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

US states by employer establishments: arts, entertainment and recreation

California had the highest employer establishments: arts, entertainment and recreation of 51 states in 2012, at 21,140. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 305. The median was 1,457 and the figure for the United States was 125,082. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest21,140California
Lowest305District of Columbia
Median1,45751 states
United States125,082History

Map of states, 2012

Alabama: 1,091 countAlaska: 558 countArizona: 1,744 countArkansas: 786 countCalifornia: 21,140 countColorado: 2,474 countConnecticut: 1,605 countDelaware: 405 countDistrict of Columbia: 305 countFlorida: 7,615 countGeorgia: 2,757 countHawaii: 499 countIdaho: 729 countIllinois: 4,538 countIndiana: 2,087 countIowa: 1,457 countKansas: 1,000 countKentucky: 1,257 countLouisiana: 1,393 countMaine: 862 countMaryland: 1,985 countMassachusetts: 3,114 countMichigan: 3,385 countMinnesota: 2,733 countMississippi: 661 countMissouri: 2,087 countMontana: 1,116 countNebraska: 841 countNevada: 1,309 countNew Hampshire: 734 countNew Jersey: 3,451 countNew Mexico: 655 countNew York: 11,657 countNorth Carolina: 3,513 countNorth Dakota: 428 countOhio: 3,842 countOklahoma: 1,048 countOregon: 1,651 countPennsylvania: 4,444 countRhode Island: 536 countSouth Carolina: 1,534 countSouth Dakota: 666 countTennessee: 2,340 countTexas: 6,329 countUtah: 936 countVermont: 454 countVirginia: 2,741 countWashington: 2,739 countWest Virginia: 766 countWisconsin: 2,657 countWyoming: 428 count
  • Under 700
  • 700 to 900
  • 900 to 1,500
  • 1,500 to 2,400
  • 2,400 to 3,400
  • 3,400 and over
count, 2012. 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, 2012

California: 21,140 countCalifornia21,140New York: 11,657 countNew York11,657Florida: 7,615 countFlorida7,615Texas: 6,329 countTexas6,329Illinois: 4,538 countIllinois4,538Pennsylvania: 4,444 countPennsylvania4,444Ohio: 3,842 countOhio3,842North Carolina: 3,513 countNorth Carolina3,513New Jersey: 3,451 countNew Jersey3,451Michigan: 3,385 countMichigan3,385Massachusetts: 3,114 countMassachusetts3,114Georgia: 2,757 countGeorgia2,757Virginia: 2,741 countVirginia2,741Washington: 2,739 countWashington2,739Minnesota: 2,733 countMinnesota2,733Wisconsin: 2,657 countWisconsin2,657Colorado: 2,474 countColorado2,474Tennessee: 2,340 countTennessee2,340Indiana: 2,087 countIndiana2,087Missouri: 2,087 countMissouri2,087Maryland: 1,985 countMaryland1,985Arizona: 1,744 countArizona1,744Oregon: 1,651 countOregon1,651Connecticut: 1,605 countConnecticut1,605South Carolina: 1,534 countSouth Carolina1,534Iowa: 1,457 countIowa1,457Louisiana: 1,393 countLouisiana1,393Nevada: 1,309 countNevada1,309Kentucky: 1,257 countKentucky1,257Montana: 1,116 countMontana1,116Alabama: 1,091 countAlabama1,091Oklahoma: 1,048 countOklahoma1,048Kansas: 1,000 countKansas1,000Utah: 936 countUtah936Maine: 862 countMaine862Nebraska: 841 countNebraska841Arkansas: 786 countArkansas786West Virginia: 766 countWest Virginia766New Hampshire: 734 countNew Hampshire734Idaho: 729 countIdaho729South Dakota: 666 countSouth Dakota666Mississippi: 661 countMississippi661New Mexico: 655 countNew Mexico655Alaska: 558 countAlaska558Rhode Island: 536 countRhode Island536Hawaii: 499 countHawaii499Vermont: 454 countVermont454North Dakota: 428 countNorth Dakota428Wyoming: 428 countWyoming428Delaware: 405 countDelaware405District of Columbia: 305 countDistrict of Columbia305California: 21,140 countCalifornia21,140New York: 11,657 countNew York11,657Florida: 7,615 countFlorida7,615Texas: 6,329 countTexas6,329Illinois: 4,538 countIllinois4,538Pennsylvania: 4,444 countPennsylvania4,444Ohio: 3,842 countOhio3,842North Carolina: 3,513 countNorth Carolina3,513New Jersey: 3,451 countNew Jersey3,451Michigan: 3,385 countMichigan3,385Massachusetts: 3,114 countMassachusetts3,114Georgia: 2,757 countGeorgia2,757Virginia: 2,741 countVirginia2,741Washington: 2,739 countWashington2,739Minnesota: 2,733 countMinnesota2,733Wisconsin: 2,657 countWisconsin2,657Colorado: 2,474 countColorado2,474Tennessee: 2,340 countTennessee2,340Indiana: 2,087 countIndiana2,087Missouri: 2,087 countMissouri2,087Maryland: 1,985 countMaryland1,985Arizona: 1,744 countArizona1,744Oregon: 1,651 countOregon1,651Connecticut: 1,605 countConnecticut1,605South Carolina: 1,534 countSouth Carolina1,534Iowa: 1,457 countIowa1,457Louisiana: 1,393 countLouisiana1,393Nevada: 1,309 countNevada1,309Kentucky: 1,257 countKentucky1,257Montana: 1,116 countMontana1,116Alabama: 1,091 countAlabama1,091Oklahoma: 1,048 countOklahoma1,048Kansas: 1,000 countKansas1,000Utah: 936 countUtah936Maine: 862 countMaine862Nebraska: 841 countNebraska841Arkansas: 786 countArkansas786West Virginia: 766 countWest Virginia766New Hampshire: 734 countNew Hampshire734Idaho: 729 countIdaho729South Dakota: 666 countSouth Dakota666Mississippi: 661 countMississippi661New Mexico: 655 countNew Mexico655Alaska: 558 countAlaska558Rhode Island: 536 countRhode Island536Hawaii: 499 countHawaii499Vermont: 454 countVermont454North Dakota: 428 countNorth Dakota428Wyoming: 428 countWyoming428Delaware: 405 countDelaware405District of Columbia: 305 countDistrict of Columbia305
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

RankStates2012
count
1California21,140
2New York11,657
3Florida7,615
4Texas6,329
5Illinois4,538
6Pennsylvania4,444
7Ohio3,842
8North Carolina3,513
9New Jersey3,451
10Michigan3,385
11Massachusetts3,114
12Georgia2,757
13Virginia2,741
14Washington2,739
15Minnesota2,733
16Wisconsin2,657
17Colorado2,474
18Tennessee2,340
19Indiana2,087
19Missouri2,087
21Maryland1,985
22Arizona1,744
23Oregon1,651
24Connecticut1,605
25South Carolina1,534
26Iowa1,457
27Louisiana1,393
28Nevada1,309
29Kentucky1,257
30Montana1,116
31Alabama1,091
32Oklahoma1,048
33Kansas1,000
34Utah936
35Maine862
36Nebraska841
37Arkansas786
38West Virginia766
39New Hampshire734
40Idaho729
41South Dakota666
42Mississippi661
43New Mexico655
44Alaska558
45Rhode Island536
46Hawaii499
47Vermont454
48North Dakota428
48Wyoming428
50Delaware405
51District of Columbia305

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/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), arts, entertainment, and recreation (NAICS 71), all legal forms (US states by employer establishments: arts, entertainment and recreation, 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), arts, entertainment, and recreation (NAICS 71), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: arts, entertainment and recreation, 2012. U.S. Census Bureau, 12 Sept. 2018, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2012/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/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), arts, entertainment, and recreation (NAICS 71), all legal forms. US states by employer establishments: arts, entertainment and recreation, 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-arts-entertainment/us-states?period=2012.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2018) 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, 2012 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2012/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/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), arts, entertainment, and recreation (NAICS 71), all legal forms: US states by employer establishments: arts, entertainment and recreation, 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-arts-entertainment/us-states?period=2012. 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/2012/. 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, 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-arts-entertainment/us-states?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/us-states?period=2012.
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/2012/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank US states by employer establishments: arts, entertainment and recreation using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"cbp_establishments_arts_entertainment","level":"region","within":"United States","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=cbp_establishments_arts_entertainment&level=region&within=United%20States&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

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

California, with 21,140 in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

District of Columbia, with 305 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), arts, entertainment, and recreation (NAICS 71), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

US states: more rankings