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

US states by business establishments (QCEW)

California had the highest business establishments (QCEW) of 51 states in 2024, at 1.85 million. Alaska had the lowest, at 25,107. The median was 158,455 and the figure for the United States was 12.06 million. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest1,850,051California
Lowest25,107Alaska
Median158,45551 states
United States12,057,370History

Map of states, 2024

Alabama: 160,887 countAlaska: 25,107 countArizona: 225,488 countArkansas: 103,755 countCalifornia: 1,850,051 countColorado: 249,868 countConnecticut: 148,930 countDelaware: 45,792 countDistrict of Columbia: 52,240 countFlorida: 881,921 countGeorgia: 391,882 countHawaii: 59,537 countIdaho: 102,742 countIllinois: 396,712 countIndiana: 191,858 countIowa: 111,801 countKansas: 100,000 countKentucky: 158,455 countLouisiana: 155,054 countMaine: 65,438 countMaryland: 196,050 countMassachusetts: 283,752 countMichigan: 300,662 countMinnesota: 212,736 countMississippi: 89,321 countMissouri: 243,130 countMontana: 63,895 countNebraska: 76,834 countNevada: 107,931 countNew Hampshire: 66,884 countNew Jersey: 325,936 countNew Mexico: 68,556 countNew York: 707,640 countNorth Carolina: 376,914 countNorth Dakota: 36,563 countOhio: 343,272 countOklahoma: 129,149 countOregon: 186,601 countPennsylvania: 388,411 countRhode Island: 49,013 countSouth Carolina: 190,505 countSouth Dakota: 40,306 countTennessee: 227,134 countTexas: 846,066 countUtah: 139,514 countVermont: 32,245 countVirginia: 317,533 countWashington: 237,649 countWest Virginia: 61,700 countWisconsin: 203,377 countWyoming: 30,572 count
  • Under 60K
  • 60K to 100K
  • 100K to 160K
  • 160K to 230K
  • 230K to 340K
  • 340K and over
count, 2024. 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, 2024

California: 1,850,051 countCalifornia1,850,051Florida: 881,921 countFlorida881,921Texas: 846,066 countTexas846,066New York: 707,640 countNew York707,640Illinois: 396,712 countIllinois396,712Georgia: 391,882 countGeorgia391,882Pennsylvania: 388,411 countPennsylvania388,411North Carolina: 376,914 countNorth Carolina376,914Ohio: 343,272 countOhio343,272New Jersey: 325,936 countNew Jersey325,936Virginia: 317,533 countVirginia317,533Michigan: 300,662 countMichigan300,662Massachusetts: 283,752 countMassachusetts283,752Colorado: 249,868 countColorado249,868Missouri: 243,130 countMissouri243,130Washington: 237,649 countWashington237,649Tennessee: 227,134 countTennessee227,134Arizona: 225,488 countArizona225,488Minnesota: 212,736 countMinnesota212,736Wisconsin: 203,377 countWisconsin203,377Maryland: 196,050 countMaryland196,050Indiana: 191,858 countIndiana191,858South Carolina: 190,505 countSouth Carolina190,505Oregon: 186,601 countOregon186,601Alabama: 160,887 countAlabama160,887Kentucky: 158,455 countKentucky158,455Louisiana: 155,054 countLouisiana155,054Connecticut: 148,930 countConnecticut148,930Utah: 139,514 countUtah139,514Oklahoma: 129,149 countOklahoma129,149Iowa: 111,801 countIowa111,801Nevada: 107,931 countNevada107,931Arkansas: 103,755 countArkansas103,755Idaho: 102,742 countIdaho102,742Kansas: 100,000 countKansas100,000Mississippi: 89,321 countMississippi89,321Nebraska: 76,834 countNebraska76,834New Mexico: 68,556 countNew Mexico68,556New Hampshire: 66,884 countNew Hampshire66,884Maine: 65,438 countMaine65,438Montana: 63,895 countMontana63,895West Virginia: 61,700 countWest Virginia61,700Hawaii: 59,537 countHawaii59,537District of Columbia: 52,240 countDistrict of Columbia52,240Rhode Island: 49,013 countRhode Island49,013Delaware: 45,792 countDelaware45,792South Dakota: 40,306 countSouth Dakota40,306North Dakota: 36,563 countNorth Dakota36,563Vermont: 32,245 countVermont32,245Wyoming: 30,572 countWyoming30,572Alaska: 25,107 countAlaska25,107California: 1,850,051 countCalifornia1,850,051Florida: 881,921 countFlorida881,921Texas: 846,066 countTexas846,066New York: 707,640 countNew York707,640Illinois: 396,712 countIllinois396,712Georgia: 391,882 countGeorgia391,882Pennsylvania: 388,411 countPennsylvania388,411North Carolina: 376,914 countNorth Carolina376,914Ohio: 343,272 countOhio343,272New Jersey: 325,936 countNew Jersey325,936Virginia: 317,533 countVirginia317,533Michigan: 300,662 countMichigan300,662Massachusetts: 283,752 countMassachusetts283,752Colorado: 249,868 countColorado249,868Missouri: 243,130 countMissouri243,130Washington: 237,649 countWashington237,649Tennessee: 227,134 countTennessee227,134Arizona: 225,488 countArizona225,488Minnesota: 212,736 countMinnesota212,736Wisconsin: 203,377 countWisconsin203,377Maryland: 196,050 countMaryland196,050Indiana: 191,858 countIndiana191,858South Carolina: 190,505 countSouth Carolina190,505Oregon: 186,601 countOregon186,601Alabama: 160,887 countAlabama160,887Kentucky: 158,455 countKentucky158,455Louisiana: 155,054 countLouisiana155,054Connecticut: 148,930 countConnecticut148,930Utah: 139,514 countUtah139,514Oklahoma: 129,149 countOklahoma129,149Iowa: 111,801 countIowa111,801Nevada: 107,931 countNevada107,931Arkansas: 103,755 countArkansas103,755Idaho: 102,742 countIdaho102,742Kansas: 100,000 countKansas100,000Mississippi: 89,321 countMississippi89,321Nebraska: 76,834 countNebraska76,834New Mexico: 68,556 countNew Mexico68,556New Hampshire: 66,884 countNew Hampshire66,884Maine: 65,438 countMaine65,438Montana: 63,895 countMontana63,895West Virginia: 61,700 countWest Virginia61,700Hawaii: 59,537 countHawaii59,537District of Columbia: 52,240 countDistrict of Columbia52,240Rhode Island: 49,013 countRhode Island49,013Delaware: 45,792 countDelaware45,792South Dakota: 40,306 countSouth Dakota40,306North Dakota: 36,563 countNorth Dakota36,563Vermont: 32,245 countVermont32,245Wyoming: 30,572 countWyoming30,572Alaska: 25,107 countAlaska25,107
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

RankStates2024
count		Change on 2023
1California1,850,051+5.6%
2Florida881,921+0.3%
3Texas846,066+1.7%
4New York707,640+1.4%
5Illinois396,712-0.6%
6Georgia391,882+1.3%
7Pennsylvania388,411+0.6%
8North Carolina376,914+0.5%
9Ohio343,272+2%
10New Jersey325,936+2.1%
11Virginia317,533-1%
12Michigan300,662-7.1%
13Massachusetts283,752-2.8%
14Colorado249,868-3.3%
15Missouri243,130-1.5%
16Washington237,649+3.6%
17Tennessee227,134+3.3%
18Arizona225,488+2.2%
19Minnesota212,736+2.1%
20Wisconsin203,377+2.1%
21Maryland196,050+3.1%
22Indiana191,858+1.4%
23South Carolina190,505+7.2%
24Oregon186,601-2.9%
25Alabama160,887+2.8%
26Kentucky158,455+4.1%
27Louisiana155,054+0.8%
28Connecticut148,930+1%
29Utah139,514+2.9%
30Oklahoma129,149-0.4%
31Iowa111,801+0.7%
32Nevada107,931-0.7%
33Arkansas103,755+1.2%
34Idaho102,742+9.6%
35Kansas100,000+3.6%
36Mississippi89,321+3.1%
37Nebraska76,834-0.1%
38New Mexico68,556+1.8%
39New Hampshire66,884+2.6%
40Maine65,438+2.1%
41Montana63,895-3%
42West Virginia61,700+4.1%
43Hawaii59,537+5.1%
44District of Columbia52,240+1.4%
45Rhode Island49,013+1.7%
46Delaware45,792+5.2%
47South Dakota40,306+1.6%
48North Dakota36,563+2.7%
49Vermont32,245+2.8%
50Wyoming30,572+1.3%
51Alaska25,107+0.4%

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/2024/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), 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/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), 2024. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2024. 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), 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2024.

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), 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2024 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_us_states_by_business_2024,
  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), 2024}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2024. 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/2024/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), 2024
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2024
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/business-establishments/us-states?period=2024.
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/2024/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest business establishments (QCEW)?

California, with 1.85 million in 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest business establishments (QCEW)?

Alaska, with 25,107 in 2024.

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