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 2018, at 91,245. Wyoming had the lowest, at 1,808. The median was 9,143 and the figure for the United States was 733,134. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest91,245California
Lowest1,808Wyoming
Median9,14351 states
United States733,134History

Map of states, 2018

Alabama: 9,143 countAlaska: 2,187 countArizona: 13,288 countArkansas: 5,998 countCalifornia: 91,245 countColorado: 14,310 countConnecticut: 8,839 countDelaware: 2,240 countDistrict of Columbia: 2,754 countFlorida: 42,951 countGeorgia: 21,531 countHawaii: 3,895 countIdaho: 3,948 countIllinois: 28,953 countIndiana: 13,625 countIowa: 7,312 countKansas: 6,256 countKentucky: 8,259 countLouisiana: 9,945 countMaine: 4,283 countMaryland: 12,232 countMassachusetts: 17,812 countMichigan: 20,762 countMinnesota: 11,989 countMississippi: 5,649 countMissouri: 12,919 countMontana: 3,571 countNebraska: 4,578 countNevada: 6,944 countNew Hampshire: 3,842 countNew Jersey: 21,780 countNew Mexico: 4,441 countNew York: 55,035 countNorth Carolina: 21,757 countNorth Dakota: 2,086 countOhio: 24,324 countOklahoma: 8,429 countOregon: 11,796 countPennsylvania: 28,974 countRhode Island: 3,152 countSouth Carolina: 10,953 countSouth Dakota: 2,508 countTennessee: 13,722 countTexas: 58,135 countUtah: 6,063 countVermont: 1,991 countVirginia: 18,387 countWashington: 18,035 countWest Virginia: 3,593 countWisconsin: 14,905 countWyoming: 1,808 count
  • Under 3,600
  • 3,600 to 5,900
  • 5,900 to 9,100
  • 9,100 to 14K
  • 14K to 22K
  • 22K and over
count, 2018. 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, 2018

California: 91,245 countCalifornia91,245Texas: 58,135 countTexas58,135New York: 55,035 countNew York55,035Florida: 42,951 countFlorida42,951Pennsylvania: 28,974 countPennsylvania28,974Illinois: 28,953 countIllinois28,953Ohio: 24,324 countOhio24,324New Jersey: 21,780 countNew Jersey21,780North Carolina: 21,757 countNorth Carolina21,757Georgia: 21,531 countGeorgia21,531Michigan: 20,762 countMichigan20,762Virginia: 18,387 countVirginia18,387Washington: 18,035 countWashington18,035Massachusetts: 17,812 countMassachusetts17,812Wisconsin: 14,905 countWisconsin14,905Colorado: 14,310 countColorado14,310Tennessee: 13,722 countTennessee13,722Indiana: 13,625 countIndiana13,625Arizona: 13,288 countArizona13,288Missouri: 12,919 countMissouri12,919Maryland: 12,232 countMaryland12,232Minnesota: 11,989 countMinnesota11,989Oregon: 11,796 countOregon11,796South Carolina: 10,953 countSouth Carolina10,953Louisiana: 9,945 countLouisiana9,945Alabama: 9,143 countAlabama9,143Connecticut: 8,839 countConnecticut8,839Oklahoma: 8,429 countOklahoma8,429Kentucky: 8,259 countKentucky8,259Iowa: 7,312 countIowa7,312Nevada: 6,944 countNevada6,944Kansas: 6,256 countKansas6,256Utah: 6,063 countUtah6,063Arkansas: 5,998 countArkansas5,998Mississippi: 5,649 countMississippi5,649Nebraska: 4,578 countNebraska4,578New Mexico: 4,441 countNew Mexico4,441Maine: 4,283 countMaine4,283Idaho: 3,948 countIdaho3,948Hawaii: 3,895 countHawaii3,895New Hampshire: 3,842 countNew Hampshire3,842West Virginia: 3,593 countWest Virginia3,593Montana: 3,571 countMontana3,571Rhode Island: 3,152 countRhode Island3,152District of Columbia: 2,754 countDistrict of Columbia2,754South Dakota: 2,508 countSouth Dakota2,508Delaware: 2,240 countDelaware2,240Alaska: 2,187 countAlaska2,187North Dakota: 2,086 countNorth Dakota2,086Vermont: 1,991 countVermont1,991Wyoming: 1,808 countWyoming1,808California: 91,245 countCalifornia91,245Texas: 58,135 countTexas58,135New York: 55,035 countNew York55,035Florida: 42,951 countFlorida42,951Pennsylvania: 28,974 countPennsylvania28,974Illinois: 28,953 countIllinois28,953Ohio: 24,324 countOhio24,324New Jersey: 21,780 countNew Jersey21,780North Carolina: 21,757 countNorth Carolina21,757Georgia: 21,531 countGeorgia21,531Michigan: 20,762 countMichigan20,762Virginia: 18,387 countVirginia18,387Washington: 18,035 countWashington18,035Massachusetts: 17,812 countMassachusetts17,812Wisconsin: 14,905 countWisconsin14,905Colorado: 14,310 countColorado14,310Tennessee: 13,722 countTennessee13,722Indiana: 13,625 countIndiana13,625Arizona: 13,288 countArizona13,288Missouri: 12,919 countMissouri12,919Maryland: 12,232 countMaryland12,232Minnesota: 11,989 countMinnesota11,989Oregon: 11,796 countOregon11,796South Carolina: 10,953 countSouth Carolina10,953Louisiana: 9,945 countLouisiana9,945Alabama: 9,143 countAlabama9,143Connecticut: 8,839 countConnecticut8,839Oklahoma: 8,429 countOklahoma8,429Kentucky: 8,259 countKentucky8,259Iowa: 7,312 countIowa7,312Nevada: 6,944 countNevada6,944Kansas: 6,256 countKansas6,256Utah: 6,063 countUtah6,063Arkansas: 5,998 countArkansas5,998Mississippi: 5,649 countMississippi5,649Nebraska: 4,578 countNebraska4,578New Mexico: 4,441 countNew Mexico4,441Maine: 4,283 countMaine4,283Idaho: 3,948 countIdaho3,948Hawaii: 3,895 countHawaii3,895New Hampshire: 3,842 countNew Hampshire3,842West Virginia: 3,593 countWest Virginia3,593Montana: 3,571 countMontana3,571Rhode Island: 3,152 countRhode Island3,152District of Columbia: 2,754 countDistrict of Columbia2,754South Dakota: 2,508 countSouth Dakota2,508Delaware: 2,240 countDelaware2,240Alaska: 2,187 countAlaska2,187North Dakota: 2,086 countNorth Dakota2,086Vermont: 1,991 countVermont1,991Wyoming: 1,808 countWyoming1,808
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

RankStates2018
count		Change on 2017
1California91,245+1.8%
2Texas58,135+2.3%
3New York55,035+0.2%
4Florida42,951+2.3%
5Pennsylvania28,974+0.4%
6Illinois28,953-0%
7Ohio24,324-0.2%
8New Jersey21,780+1.1%
9North Carolina21,757+1.4%
10Georgia21,531+1.4%
11Michigan20,762+0.4%
12Virginia18,387+0.9%
13Washington18,035+1.2%
14Massachusetts17,812+0.4%
15Wisconsin14,905+0.4%
16Colorado14,310+1.4%
17Tennessee13,722+1.4%
18Indiana13,625-0.2%
19Arizona13,288+1.9%
20Missouri12,9190%
21Maryland12,232+0.7%
22Minnesota11,989-0.3%
23Oregon11,796+0.8%
24South Carolina10,953+0.8%
25Louisiana9,945+0.6%
26Alabama9,143+0.4%
27Connecticut8,839+0.6%
28Oklahoma8,429+1.1%
29Kentucky8,259+0.3%
30Iowa7,312+0.4%
31Nevada6,944+1.9%
32Kansas6,256+0.1%
33Utah6,063+2.6%
34Arkansas5,998+0.5%
35Mississippi5,649-0.3%
36Nebraska4,578-1.1%
37New Mexico4,441+0.7%
38Maine4,283+0.6%
39Idaho3,948+2.3%
40Hawaii3,895+0.8%
41New Hampshire3,842+1.3%
42West Virginia3,593-1.3%
43Montana3,571-0.2%
44Rhode Island3,152-0.7%
45District of Columbia2,754+0.5%
46South Dakota2,508+0.6%
47Delaware2,240+1.3%
48Alaska2,187-1.4%
49North Dakota2,086-0.1%
50Vermont1,991+0.3%
51Wyoming1,808-2.1%

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/2018/. 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. (2020). 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, 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2018/

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, 2018. U.S. Census Bureau, 25 June 2020, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2018/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2018. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2020. 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, 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2018/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2018.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2020) 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, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2018/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_employer_2018,
  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, 2018}},
  year = {2020},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2018/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2018. 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/2018/. 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, 2018
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/06/25
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2018/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2018.
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/2018/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

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

California, with 91,245 in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

Wyoming, with 1,808 in 2018.

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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