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 2015, at 83,829. Wyoming had the lowest, at 1,841. The median was 8,551 and the figure for the United States was 687,619. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest83,829California
Lowest1,841Wyoming
Median8,55151 states
United States687,619History

Map of states, 2015

Alabama: 8,551 countAlaska: 2,125 countArizona: 12,207 countArkansas: 5,600 countCalifornia: 83,829 countColorado: 13,262 countConnecticut: 8,459 countDelaware: 2,086 countDistrict of Columbia: 2,504 countFlorida: 39,324 countGeorgia: 19,704 countHawaii: 3,627 countIdaho: 3,605 countIllinois: 27,731 countIndiana: 13,123 countIowa: 6,933 countKansas: 6,034 countKentucky: 7,910 countLouisiana: 9,390 countMaine: 4,122 countMaryland: 11,656 countMassachusetts: 17,230 countMichigan: 19,769 countMinnesota: 11,482 countMississippi: 5,450 countMissouri: 12,472 countMontana: 3,480 countNebraska: 4,426 countNevada: 6,306 countNew Hampshire: 3,684 countNew Jersey: 20,610 countNew Mexico: 4,247 countNew York: 52,169 countNorth Carolina: 20,199 countNorth Dakota: 2,077 countOhio: 23,697 countOklahoma: 7,781 countOregon: 11,057 countPennsylvania: 27,997 countRhode Island: 3,053 countSouth Carolina: 10,219 countSouth Dakota: 2,421 countTennessee: 12,509 countTexas: 52,086 countUtah: 5,505 countVermont: 1,951 countVirginia: 17,398 countWashington: 16,704 countWest Virginia: 3,555 countWisconsin: 14,462 countWyoming: 1,841 count
  • Under 3,500
  • 3,500 to 5,500
  • 5,500 to 8,600
  • 8,600 to 13K
  • 13K to 20K
  • 20K and over
count, 2015. 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, 2015

California: 83,829 countCalifornia83,829New York: 52,169 countNew York52,169Texas: 52,086 countTexas52,086Florida: 39,324 countFlorida39,324Pennsylvania: 27,997 countPennsylvania27,997Illinois: 27,731 countIllinois27,731Ohio: 23,697 countOhio23,697New Jersey: 20,610 countNew Jersey20,610North Carolina: 20,199 countNorth Carolina20,199Michigan: 19,769 countMichigan19,769Georgia: 19,704 countGeorgia19,704Virginia: 17,398 countVirginia17,398Massachusetts: 17,230 countMassachusetts17,230Washington: 16,704 countWashington16,704Wisconsin: 14,462 countWisconsin14,462Colorado: 13,262 countColorado13,262Indiana: 13,123 countIndiana13,123Tennessee: 12,509 countTennessee12,509Missouri: 12,472 countMissouri12,472Arizona: 12,207 countArizona12,207Maryland: 11,656 countMaryland11,656Minnesota: 11,482 countMinnesota11,482Oregon: 11,057 countOregon11,057South Carolina: 10,219 countSouth Carolina10,219Louisiana: 9,390 countLouisiana9,390Alabama: 8,551 countAlabama8,551Connecticut: 8,459 countConnecticut8,459Kentucky: 7,910 countKentucky7,910Oklahoma: 7,781 countOklahoma7,781Iowa: 6,933 countIowa6,933Nevada: 6,306 countNevada6,306Kansas: 6,034 countKansas6,034Arkansas: 5,600 countArkansas5,600Utah: 5,505 countUtah5,505Mississippi: 5,450 countMississippi5,450Nebraska: 4,426 countNebraska4,426New Mexico: 4,247 countNew Mexico4,247Maine: 4,122 countMaine4,122New Hampshire: 3,684 countNew Hampshire3,684Hawaii: 3,627 countHawaii3,627Idaho: 3,605 countIdaho3,605West Virginia: 3,555 countWest Virginia3,555Montana: 3,480 countMontana3,480Rhode Island: 3,053 countRhode Island3,053District of Columbia: 2,504 countDistrict of Columbia2,504South Dakota: 2,421 countSouth Dakota2,421Alaska: 2,125 countAlaska2,125Delaware: 2,086 countDelaware2,086North Dakota: 2,077 countNorth Dakota2,077Vermont: 1,951 countVermont1,951Wyoming: 1,841 countWyoming1,841California: 83,829 countCalifornia83,829New York: 52,169 countNew York52,169Texas: 52,086 countTexas52,086Florida: 39,324 countFlorida39,324Pennsylvania: 27,997 countPennsylvania27,997Illinois: 27,731 countIllinois27,731Ohio: 23,697 countOhio23,697New Jersey: 20,610 countNew Jersey20,610North Carolina: 20,199 countNorth Carolina20,199Michigan: 19,769 countMichigan19,769Georgia: 19,704 countGeorgia19,704Virginia: 17,398 countVirginia17,398Massachusetts: 17,230 countMassachusetts17,230Washington: 16,704 countWashington16,704Wisconsin: 14,462 countWisconsin14,462Colorado: 13,262 countColorado13,262Indiana: 13,123 countIndiana13,123Tennessee: 12,509 countTennessee12,509Missouri: 12,472 countMissouri12,472Arizona: 12,207 countArizona12,207Maryland: 11,656 countMaryland11,656Minnesota: 11,482 countMinnesota11,482Oregon: 11,057 countOregon11,057South Carolina: 10,219 countSouth Carolina10,219Louisiana: 9,390 countLouisiana9,390Alabama: 8,551 countAlabama8,551Connecticut: 8,459 countConnecticut8,459Kentucky: 7,910 countKentucky7,910Oklahoma: 7,781 countOklahoma7,781Iowa: 6,933 countIowa6,933Nevada: 6,306 countNevada6,306Kansas: 6,034 countKansas6,034Arkansas: 5,600 countArkansas5,600Utah: 5,505 countUtah5,505Mississippi: 5,450 countMississippi5,450Nebraska: 4,426 countNebraska4,426New Mexico: 4,247 countNew Mexico4,247Maine: 4,122 countMaine4,122New Hampshire: 3,684 countNew Hampshire3,684Hawaii: 3,627 countHawaii3,627Idaho: 3,605 countIdaho3,605West Virginia: 3,555 countWest Virginia3,555Montana: 3,480 countMontana3,480Rhode Island: 3,053 countRhode Island3,053District of Columbia: 2,504 countDistrict of Columbia2,504South Dakota: 2,421 countSouth Dakota2,421Alaska: 2,125 countAlaska2,125Delaware: 2,086 countDelaware2,086North Dakota: 2,077 countNorth Dakota2,077Vermont: 1,951 countVermont1,951Wyoming: 1,841 countWyoming1,841
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

RankStates2015
count		Change on 2014
1California83,829+2.5%
2New York52,169+0.9%
3Texas52,086+2.6%
4Florida39,324+2.7%
5Pennsylvania27,997-1.3%
6Illinois27,731+0.6%
7Ohio23,697-0.4%
8New Jersey20,610+0.1%
9North Carolina20,199+1.4%
10Michigan19,769+0.6%
11Georgia19,704+1.5%
12Virginia17,398+0.3%
13Massachusetts17,230-0.2%
14Washington16,704+1.2%
15Wisconsin14,462+1%
16Colorado13,262+1.3%
17Indiana13,123-0.2%
18Tennessee12,509+2.2%
19Missouri12,472-0.1%
20Arizona12,207+2.1%
21Maryland11,656+1.2%
22Minnesota11,482+0.8%
23Oregon11,057+2.1%
24South Carolina10,219+2.1%
25Louisiana9,390+1.2%
26Alabama8,551+1.9%
27Connecticut8,459+0.1%
28Kentucky7,910+0.7%
29Oklahoma7,781+2.2%
30Iowa6,933-0.5%
31Nevada6,306+2.6%
32Kansas6,034+0.8%
33Arkansas5,600+2.7%
34Utah5,505+2.7%
35Mississippi5,450+1.5%
36Nebraska4,4260%
37New Mexico4,247+1.4%
38Maine4,122+0.6%
39New Hampshire3,684+1.2%
40Hawaii3,627+1.3%
41Idaho3,605+1.7%
42West Virginia3,555-2.3%
43Montana3,480+0.3%
44Rhode Island3,053+0.5%
45District of Columbia2,504-0.1%
46South Dakota2,421+0.6%
47Alaska2,125+0.2%
48Delaware2,086+4.3%
49North Dakota2,077+1.8%
50Vermont1,951+0.3%
51Wyoming1,841+1.8%

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/2015/. 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. (2017). 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, 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2015/

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, 2015. U.S. Census Bureau, 9 May 2017, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2015/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2015. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2017. 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, 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2015/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2015.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2017) 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, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2015/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_employer_2015,
  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, 2015}},
  year = {2017},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2015/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2015. 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/2015/. 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, 2015
PY  - 2017
DA  - 2017/05/09
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2015/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2015.
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/2015/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

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

California, with 83,829 in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Wyoming, with 1,841 in 2015.

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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