Data / Rankings / Employer establishments: accommodation and food services / US states

US states by employer establishments: accommodation and food services

California had the highest employer establishments: accommodation and food services of 51 states in 2012, at 78,541. Wyoming had the lowest, at 1,802. The median was 8,331 and the figure for the United States was 662,757. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest78,541California
Lowest1,802Wyoming
Median8,33151 states
United States662,757History

Map of states, 2012

Alabama: 8,331 countAlaska: 2,114 countArizona: 11,673 countArkansas: 5,480 countCalifornia: 78,541 countColorado: 12,817 countConnecticut: 8,287 countDelaware: 2,016 countDistrict of Columbia: 2,370 countFlorida: 37,125 countGeorgia: 18,865 countHawaii: 3,544 countIdaho: 3,583 countIllinois: 27,085 countIndiana: 13,050 countIowa: 7,063 countKansas: 5,951 countKentucky: 7,697 countLouisiana: 9,046 countMaine: 3,965 countMaryland: 11,358 countMassachusetts: 16,860 countMichigan: 19,490 countMinnesota: 11,315 countMississippi: 5,160 countMissouri: 12,479 countMontana: 3,478 countNebraska: 4,338 countNevada: 5,863 countNew Hampshire: 3,586 countNew Jersey: 20,089 countNew Mexico: 4,164 countNew York: 49,679 countNorth Carolina: 19,496 countNorth Dakota: 1,936 countOhio: 23,396 countOklahoma: 7,355 countOregon: 10,627 countPennsylvania: 27,667 countRhode Island: 2,971 countSouth Carolina: 9,851 countSouth Dakota: 2,359 countTennessee: 12,011 countTexas: 48,743 countUtah: 5,139 countVermont: 1,915 countVirginia: 16,825 countWashington: 16,406 countWest Virginia: 3,626 countWisconsin: 14,170 countWyoming: 1,802 count
  • Under 3,500
  • 3,500 to 5,200
  • 5,200 to 8,300
  • 8,300 to 13K
  • 13K to 19K
  • 19K and over
count, 2012. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), all legal forms. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2012

California: 78,541 countCalifornia78,541New York: 49,679 countNew York49,679Texas: 48,743 countTexas48,743Florida: 37,125 countFlorida37,125Pennsylvania: 27,667 countPennsylvania27,667Illinois: 27,085 countIllinois27,085Ohio: 23,396 countOhio23,396New Jersey: 20,089 countNew Jersey20,089North Carolina: 19,496 countNorth Carolina19,496Michigan: 19,490 countMichigan19,490Georgia: 18,865 countGeorgia18,865Massachusetts: 16,860 countMassachusetts16,860Virginia: 16,825 countVirginia16,825Washington: 16,406 countWashington16,406Wisconsin: 14,170 countWisconsin14,170Indiana: 13,050 countIndiana13,050Colorado: 12,817 countColorado12,817Missouri: 12,479 countMissouri12,479Tennessee: 12,011 countTennessee12,011Arizona: 11,673 countArizona11,673Maryland: 11,358 countMaryland11,358Minnesota: 11,315 countMinnesota11,315Oregon: 10,627 countOregon10,627South Carolina: 9,851 countSouth Carolina9,851Louisiana: 9,046 countLouisiana9,046Alabama: 8,331 countAlabama8,331Connecticut: 8,287 countConnecticut8,287Kentucky: 7,697 countKentucky7,697Oklahoma: 7,355 countOklahoma7,355Iowa: 7,063 countIowa7,063Kansas: 5,951 countKansas5,951Nevada: 5,863 countNevada5,863Arkansas: 5,480 countArkansas5,480Mississippi: 5,160 countMississippi5,160Utah: 5,139 countUtah5,139Nebraska: 4,338 countNebraska4,338New Mexico: 4,164 countNew Mexico4,164Maine: 3,965 countMaine3,965West Virginia: 3,626 countWest Virginia3,626New Hampshire: 3,586 countNew Hampshire3,586Idaho: 3,583 countIdaho3,583Hawaii: 3,544 countHawaii3,544Montana: 3,478 countMontana3,478Rhode Island: 2,971 countRhode Island2,971District of Columbia: 2,370 countDistrict of Columbia2,370South Dakota: 2,359 countSouth Dakota2,359Alaska: 2,114 countAlaska2,114Delaware: 2,016 countDelaware2,016North Dakota: 1,936 countNorth Dakota1,936Vermont: 1,915 countVermont1,915Wyoming: 1,802 countWyoming1,802California: 78,541 countCalifornia78,541New York: 49,679 countNew York49,679Texas: 48,743 countTexas48,743Florida: 37,125 countFlorida37,125Pennsylvania: 27,667 countPennsylvania27,667Illinois: 27,085 countIllinois27,085Ohio: 23,396 countOhio23,396New Jersey: 20,089 countNew Jersey20,089North Carolina: 19,496 countNorth Carolina19,496Michigan: 19,490 countMichigan19,490Georgia: 18,865 countGeorgia18,865Massachusetts: 16,860 countMassachusetts16,860Virginia: 16,825 countVirginia16,825Washington: 16,406 countWashington16,406Wisconsin: 14,170 countWisconsin14,170Indiana: 13,050 countIndiana13,050Colorado: 12,817 countColorado12,817Missouri: 12,479 countMissouri12,479Tennessee: 12,011 countTennessee12,011Arizona: 11,673 countArizona11,673Maryland: 11,358 countMaryland11,358Minnesota: 11,315 countMinnesota11,315Oregon: 10,627 countOregon10,627South Carolina: 9,851 countSouth Carolina9,851Louisiana: 9,046 countLouisiana9,046Alabama: 8,331 countAlabama8,331Connecticut: 8,287 countConnecticut8,287Kentucky: 7,697 countKentucky7,697Oklahoma: 7,355 countOklahoma7,355Iowa: 7,063 countIowa7,063Kansas: 5,951 countKansas5,951Nevada: 5,863 countNevada5,863Arkansas: 5,480 countArkansas5,480Mississippi: 5,160 countMississippi5,160Utah: 5,139 countUtah5,139Nebraska: 4,338 countNebraska4,338New Mexico: 4,164 countNew Mexico4,164Maine: 3,965 countMaine3,965West Virginia: 3,626 countWest Virginia3,626New Hampshire: 3,586 countNew Hampshire3,586Idaho: 3,583 countIdaho3,583Hawaii: 3,544 countHawaii3,544Montana: 3,478 countMontana3,478Rhode Island: 2,971 countRhode Island2,971District of Columbia: 2,370 countDistrict of Columbia2,370South Dakota: 2,359 countSouth Dakota2,359Alaska: 2,114 countAlaska2,114Delaware: 2,016 countDelaware2,016North Dakota: 1,936 countNorth Dakota1,936Vermont: 1,915 countVermont1,915Wyoming: 1,802 countWyoming1,802
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2012
count
1California78,541
2New York49,679
3Texas48,743
4Florida37,125
5Pennsylvania27,667
6Illinois27,085
7Ohio23,396
8New Jersey20,089
9North Carolina19,496
10Michigan19,490
11Georgia18,865
12Massachusetts16,860
13Virginia16,825
14Washington16,406
15Wisconsin14,170
16Indiana13,050
17Colorado12,817
18Missouri12,479
19Tennessee12,011
20Arizona11,673
21Maryland11,358
22Minnesota11,315
23Oregon10,627
24South Carolina9,851
25Louisiana9,046
26Alabama8,331
27Connecticut8,287
28Kentucky7,697
29Oklahoma7,355
30Iowa7,063
31Kansas5,951
32Nevada5,863
33Arkansas5,480
34Mississippi5,160
35Utah5,139
36Nebraska4,338
37New Mexico4,164
38Maine3,965
39West Virginia3,626
40New Hampshire3,586
41Idaho3,583
42Hawaii3,544
43Montana3,478
44Rhode Island2,971
45District of Columbia2,370
46South Dakota2,359
47Alaska2,114
48Delaware2,016
49North Dakota1,936
50Vermont1,915
51Wyoming1,802

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of establishments with paid employees in accommodation and food services (hotels, restaurants and bars) (NAICS 72), from the U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns.

County Business Patterns: establishments (single physical locations, not firms) with paid employees during the pay period including 12 March. Excludes the self-employed and businesses without employees (nonemployer_establishments_*), government employers, crop and animal production, rail transportation, the Postal Service and private households. Establishment counts are not perturbed; the noise Census adds since 2017 applies to employment and payroll, which are not served here. Published about 18 months after the reference year.

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. Census Bureau. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2012/. 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. Census Bureau. (2018). County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), all legal forms (US states by employer establishments: accommodation and food services, 2012) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2012/

MLA 9

County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: accommodation and food services, 2012. U.S. Census Bureau, 12 Sept. 2018, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2012/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2012. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2018. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), all legal forms. US states by employer establishments: accommodation and food services, 2012. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2012/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2012.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2018) County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: accommodation and food services, 2012 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2012/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2012 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_employer_2012,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), all legal forms: US states by employer establishments: accommodation and food services, 2012}},
  year = {2018},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2012/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2012. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2012/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), all legal forms: US states by employer establishments: accommodation and food services, 2012
PY  - 2018
DA  - 2018/09/12
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2012/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2012.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2012/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest employer establishments: accommodation and food services?

California, with 78,541 in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest employer establishments: accommodation and food services?

Wyoming, with 1,802 in 2012.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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