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

US states by business establishments (QCEW)

California had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 51 states in 2021, at 1.66 million. Alaska had the lowest, at 23,491. The median was 139,675 and the figure for the United States was 10.91 million. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest1,656,986California
Lowest23,491Alaska
Median139,67551 states
United States10,909,076History

Map of states, 2021

Alabama: 139,675 countAlaska: 23,491 countArizona: 184,198 countArkansas: 95,817 countCalifornia: 1,656,986 countColorado: 229,466 countConnecticut: 131,105 countDelaware: 36,697 countDistrict of Columbia: 44,401 countFlorida: 798,225 countGeorgia: 336,795 countHawaii: 48,028 countIdaho: 78,581 countIllinois: 386,892 countIndiana: 178,700 countIowa: 106,731 countKansas: 90,138 countKentucky: 134,031 countLouisiana: 143,084 countMaine: 58,119 countMaryland: 176,625 countMassachusetts: 276,708 countMichigan: 272,627 countMinnesota: 185,787 countMississippi: 76,380 countMissouri: 220,161 countMontana: 55,176 countNebraska: 75,199 countNevada: 94,056 countNew Hampshire: 58,684 countNew Jersey: 296,815 countNew Mexico: 64,666 countNew York: 661,848 countNorth Carolina: 315,112 countNorth Dakota: 32,837 countOhio: 315,104 countOklahoma: 115,892 countOregon: 171,347 countPennsylvania: 369,368 countRhode Island: 42,938 countSouth Carolina: 152,259 countSouth Dakota: 36,635 countTennessee: 185,336 countTexas: 769,389 countUtah: 121,471 countVermont: 27,902 countVirginia: 297,191 countWashington: 272,781 countWest Virginia: 53,542 countWisconsin: 185,829 countWyoming: 28,254 count
  • Under 50K
  • 50K to 90K
  • 90K to 140K
  • 140K to 190K
  • 190K to 310K
  • 310K and over
count, 2021. 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, 2021

California: 1,656,986 countCalifornia1,656,986Florida: 798,225 countFlorida798,225Texas: 769,389 countTexas769,389New York: 661,848 countNew York661,848Illinois: 386,892 countIllinois386,892Pennsylvania: 369,368 countPennsylvania369,368Georgia: 336,795 countGeorgia336,795North Carolina: 315,112 countNorth Carolina315,112Ohio: 315,104 countOhio315,104Virginia: 297,191 countVirginia297,191New Jersey: 296,815 countNew Jersey296,815Massachusetts: 276,708 countMassachusetts276,708Washington: 272,781 countWashington272,781Michigan: 272,627 countMichigan272,627Colorado: 229,466 countColorado229,466Missouri: 220,161 countMissouri220,161Wisconsin: 185,829 countWisconsin185,829Minnesota: 185,787 countMinnesota185,787Tennessee: 185,336 countTennessee185,336Arizona: 184,198 countArizona184,198Indiana: 178,700 countIndiana178,700Maryland: 176,625 countMaryland176,625Oregon: 171,347 countOregon171,347South Carolina: 152,259 countSouth Carolina152,259Louisiana: 143,084 countLouisiana143,084Alabama: 139,675 countAlabama139,675Kentucky: 134,031 countKentucky134,031Connecticut: 131,105 countConnecticut131,105Utah: 121,471 countUtah121,471Oklahoma: 115,892 countOklahoma115,892Iowa: 106,731 countIowa106,731Arkansas: 95,817 countArkansas95,817Nevada: 94,056 countNevada94,056Kansas: 90,138 countKansas90,138Idaho: 78,581 countIdaho78,581Mississippi: 76,380 countMississippi76,380Nebraska: 75,199 countNebraska75,199New Mexico: 64,666 countNew Mexico64,666New Hampshire: 58,684 countNew Hampshire58,684Maine: 58,119 countMaine58,119Montana: 55,176 countMontana55,176West Virginia: 53,542 countWest Virginia53,542Hawaii: 48,028 countHawaii48,028District of Columbia: 44,401 countDistrict of Columbia44,401Rhode Island: 42,938 countRhode Island42,938Delaware: 36,697 countDelaware36,697South Dakota: 36,635 countSouth Dakota36,635North Dakota: 32,837 countNorth Dakota32,837Wyoming: 28,254 countWyoming28,254Vermont: 27,902 countVermont27,902Alaska: 23,491 countAlaska23,491California: 1,656,986 countCalifornia1,656,986Florida: 798,225 countFlorida798,225Texas: 769,389 countTexas769,389New York: 661,848 countNew York661,848Illinois: 386,892 countIllinois386,892Pennsylvania: 369,368 countPennsylvania369,368Georgia: 336,795 countGeorgia336,795North Carolina: 315,112 countNorth Carolina315,112Ohio: 315,104 countOhio315,104Virginia: 297,191 countVirginia297,191New Jersey: 296,815 countNew Jersey296,815Massachusetts: 276,708 countMassachusetts276,708Washington: 272,781 countWashington272,781Michigan: 272,627 countMichigan272,627Colorado: 229,466 countColorado229,466Missouri: 220,161 countMissouri220,161Wisconsin: 185,829 countWisconsin185,829Minnesota: 185,787 countMinnesota185,787Tennessee: 185,336 countTennessee185,336Arizona: 184,198 countArizona184,198Indiana: 178,700 countIndiana178,700Maryland: 176,625 countMaryland176,625Oregon: 171,347 countOregon171,347South Carolina: 152,259 countSouth Carolina152,259Louisiana: 143,084 countLouisiana143,084Alabama: 139,675 countAlabama139,675Kentucky: 134,031 countKentucky134,031Connecticut: 131,105 countConnecticut131,105Utah: 121,471 countUtah121,471Oklahoma: 115,892 countOklahoma115,892Iowa: 106,731 countIowa106,731Arkansas: 95,817 countArkansas95,817Nevada: 94,056 countNevada94,056Kansas: 90,138 countKansas90,138Idaho: 78,581 countIdaho78,581Mississippi: 76,380 countMississippi76,380Nebraska: 75,199 countNebraska75,199New Mexico: 64,666 countNew Mexico64,666New Hampshire: 58,684 countNew Hampshire58,684Maine: 58,119 countMaine58,119Montana: 55,176 countMontana55,176West Virginia: 53,542 countWest Virginia53,542Hawaii: 48,028 countHawaii48,028District of Columbia: 44,401 countDistrict of Columbia44,401Rhode Island: 42,938 countRhode Island42,938Delaware: 36,697 countDelaware36,697South Dakota: 36,635 countSouth Dakota36,635North Dakota: 32,837 countNorth Dakota32,837Wyoming: 28,254 countWyoming28,254Vermont: 27,902 countVermont27,902Alaska: 23,491 countAlaska23,491
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

RankStates2021
count		Change on 2020
1California1,656,986+2.2%
2Florida798,225+6.9%
3Texas769,389+4.4%
4New York661,848+1.5%
5Illinois386,892+2.7%
6Pennsylvania369,368+2.2%
7Georgia336,795+8.8%
8North Carolina315,112+5.6%
9Ohio315,104+3.2%
10Virginia297,191+5.1%
11New Jersey296,815+4.8%
12Massachusetts276,708+5.2%
13Washington272,781+1.5%
14Michigan272,627+2%
15Colorado229,466+5%
16Missouri220,161+1.3%
17Wisconsin185,829+4.3%
18Minnesota185,787+2.1%
19Tennessee185,336+7.5%
20Arizona184,198+8.4%
21Indiana178,700+3.5%
22Maryland176,625+1%
23Oregon171,347+5.3%
24South Carolina152,259+4.5%
25Louisiana143,084+3.4%
26Alabama139,675+5.7%
27Kentucky134,031+5.1%
28Connecticut131,105+4.9%
29Utah121,471+7.5%
30Oklahoma115,892+2.9%
31Iowa106,731+1.6%
32Arkansas95,817+2.6%
33Nevada94,056+8.3%
34Kansas90,138+2.9%
35Idaho78,581+13.2%
36Mississippi76,380+2.6%
37Nebraska75,199+6.8%
38New Mexico64,666+1.7%
39New Hampshire58,684+6.1%
40Maine58,119+7%
41Montana55,176+4.9%
42West Virginia53,542+4.1%
43Hawaii48,028+4.9%
44District of Columbia44,401+4.4%
45Rhode Island42,938+7.4%
46Delaware36,697+4.1%
47South Dakota36,635+4.7%
48North Dakota32,837+1.3%
49Wyoming28,254+3.5%
50Vermont27,902+6%
51Alaska23,491+4%

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/2021/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), 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/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), 2021. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2021. 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), 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2021.

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), 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_us_states_by_business_2021,
  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), 2021}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2021. 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/2021/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), 2021
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2021/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2021.
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/2021/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest business establishments (QCEW)?

California, with 1.66 million in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Alaska, with 23,491 in 2021.

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