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 2016, at 24,907. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 359. The median was 1,529 and the figure for the United States was 137,210. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest24,907California
Lowest359District of Columbia
Median1,52951 states
United States137,210History

Map of states, 2016

Alabama: 1,146 countAlaska: 569 countArizona: 1,925 countArkansas: 810 countCalifornia: 24,907 countColorado: 2,867 countConnecticut: 1,719 countDelaware: 436 countDistrict of Columbia: 359 countFlorida: 8,560 countGeorgia: 3,188 countHawaii: 522 countIdaho: 790 countIllinois: 4,885 countIndiana: 2,144 countIowa: 1,447 countKansas: 1,060 countKentucky: 1,324 countLouisiana: 1,439 countMaine: 891 countMaryland: 2,116 countMassachusetts: 3,395 countMichigan: 3,399 countMinnesota: 2,894 countMississippi: 688 countMissouri: 2,182 countMontana: 1,201 countNebraska: 907 countNevada: 1,529 countNew Hampshire: 797 countNew Jersey: 3,614 countNew Mexico: 700 countNew York: 12,684 countNorth Carolina: 3,756 countNorth Dakota: 457 countOhio: 3,817 countOklahoma: 1,150 countOregon: 1,864 countPennsylvania: 4,750 countRhode Island: 553 countSouth Carolina: 1,667 countSouth Dakota: 690 countTennessee: 2,601 countTexas: 7,308 countUtah: 1,128 countVermont: 491 countVirginia: 2,994 countWashington: 2,974 countWest Virginia: 740 countWisconsin: 2,733 countWyoming: 443 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, 2016. 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, 2016

California: 24,907 countCalifornia24,907New York: 12,684 countNew York12,684Florida: 8,560 countFlorida8,560Texas: 7,308 countTexas7,308Illinois: 4,885 countIllinois4,885Pennsylvania: 4,750 countPennsylvania4,750Ohio: 3,817 countOhio3,817North Carolina: 3,756 countNorth Carolina3,756New Jersey: 3,614 countNew Jersey3,614Michigan: 3,399 countMichigan3,399Massachusetts: 3,395 countMassachusetts3,395Georgia: 3,188 countGeorgia3,188Virginia: 2,994 countVirginia2,994Washington: 2,974 countWashington2,974Minnesota: 2,894 countMinnesota2,894Colorado: 2,867 countColorado2,867Wisconsin: 2,733 countWisconsin2,733Tennessee: 2,601 countTennessee2,601Missouri: 2,182 countMissouri2,182Indiana: 2,144 countIndiana2,144Maryland: 2,116 countMaryland2,116Arizona: 1,925 countArizona1,925Oregon: 1,864 countOregon1,864Connecticut: 1,719 countConnecticut1,719South Carolina: 1,667 countSouth Carolina1,667Nevada: 1,529 countNevada1,529Iowa: 1,447 countIowa1,447Louisiana: 1,439 countLouisiana1,439Kentucky: 1,324 countKentucky1,324Montana: 1,201 countMontana1,201Oklahoma: 1,150 countOklahoma1,150Alabama: 1,146 countAlabama1,146Utah: 1,128 countUtah1,128Kansas: 1,060 countKansas1,060Nebraska: 907 countNebraska907Maine: 891 countMaine891Arkansas: 810 countArkansas810New Hampshire: 797 countNew Hampshire797Idaho: 790 countIdaho790West Virginia: 740 countWest Virginia740New Mexico: 700 countNew Mexico700South Dakota: 690 countSouth Dakota690Mississippi: 688 countMississippi688Alaska: 569 countAlaska569Rhode Island: 553 countRhode Island553Hawaii: 522 countHawaii522Vermont: 491 countVermont491North Dakota: 457 countNorth Dakota457Wyoming: 443 countWyoming443Delaware: 436 countDelaware436District of Columbia: 359 countDistrict of Columbia359California: 24,907 countCalifornia24,907New York: 12,684 countNew York12,684Florida: 8,560 countFlorida8,560Texas: 7,308 countTexas7,308Illinois: 4,885 countIllinois4,885Pennsylvania: 4,750 countPennsylvania4,750Ohio: 3,817 countOhio3,817North Carolina: 3,756 countNorth Carolina3,756New Jersey: 3,614 countNew Jersey3,614Michigan: 3,399 countMichigan3,399Massachusetts: 3,395 countMassachusetts3,395Georgia: 3,188 countGeorgia3,188Virginia: 2,994 countVirginia2,994Washington: 2,974 countWashington2,974Minnesota: 2,894 countMinnesota2,894Colorado: 2,867 countColorado2,867Wisconsin: 2,733 countWisconsin2,733Tennessee: 2,601 countTennessee2,601Missouri: 2,182 countMissouri2,182Indiana: 2,144 countIndiana2,144Maryland: 2,116 countMaryland2,116Arizona: 1,925 countArizona1,925Oregon: 1,864 countOregon1,864Connecticut: 1,719 countConnecticut1,719South Carolina: 1,667 countSouth Carolina1,667Nevada: 1,529 countNevada1,529Iowa: 1,447 countIowa1,447Louisiana: 1,439 countLouisiana1,439Kentucky: 1,324 countKentucky1,324Montana: 1,201 countMontana1,201Oklahoma: 1,150 countOklahoma1,150Alabama: 1,146 countAlabama1,146Utah: 1,128 countUtah1,128Kansas: 1,060 countKansas1,060Nebraska: 907 countNebraska907Maine: 891 countMaine891Arkansas: 810 countArkansas810New Hampshire: 797 countNew Hampshire797Idaho: 790 countIdaho790West Virginia: 740 countWest Virginia740New Mexico: 700 countNew Mexico700South Dakota: 690 countSouth Dakota690Mississippi: 688 countMississippi688Alaska: 569 countAlaska569Rhode Island: 553 countRhode Island553Hawaii: 522 countHawaii522Vermont: 491 countVermont491North Dakota: 457 countNorth Dakota457Wyoming: 443 countWyoming443Delaware: 436 countDelaware436District of Columbia: 359 countDistrict of Columbia359
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

RankStates2016
count		Change on 2015
1California24,907+4.5%
2New York12,684+1.7%
3Florida8,560+3.5%
4Texas7,308+3.8%
5Illinois4,885+3.5%
6Pennsylvania4,750+2.1%
7Ohio3,817+1.4%
8North Carolina3,756+2.8%
9New Jersey3,614+0.3%
10Michigan3,399+2%
11Massachusetts3,395+1.3%
12Georgia3,188+4.3%
13Virginia2,994+2%
14Washington2,974+1.4%
15Minnesota2,894+1.4%
16Colorado2,867+3.3%
17Wisconsin2,733+0.7%
18Tennessee2,601+2.8%
19Missouri2,182+2.7%
20Indiana2,144+1.8%
21Maryland2,116+2.2%
22Arizona1,925+4.3%
23Oregon1,864+2.5%
24Connecticut1,719+1.2%
25South Carolina1,667+3.9%
26Nevada1,529+4.7%
27Iowa1,4470%
28Louisiana1,439+0.8%
29Kentucky1,324-0.6%
30Montana1,201+0.6%
31Oklahoma1,150+2%
32Alabama1,146+4.5%
33Utah1,128+5.2%
34Kansas1,060+2.8%
35Nebraska907+3.1%
36Maine891+1.4%
37Arkansas810+0.6%
38New Hampshire797+2%
39Idaho790+3%
40West Virginia740-2.4%
41New Mexico700+4.6%
42South Dakota6900%
43Mississippi688+5%
44Alaska569+0.5%
45Rhode Island553-1.3%
46Hawaii522+2.6%
47Vermont491+3.8%
48North Dakota457+2%
49Wyoming443+2.3%
50Delaware436+1.2%
51District of Columbia359+5%

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/2016/. 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, 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2016/

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, 2016. U.S. Census Bureau, 19 Apr. 2018, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2016/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/us-states?period=2016. 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, 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2016/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/us-states?period=2016.

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, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2016/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/us-states?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_employer_2016,
  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, 2016}},
  year = {2018},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2016/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/us-states?period=2016. 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/2016/. 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, 2016
PY  - 2018
DA  - 2018/04/19
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2016/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/us-states?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/us-states?period=2016.
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/2016/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

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

California, with 24,907 in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

District of Columbia, with 359 in 2016.

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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