Data / Rankings / Employer establishments: arts, entertainment and recreation / US states

US states by employer establishments: arts, entertainment and recreation, 2023

California had the highest employer establishments: arts, entertainment and recreation of 51 states in 2023, at 33,856. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 444. The median was 1,864 and the figure for the United States was 166,356. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest33,856California
Lowest444District of Columbia
Median1,86451 states
United States166,356History

Map of states, 2023

Alabama: 1,365 countAlaska: 642 countArizona: 2,643 countArkansas: 872 countCalifornia: 33,856 countColorado: 3,642 countConnecticut: 1,864 countDelaware: 603 countDistrict of Columbia: 444 countFlorida: 11,208 countGeorgia: 4,354 countHawaii: 575 countIdaho: 994 countIllinois: 5,759 countIndiana: 2,407 countIowa: 1,500 countKansas: 1,110 countKentucky: 1,442 countLouisiana: 1,654 countMaine: 943 countMaryland: 2,386 countMassachusetts: 3,672 countMichigan: 3,763 countMinnesota: 3,204 countMississippi: 701 countMissouri: 2,472 countMontana: 1,387 countNebraska: 1,030 countNevada: 2,100 countNew Hampshire: 880 countNew Jersey: 4,113 countNew Mexico: 756 countNew York: 14,122 countNorth Carolina: 4,517 countNorth Dakota: 536 countOhio: 4,195 countOklahoma: 1,345 countOregon: 2,130 countPennsylvania: 5,291 countRhode Island: 626 countSouth Carolina: 2,030 countSouth Dakota: 738 countTennessee: 3,294 countTexas: 9,823 countUtah: 1,651 countVermont: 492 countVirginia: 3,465 countWashington: 3,451 countWest Virginia: 765 countWisconsin: 2,992 countWyoming: 552 count
  • Under 700
  • 700 to 1,100
  • 1,100 to 1,900
  • 1,900 to 3,100
  • 3,100 to 4,200
  • 4,200 and over
count, 2023. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), arts, entertainment, and recreation (NAICS 71), all legal forms. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2023

California: 33,856 countCalifornia33,856New York: 14,122 countNew York14,122Florida: 11,208 countFlorida11,208Texas: 9,823 countTexas9,823Illinois: 5,759 countIllinois5,759Pennsylvania: 5,291 countPennsylvania5,291North Carolina: 4,517 countNorth Carolina4,517Georgia: 4,354 countGeorgia4,354Ohio: 4,195 countOhio4,195New Jersey: 4,113 countNew Jersey4,113Michigan: 3,763 countMichigan3,763Massachusetts: 3,672 countMassachusetts3,672Colorado: 3,642 countColorado3,642Virginia: 3,465 countVirginia3,465Washington: 3,451 countWashington3,451Tennessee: 3,294 countTennessee3,294Minnesota: 3,204 countMinnesota3,204Wisconsin: 2,992 countWisconsin2,992Arizona: 2,643 countArizona2,643Missouri: 2,472 countMissouri2,472Indiana: 2,407 countIndiana2,407Maryland: 2,386 countMaryland2,386Oregon: 2,130 countOregon2,130Nevada: 2,100 countNevada2,100South Carolina: 2,030 countSouth Carolina2,030Connecticut: 1,864 countConnecticut1,864Louisiana: 1,654 countLouisiana1,654Utah: 1,651 countUtah1,651Iowa: 1,500 countIowa1,500Kentucky: 1,442 countKentucky1,442Montana: 1,387 countMontana1,387Alabama: 1,365 countAlabama1,365Oklahoma: 1,345 countOklahoma1,345Kansas: 1,110 countKansas1,110Nebraska: 1,030 countNebraska1,030Idaho: 994 countIdaho994Maine: 943 countMaine943New Hampshire: 880 countNew Hampshire880Arkansas: 872 countArkansas872West Virginia: 765 countWest Virginia765New Mexico: 756 countNew Mexico756South Dakota: 738 countSouth Dakota738Mississippi: 701 countMississippi701Alaska: 642 countAlaska642Rhode Island: 626 countRhode Island626Delaware: 603 countDelaware603Hawaii: 575 countHawaii575Wyoming: 552 countWyoming552North Dakota: 536 countNorth Dakota536Vermont: 492 countVermont492District of Columbia: 444 countDistrict of Columbia444California: 33,856 countCalifornia33,856New York: 14,122 countNew York14,122Florida: 11,208 countFlorida11,208Texas: 9,823 countTexas9,823Illinois: 5,759 countIllinois5,759Pennsylvania: 5,291 countPennsylvania5,291North Carolina: 4,517 countNorth Carolina4,517Georgia: 4,354 countGeorgia4,354Ohio: 4,195 countOhio4,195New Jersey: 4,113 countNew Jersey4,113Michigan: 3,763 countMichigan3,763Massachusetts: 3,672 countMassachusetts3,672Colorado: 3,642 countColorado3,642Virginia: 3,465 countVirginia3,465Washington: 3,451 countWashington3,451Tennessee: 3,294 countTennessee3,294Minnesota: 3,204 countMinnesota3,204Wisconsin: 2,992 countWisconsin2,992Arizona: 2,643 countArizona2,643Missouri: 2,472 countMissouri2,472Indiana: 2,407 countIndiana2,407Maryland: 2,386 countMaryland2,386Oregon: 2,130 countOregon2,130Nevada: 2,100 countNevada2,100South Carolina: 2,030 countSouth Carolina2,030Connecticut: 1,864 countConnecticut1,864Louisiana: 1,654 countLouisiana1,654Utah: 1,651 countUtah1,651Iowa: 1,500 countIowa1,500Kentucky: 1,442 countKentucky1,442Montana: 1,387 countMontana1,387Alabama: 1,365 countAlabama1,365Oklahoma: 1,345 countOklahoma1,345Kansas: 1,110 countKansas1,110Nebraska: 1,030 countNebraska1,030Idaho: 994 countIdaho994Maine: 943 countMaine943New Hampshire: 880 countNew Hampshire880Arkansas: 872 countArkansas872West Virginia: 765 countWest Virginia765New Mexico: 756 countNew Mexico756South Dakota: 738 countSouth Dakota738Mississippi: 701 countMississippi701Alaska: 642 countAlaska642Rhode Island: 626 countRhode Island626Delaware: 603 countDelaware603Hawaii: 575 countHawaii575Wyoming: 552 countWyoming552North Dakota: 536 countNorth Dakota536Vermont: 492 countVermont492District of Columbia: 444 countDistrict of Columbia444
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), arts, entertainment, and recreation (NAICS 71), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2023
count		Change on 2022
1California33,856-0%
2New York14,122+1.3%
3Florida11,208+3.9%
4Texas9,823+4.7%
5Illinois5,759+1.3%
6Pennsylvania5,291+1.2%
7North Carolina4,517+2.9%
8Georgia4,354+3.6%
9Ohio4,195+2.7%
10New Jersey4,113+3.1%
11Michigan3,763+3.7%
12Massachusetts3,672+1.5%
13Colorado3,642+2.9%
14Virginia3,465+3.5%
15Washington3,451+1.9%
16Tennessee3,294+2.6%
17Minnesota3,204+0.6%
18Wisconsin2,992+2.5%
19Arizona2,643+3.8%
20Missouri2,472+2%
21Indiana2,407+4.2%
22Maryland2,386+3.5%
23Oregon2,130+2%
24Nevada2,100+2.2%
25South Carolina2,030+5.3%
26Connecticut1,864+0.4%
27Louisiana1,654+1.2%
28Utah1,651+7.6%
29Iowa1,500+0.9%
30Kentucky1,442+6.9%
31Montana1,387+1.1%
32Alabama1,365+1.6%
33Oklahoma1,345+3.5%
34Kansas1,110+2.1%
35Nebraska1,030+2%
36Idaho994+2.5%
37Maine943+1.8%
38New Hampshire880+3.5%
39Arkansas872+1.6%
40West Virginia765+2%
41New Mexico756+1.3%
42South Dakota738-4.4%
43Mississippi701-0.8%
44Alaska642+1.3%
45Rhode Island626+0.5%
46Delaware603+3.6%
47Hawaii575+4.2%
48Wyoming552+4%
49North Dakota536+4.3%
50Vermont492+4.2%
51District of Columbia444-2.2%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of establishments with paid employees in arts, entertainment, and recreation (NAICS 71), 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), arts, entertainment, and recreation (NAICS 71), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/. 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. (2025). County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), arts, entertainment, and recreation (NAICS 71), all legal forms (US states by employer establishments: arts, entertainment and recreation, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/

MLA 9

County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), arts, entertainment, and recreation (NAICS 71), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: arts, entertainment and recreation, 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 26 June 2025, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/us-states. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), arts, entertainment, and recreation (NAICS 71), all legal forms. US states by employer establishments: arts, entertainment and recreation, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/us-states.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), arts, entertainment, and recreation (NAICS 71), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: arts, entertainment and recreation, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/us-states (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_employer_2023,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), arts, entertainment, and recreation (NAICS 71), all legal forms: US states by employer establishments: arts, entertainment and recreation, 2023}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/us-states. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), arts, entertainment, and recreation (NAICS 71), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), arts, entertainment, and recreation (NAICS 71), all legal forms: US states by employer establishments: arts, entertainment and recreation, 2023
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/06/26
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/us-states
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/us-states.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), arts, entertainment, and recreation (NAICS 71), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest employer establishments: arts, entertainment and recreation?

California, with 33,856 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest employer establishments: arts, entertainment and recreation?

District of Columbia, with 444 in 2023.

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), arts, entertainment, and recreation (NAICS 71), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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