,324 countVirginia: 282,884 countWashington: 268,793 countWest Virginia: 51,432 countWisconsin: 178,133 countWyoming: 27,302 count
  • Under 50K
  • 50K to 80K
  • 80K to 130K
  • 130K to 180K
  • 180K to 290K
  • 290K and over
count, 2020. 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, 2020

California: 1,621,590 countCalifornia1,621,590Florida: 746,409 countFlorida746,409Texas: 737,064 countTexas737,064New York: 651,911 countNew York651,911Illinois: 376,773 countIllinois376,773Pennsylvania: 361,303 countPennsylvania361,303Georgia: 309,584 countGeorgia309,584Ohio: 305,255 countOhio305,255North Carolina: 298,506 countNorth Carolina298,506New Jersey: 283,231 countNew Jersey283,231Virginia: 282,884 countVirginia282,884Washington: 268,793 countWashington268,793Michigan: 267,166 countMichigan267,166Massachusetts: 262,946 countMassachusetts262,946Colorado: 218,502 countColorado218,502Missouri: 217,324 countMissouri217,324Minnesota: 181,960 countMinnesota181,960Wisconsin: 178,133 countWisconsin178,133Maryland: 174,807 countMaryland174,807Indiana: 172,647 countIndiana172,647Tennessee: 172,474 countTennessee172,474Arizona: 169,862 countArizona169,862Oregon: 162,751 countOregon162,751South Carolina: 145,770 countSouth Carolina145,770Louisiana: 138,317 countLouisiana138,317Alabama: 132,126 countAlabama132,126Kentucky: 127,482 countKentucky127,482Connecticut: 124,952 countConnecticut124,952Utah: 112,985 countUtah112,985Oklahoma: 112,637 countOklahoma112,637Iowa: 105,097 countIowa105,097Arkansas: 93,392 countArkansas93,392Kansas: 87,594 countKansas87,594Nevada: 86,819 countNevada86,819Mississippi: 74,436 countMississippi74,436Nebraska: 70,438 countNebraska70,438Idaho: 69,408 countIdaho69,408New Mexico: 63,576 countNew Mexico63,576New Hampshire: 55,285 countNew Hampshire55,285Maine: 54,303 countMaine54,303Montana: 52,600 countMontana52,600West Virginia: 51,432 countWest Virginia51,432Hawaii: 45,799 countHawaii45,799District of Columbia: 42,535 countDistrict of Columbia42,535Rhode Island: 39,966 countRhode Island39,966Delaware: 35,242 countDelaware35,242South Dakota: 35,005 countSouth Dakota35,005North Dakota: 32,401 countNorth Dakota32,401Wyoming: 27,302 countWyoming27,302Vermont: 26,324 countVermont26,324Alaska: 22,594 countAlaska22,594California: 1,621,590 countCalifornia1,621,590Florida: 746,409 countFlorida746,409Texas: 737,064 countTexas737,064New York: 651,911 countNew York651,911Illinois: 376,773 countIllinois376,773Pennsylvania: 361,303 countPennsylvania361,303Georgia: 309,584 countGeorgia309,584Ohio: 305,255 countOhio305,255North Carolina: 298,506 countNorth Carolina298,506New Jersey: 283,231 countNew Jersey283,231Virginia: 282,884 countVirginia282,884Washington: 268,793 countWashington268,793Michigan: 267,166 countMichigan267,166Massachusetts: 262,946 countMassachusetts262,946Colorado: 218,502 countColorado218,502Missouri: 217,324 countMissouri217,324Minnesota: 181,960 countMinnesota181,960Wisconsin: 178,133 countWisconsin178,133Maryland: 174,807 countMaryland174,807Indiana: 172,647 countIndiana172,647Tennessee: 172,474 countTennessee172,474Arizona: 169,862 countArizona169,862Oregon: 162,751 countOregon162,751South Carolina: 145,770 countSouth Carolina145,770Louisiana: 138,317 countLouisiana138,317Alabama: 132,126 countAlabama132,126Kentucky: 127,482 countKentucky127,482Connecticut: 124,952 countConnecticut124,952Utah: 112,985 countUtah112,985Oklahoma: 112,637 countOklahoma112,637Iowa: 105,097 countIowa105,097Arkansas: 93,392 countArkansas93,392Kansas: 87,594 countKansas87,594Nevada: 86,819 countNevada86,819Mississippi: 74,436 countMississippi74,436Nebraska: 70,438 countNebraska70,438Idaho: 69,408 countIdaho69,408New Mexico: 63,576 countNew Mexico63,576New Hampshire: 55,285 countNew Hampshire55,285Maine: 54,303 countMaine54,303Montana: 52,600 countMontana52,600West Virginia: 51,432 countWest Virginia51,432Hawaii: 45,799 countHawaii45,799District of Columbia: 42,535 countDistrict of Columbia42,535Rhode Island: 39,966 countRhode Island39,966Delaware: 35,242 countDelaware35,242South Dakota: 35,005 countSouth Dakota35,005North Dakota: 32,401 countNorth Dakota32,401Wyoming: 27,302 countWyoming27,302Vermont: 26,324 countVermont26,324Alaska: 22,594 countAlaska22,594
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

RankStates2020
count		Change on 2019
1California1,621,590+2%
2Florida746,409+4%
3Texas737,064+3.1%
4New York651,911+1.4%
5Illinois376,773+0.6%
6Pennsylvania361,303+0.6%
7Georgia309,584+7.3%
8Ohio305,255+1.1%
9North Carolina298,506+4.1%
10New Jersey283,231+2.2%
11Virginia282,884+1%
12Washington268,793+6.1%
13Michigan267,166+2.2%
14Massachusetts262,946+0.7%
15Colorado218,502+3.6%
16Missouri217,324+4%
17Minnesota181,960+2%
18Wisconsin178,133+1.1%
19Maryland174,807-0.8%
20Indiana172,647+2.2%
21Tennessee172,474+3.7%
22Arizona169,862+3.1%
23Oregon162,751+2.8%
24South Carolina145,770+3.7%
25Louisiana138,317+2.7%
26Alabama132,126+2.1%
27Kentucky127,482+3.7%
28Connecticut124,952+1.6%
29Utah112,985+4.5%
30Oklahoma112,637+0.9%
31Iowa105,097+0.8%
32Arkansas93,392+1.6%
33Kansas87,594+0.1%
34Nevada86,819+5.1%
35Mississippi74,436+0.9%
36Nebraska70,438-1.3%
37Idaho69,408+9.4%
38New Mexico63,576+1.1%
39New Hampshire55,285+3%
40Maine54,303+1.4%
41Montana52,600+4.9%
42West Virginia51,432+0.9%
43Hawaii45,799+4%
44District of Columbia42,535+4.5%
45Rhode Island39,966+2.8%
46Delaware35,242+2.4%
47South Dakota35,005+2.3%
48North Dakota32,401+1.6%
49Wyoming27,302+2.1%
50Vermont26,324+1.4%
51Alaska22,594+2.2%

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/2020/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), 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/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), 2020. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2020. 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), 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2020.

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), 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_us_states_by_business_2020,
  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), 2020}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2020. 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/2020/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), 2020
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2020/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2020.
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/2020/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest business establishments (QCEW)?

California, with 1.62 million in 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Alaska, with 22,594 in 2020.

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