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 2015, at 23,840. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 342. The median was 1,461 and the figure for the United States was 133,610. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest23,840California
Lowest342District of Columbia
Median1,46151 states
United States133,610History

Map of states, 2015

Alabama: 1,097 countAlaska: 566 countArizona: 1,845 countArkansas: 805 countCalifornia: 23,840 countColorado: 2,776 countConnecticut: 1,699 countDelaware: 431 countDistrict of Columbia: 342 countFlorida: 8,270 countGeorgia: 3,058 countHawaii: 509 countIdaho: 767 countIllinois: 4,719 countIndiana: 2,107 countIowa: 1,447 countKansas: 1,031 countKentucky: 1,332 countLouisiana: 1,427 countMaine: 879 countMaryland: 2,070 countMassachusetts: 3,352 countMichigan: 3,333 countMinnesota: 2,855 countMississippi: 655 countMissouri: 2,124 countMontana: 1,194 countNebraska: 880 countNevada: 1,461 countNew Hampshire: 781 countNew Jersey: 3,603 countNew Mexico: 669 countNew York: 12,477 countNorth Carolina: 3,652 countNorth Dakota: 448 countOhio: 3,766 countOklahoma: 1,127 countOregon: 1,819 countPennsylvania: 4,651 countRhode Island: 560 countSouth Carolina: 1,605 countSouth Dakota: 690 countTennessee: 2,530 countTexas: 7,040 countUtah: 1,072 countVermont: 473 countVirginia: 2,936 countWashington: 2,934 countWest Virginia: 758 countWisconsin: 2,715 countWyoming: 433 count
  • Under 700
  • 700 to 1,000
  • 1,000 to 1,500
  • 1,500 to 2,600
  • 2,600 to 3,500
  • 3,500 and over
count, 2015. 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, 2015

California: 23,840 countCalifornia23,840New York: 12,477 countNew York12,477Florida: 8,270 countFlorida8,270Texas: 7,040 countTexas7,040Illinois: 4,719 countIllinois4,719Pennsylvania: 4,651 countPennsylvania4,651Ohio: 3,766 countOhio3,766North Carolina: 3,652 countNorth Carolina3,652New Jersey: 3,603 countNew Jersey3,603Massachusetts: 3,352 countMassachusetts3,352Michigan: 3,333 countMichigan3,333Georgia: 3,058 countGeorgia3,058Virginia: 2,936 countVirginia2,936Washington: 2,934 countWashington2,934Minnesota: 2,855 countMinnesota2,855Colorado: 2,776 countColorado2,776Wisconsin: 2,715 countWisconsin2,715Tennessee: 2,530 countTennessee2,530Missouri: 2,124 countMissouri2,124Indiana: 2,107 countIndiana2,107Maryland: 2,070 countMaryland2,070Arizona: 1,845 countArizona1,845Oregon: 1,819 countOregon1,819Connecticut: 1,699 countConnecticut1,699South Carolina: 1,605 countSouth Carolina1,605Nevada: 1,461 countNevada1,461Iowa: 1,447 countIowa1,447Louisiana: 1,427 countLouisiana1,427Kentucky: 1,332 countKentucky1,332Montana: 1,194 countMontana1,194Oklahoma: 1,127 countOklahoma1,127Alabama: 1,097 countAlabama1,097Utah: 1,072 countUtah1,072Kansas: 1,031 countKansas1,031Nebraska: 880 countNebraska880Maine: 879 countMaine879Arkansas: 805 countArkansas805New Hampshire: 781 countNew Hampshire781Idaho: 767 countIdaho767West Virginia: 758 countWest Virginia758South Dakota: 690 countSouth Dakota690New Mexico: 669 countNew Mexico669Mississippi: 655 countMississippi655Alaska: 566 countAlaska566Rhode Island: 560 countRhode Island560Hawaii: 509 countHawaii509Vermont: 473 countVermont473North Dakota: 448 countNorth Dakota448Wyoming: 433 countWyoming433Delaware: 431 countDelaware431District of Columbia: 342 countDistrict of Columbia342California: 23,840 countCalifornia23,840New York: 12,477 countNew York12,477Florida: 8,270 countFlorida8,270Texas: 7,040 countTexas7,040Illinois: 4,719 countIllinois4,719Pennsylvania: 4,651 countPennsylvania4,651Ohio: 3,766 countOhio3,766North Carolina: 3,652 countNorth Carolina3,652New Jersey: 3,603 countNew Jersey3,603Massachusetts: 3,352 countMassachusetts3,352Michigan: 3,333 countMichigan3,333Georgia: 3,058 countGeorgia3,058Virginia: 2,936 countVirginia2,936Washington: 2,934 countWashington2,934Minnesota: 2,855 countMinnesota2,855Colorado: 2,776 countColorado2,776Wisconsin: 2,715 countWisconsin2,715Tennessee: 2,530 countTennessee2,530Missouri: 2,124 countMissouri2,124Indiana: 2,107 countIndiana2,107Maryland: 2,070 countMaryland2,070Arizona: 1,845 countArizona1,845Oregon: 1,819 countOregon1,819Connecticut: 1,699 countConnecticut1,699South Carolina: 1,605 countSouth Carolina1,605Nevada: 1,461 countNevada1,461Iowa: 1,447 countIowa1,447Louisiana: 1,427 countLouisiana1,427Kentucky: 1,332 countKentucky1,332Montana: 1,194 countMontana1,194Oklahoma: 1,127 countOklahoma1,127Alabama: 1,097 countAlabama1,097Utah: 1,072 countUtah1,072Kansas: 1,031 countKansas1,031Nebraska: 880 countNebraska880Maine: 879 countMaine879Arkansas: 805 countArkansas805New Hampshire: 781 countNew Hampshire781Idaho: 767 countIdaho767West Virginia: 758 countWest Virginia758South Dakota: 690 countSouth Dakota690New Mexico: 669 countNew Mexico669Mississippi: 655 countMississippi655Alaska: 566 countAlaska566Rhode Island: 560 countRhode Island560Hawaii: 509 countHawaii509Vermont: 473 countVermont473North Dakota: 448 countNorth Dakota448Wyoming: 433 countWyoming433Delaware: 431 countDelaware431District of Columbia: 342 countDistrict of Columbia342
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

RankStates2015
count		Change on 2014
1California23,840+5.4%
2New York12,477+2.4%
3Florida8,270+4.3%
4Texas7,040+5%
5Illinois4,719+2.2%
6Pennsylvania4,651+2.2%
7Ohio3,766+0.1%
8North Carolina3,652+2.1%
9New Jersey3,603+2.2%
10Massachusetts3,352+3.1%
11Michigan3,333-1.2%
12Georgia3,058+4.4%
13Virginia2,936+1.3%
14Washington2,934+2.6%
15Minnesota2,855+1.1%
16Colorado2,776+4.8%
17Wisconsin2,715+2.8%
18Tennessee2,530+5.8%
19Missouri2,124+1.1%
20Indiana2,107+1.3%
21Maryland2,070+0.3%
22Arizona1,845+2.4%
23Oregon1,819+3.5%
24Connecticut1,699+2%
25South Carolina1,605+2.1%
26Nevada1,461+4.5%
27Iowa1,447-1.1%
28Louisiana1,427+1.3%
29Kentucky1,332+4.3%
30Montana1,194+2.1%
31Oklahoma1,127+4.3%
32Alabama1,097+0.1%
33Utah1,072+2.3%
34Kansas1,031+0.1%
35Nebraska880+0.7%
36Maine879+1.6%
37Arkansas8050%
38New Hampshire781+2.5%
39Idaho767+3.4%
40West Virginia758-1.6%
41South Dakota690+1%
42New Mexico669-2.2%
43Mississippi655-1.7%
44Alaska566+3.3%
45Rhode Island560+5.1%
46Hawaii509-4.7%
47Vermont473+3.1%
48North Dakota448+1.6%
49Wyoming433+1.2%
50Delaware431+0.5%
51District of Columbia342+6.9%

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/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), arts, entertainment, and recreation (NAICS 71), all legal forms (US states by employer establishments: arts, entertainment and recreation, 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), arts, entertainment, and recreation (NAICS 71), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: arts, entertainment and recreation, 2015. U.S. Census Bureau, 9 May 2017, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2015/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/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), arts, entertainment, and recreation (NAICS 71), all legal forms. US states by employer establishments: arts, entertainment and recreation, 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-arts-entertainment/us-states?period=2015.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2017) 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, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2015/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/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), arts, entertainment, and recreation (NAICS 71), all legal forms: US states by employer establishments: arts, entertainment and recreation, 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-arts-entertainment/us-states?period=2015. 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/2015/. 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, 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-arts-entertainment/us-states?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/us-states?period=2015.
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/2015/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

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

California, with 23,840 in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

District of Columbia, with 342 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), arts, entertainment, and recreation (NAICS 71), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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