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 2017, at 89,612. Wyoming had the lowest, at 1,847. The median was 9,109 and the figure for the United States was 726,167. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest89,612California
Lowest1,847Wyoming
Median9,10951 states
United States726,167History

Map of states, 2017

Alabama: 9,109 countAlaska: 2,218 countArizona: 13,042 countArkansas: 5,969 countCalifornia: 89,612 countColorado: 14,114 countConnecticut: 8,785 countDelaware: 2,211 countDistrict of Columbia: 2,740 countFlorida: 42,002 countGeorgia: 21,236 countHawaii: 3,866 countIdaho: 3,861 countIllinois: 28,967 countIndiana: 13,658 countIowa: 7,281 countKansas: 6,250 countKentucky: 8,235 countLouisiana: 9,889 countMaine: 4,257 countMaryland: 12,151 countMassachusetts: 17,742 countMichigan: 20,679 countMinnesota: 12,022 countMississippi: 5,664 countMissouri: 12,918 countMontana: 3,577 countNebraska: 4,631 countNevada: 6,815 countNew Hampshire: 3,794 countNew Jersey: 21,551 countNew Mexico: 4,410 countNew York: 54,923 countNorth Carolina: 21,455 countNorth Dakota: 2,088 countOhio: 24,371 countOklahoma: 8,336 countOregon: 11,700 countPennsylvania: 28,862 countRhode Island: 3,173 countSouth Carolina: 10,871 countSouth Dakota: 2,494 countTennessee: 13,539 countTexas: 56,825 countUtah: 5,911 countVermont: 1,985 countVirginia: 18,215 countWashington: 17,826 countWest Virginia: 3,639 countWisconsin: 14,851 countWyoming: 1,847 count
  • Under 3,600
  • 3,600 to 5,800
  • 5,800 to 9,100
  • 9,100 to 14K
  • 14K to 21K
  • 21K and over
count, 2017. 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, 2017

California: 89,612 countCalifornia89,612Texas: 56,825 countTexas56,825New York: 54,923 countNew York54,923Florida: 42,002 countFlorida42,002Illinois: 28,967 countIllinois28,967Pennsylvania: 28,862 countPennsylvania28,862Ohio: 24,371 countOhio24,371New Jersey: 21,551 countNew Jersey21,551North Carolina: 21,455 countNorth Carolina21,455Georgia: 21,236 countGeorgia21,236Michigan: 20,679 countMichigan20,679Virginia: 18,215 countVirginia18,215Washington: 17,826 countWashington17,826Massachusetts: 17,742 countMassachusetts17,742Wisconsin: 14,851 countWisconsin14,851Colorado: 14,114 countColorado14,114Indiana: 13,658 countIndiana13,658Tennessee: 13,539 countTennessee13,539Arizona: 13,042 countArizona13,042Missouri: 12,918 countMissouri12,918Maryland: 12,151 countMaryland12,151Minnesota: 12,022 countMinnesota12,022Oregon: 11,700 countOregon11,700South Carolina: 10,871 countSouth Carolina10,871Louisiana: 9,889 countLouisiana9,889Alabama: 9,109 countAlabama9,109Connecticut: 8,785 countConnecticut8,785Oklahoma: 8,336 countOklahoma8,336Kentucky: 8,235 countKentucky8,235Iowa: 7,281 countIowa7,281Nevada: 6,815 countNevada6,815Kansas: 6,250 countKansas6,250Arkansas: 5,969 countArkansas5,969Utah: 5,911 countUtah5,911Mississippi: 5,664 countMississippi5,664Nebraska: 4,631 countNebraska4,631New Mexico: 4,410 countNew Mexico4,410Maine: 4,257 countMaine4,257Hawaii: 3,866 countHawaii3,866Idaho: 3,861 countIdaho3,861New Hampshire: 3,794 countNew Hampshire3,794West Virginia: 3,639 countWest Virginia3,639Montana: 3,577 countMontana3,577Rhode Island: 3,173 countRhode Island3,173District of Columbia: 2,740 countDistrict of Columbia2,740South Dakota: 2,494 countSouth Dakota2,494Alaska: 2,218 countAlaska2,218Delaware: 2,211 countDelaware2,211North Dakota: 2,088 countNorth Dakota2,088Vermont: 1,985 countVermont1,985Wyoming: 1,847 countWyoming1,847California: 89,612 countCalifornia89,612Texas: 56,825 countTexas56,825New York: 54,923 countNew York54,923Florida: 42,002 countFlorida42,002Illinois: 28,967 countIllinois28,967Pennsylvania: 28,862 countPennsylvania28,862Ohio: 24,371 countOhio24,371New Jersey: 21,551 countNew Jersey21,551North Carolina: 21,455 countNorth Carolina21,455Georgia: 21,236 countGeorgia21,236Michigan: 20,679 countMichigan20,679Virginia: 18,215 countVirginia18,215Washington: 17,826 countWashington17,826Massachusetts: 17,742 countMassachusetts17,742Wisconsin: 14,851 countWisconsin14,851Colorado: 14,114 countColorado14,114Indiana: 13,658 countIndiana13,658Tennessee: 13,539 countTennessee13,539Arizona: 13,042 countArizona13,042Missouri: 12,918 countMissouri12,918Maryland: 12,151 countMaryland12,151Minnesota: 12,022 countMinnesota12,022Oregon: 11,700 countOregon11,700South Carolina: 10,871 countSouth Carolina10,871Louisiana: 9,889 countLouisiana9,889Alabama: 9,109 countAlabama9,109Connecticut: 8,785 countConnecticut8,785Oklahoma: 8,336 countOklahoma8,336Kentucky: 8,235 countKentucky8,235Iowa: 7,281 countIowa7,281Nevada: 6,815 countNevada6,815Kansas: 6,250 countKansas6,250Arkansas: 5,969 countArkansas5,969Utah: 5,911 countUtah5,911Mississippi: 5,664 countMississippi5,664Nebraska: 4,631 countNebraska4,631New Mexico: 4,410 countNew Mexico4,410Maine: 4,257 countMaine4,257Hawaii: 3,866 countHawaii3,866Idaho: 3,861 countIdaho3,861New Hampshire: 3,794 countNew Hampshire3,794West Virginia: 3,639 countWest Virginia3,639Montana: 3,577 countMontana3,577Rhode Island: 3,173 countRhode Island3,173District of Columbia: 2,740 countDistrict of Columbia2,740South Dakota: 2,494 countSouth Dakota2,494Alaska: 2,218 countAlaska2,218Delaware: 2,211 countDelaware2,211North Dakota: 2,088 countNorth Dakota2,088Vermont: 1,985 countVermont1,985Wyoming: 1,847 countWyoming1,847
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

RankStates2017
count		Change on 2016
1California89,612+4.1%
2Texas56,825+4.9%
3New York54,923+3.2%
4Florida42,002+4.1%
5Illinois28,967+1.7%
6Pennsylvania28,862+1.2%
7Ohio24,371+1.1%
8New Jersey21,551+2.9%
9North Carolina21,455+3.1%
10Georgia21,236+4.7%
11Michigan20,679+3.6%
12Virginia18,215+2.5%
13Washington17,826+3.9%
14Massachusetts17,742+1.7%
15Wisconsin14,851+1.7%
16Colorado14,114+4%
17Indiana13,658+2.2%
18Tennessee13,539+4.4%
19Arizona13,042+4%
20Missouri12,918+2.6%
21Maryland12,151+3%
22Minnesota12,022+2.7%
23Oregon11,700+2.7%
24South Carolina10,871+4.2%
25Louisiana9,889+3.6%
26Alabama9,109+3.3%
27Connecticut8,785+2.4%
28Oklahoma8,336+4.1%
29Kentucky8,235+2.3%
30Iowa7,281+1.9%
31Nevada6,815+4.1%
32Kansas6,250+2%
33Arkansas5,969+3.8%
34Utah5,911+3.6%
35Mississippi5,664+2.2%
36Nebraska4,631+3.1%
37New Mexico4,410+3.1%
38Maine4,257+2%
39Hawaii3,866+2.4%
40Idaho3,861+4.9%
41New Hampshire3,794+2.5%
42West Virginia3,639+2.6%
43Montana3,577+1.5%
44Rhode Island3,173+2.6%
45District of Columbia2,740+3.8%
46South Dakota2,494+2.2%
47Alaska2,218+2.9%
48Delaware2,211+4.3%
49North Dakota2,088-1%
50Vermont1,985+2.9%
51Wyoming1,847+1.9%

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/2017/. 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. (2019). 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, 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2017/

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, 2017. U.S. Census Bureau, 26 Nov. 2019, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2017/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2017. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2019. 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, 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2017/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2017.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2019) 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, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2017/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_employer_2017,
  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, 2017}},
  year = {2019},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2017/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2017. 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/2017/. 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, 2017
PY  - 2019
DA  - 2019/11/26
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2017/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2017.
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/2017/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

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

California, with 89,612 in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Wyoming, with 1,847 in 2017.

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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