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 2017, at 26,451. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 391. The median was 1,642 and the figure for the United States was 143,396. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest26,451California
Lowest391District of Columbia
Median1,64251 states
United States143,396History

Map of states, 2017

Alabama: 1,169 countAlaska: 577 countArizona: 2,094 countArkansas: 801 countCalifornia: 26,451 countColorado: 3,039 countConnecticut: 1,745 countDelaware: 446 countDistrict of Columbia: 391 countFlorida: 8,896 countGeorgia: 3,476 countHawaii: 510 countIdaho: 812 countIllinois: 5,232 countIndiana: 2,318 countIowa: 1,456 countKansas: 1,096 countKentucky: 1,410 countLouisiana: 1,539 countMaine: 890 countMaryland: 2,166 countMassachusetts: 3,478 countMichigan: 3,494 countMinnesota: 3,015 countMississippi: 700 countMissouri: 2,300 countMontana: 1,236 countNebraska: 928 countNevada: 1,642 countNew Hampshire: 819 countNew Jersey: 3,846 countNew Mexico: 719 countNew York: 12,977 countNorth Carolina: 3,873 countNorth Dakota: 481 countOhio: 4,019 countOklahoma: 1,169 countOregon: 2,000 countPennsylvania: 4,889 countRhode Island: 577 countSouth Carolina: 1,698 countSouth Dakota: 697 countTennessee: 2,828 countTexas: 7,639 countUtah: 1,178 countVermont: 468 countVirginia: 3,078 countWashington: 3,116 countWest Virginia: 758 countWisconsin: 2,811 countWyoming: 449 count
  • Under 700
  • 700 to 1,000
  • 1,000 to 1,600
  • 1,600 to 2,800
  • 2,800 to 3,700
  • 3,700 and over
count, 2017. 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, 2017

California: 26,451 countCalifornia26,451New York: 12,977 countNew York12,977Florida: 8,896 countFlorida8,896Texas: 7,639 countTexas7,639Illinois: 5,232 countIllinois5,232Pennsylvania: 4,889 countPennsylvania4,889Ohio: 4,019 countOhio4,019North Carolina: 3,873 countNorth Carolina3,873New Jersey: 3,846 countNew Jersey3,846Michigan: 3,494 countMichigan3,494Massachusetts: 3,478 countMassachusetts3,478Georgia: 3,476 countGeorgia3,476Washington: 3,116 countWashington3,116Virginia: 3,078 countVirginia3,078Colorado: 3,039 countColorado3,039Minnesota: 3,015 countMinnesota3,015Tennessee: 2,828 countTennessee2,828Wisconsin: 2,811 countWisconsin2,811Indiana: 2,318 countIndiana2,318Missouri: 2,300 countMissouri2,300Maryland: 2,166 countMaryland2,166Arizona: 2,094 countArizona2,094Oregon: 2,000 countOregon2,000Connecticut: 1,745 countConnecticut1,745South Carolina: 1,698 countSouth Carolina1,698Nevada: 1,642 countNevada1,642Louisiana: 1,539 countLouisiana1,539Iowa: 1,456 countIowa1,456Kentucky: 1,410 countKentucky1,410Montana: 1,236 countMontana1,236Utah: 1,178 countUtah1,178Alabama: 1,169 countAlabama1,169Oklahoma: 1,169 countOklahoma1,169Kansas: 1,096 countKansas1,096Nebraska: 928 countNebraska928Maine: 890 countMaine890New Hampshire: 819 countNew Hampshire819Idaho: 812 countIdaho812Arkansas: 801 countArkansas801West Virginia: 758 countWest Virginia758New Mexico: 719 countNew Mexico719Mississippi: 700 countMississippi700South Dakota: 697 countSouth Dakota697Alaska: 577 countAlaska577Rhode Island: 577 countRhode Island577Hawaii: 510 countHawaii510North Dakota: 481 countNorth Dakota481Vermont: 468 countVermont468Wyoming: 449 countWyoming449Delaware: 446 countDelaware446District of Columbia: 391 countDistrict of Columbia391California: 26,451 countCalifornia26,451New York: 12,977 countNew York12,977Florida: 8,896 countFlorida8,896Texas: 7,639 countTexas7,639Illinois: 5,232 countIllinois5,232Pennsylvania: 4,889 countPennsylvania4,889Ohio: 4,019 countOhio4,019North Carolina: 3,873 countNorth Carolina3,873New Jersey: 3,846 countNew Jersey3,846Michigan: 3,494 countMichigan3,494Massachusetts: 3,478 countMassachusetts3,478Georgia: 3,476 countGeorgia3,476Washington: 3,116 countWashington3,116Virginia: 3,078 countVirginia3,078Colorado: 3,039 countColorado3,039Minnesota: 3,015 countMinnesota3,015Tennessee: 2,828 countTennessee2,828Wisconsin: 2,811 countWisconsin2,811Indiana: 2,318 countIndiana2,318Missouri: 2,300 countMissouri2,300Maryland: 2,166 countMaryland2,166Arizona: 2,094 countArizona2,094Oregon: 2,000 countOregon2,000Connecticut: 1,745 countConnecticut1,745South Carolina: 1,698 countSouth Carolina1,698Nevada: 1,642 countNevada1,642Louisiana: 1,539 countLouisiana1,539Iowa: 1,456 countIowa1,456Kentucky: 1,410 countKentucky1,410Montana: 1,236 countMontana1,236Utah: 1,178 countUtah1,178Alabama: 1,169 countAlabama1,169Oklahoma: 1,169 countOklahoma1,169Kansas: 1,096 countKansas1,096Nebraska: 928 countNebraska928Maine: 890 countMaine890New Hampshire: 819 countNew Hampshire819Idaho: 812 countIdaho812Arkansas: 801 countArkansas801West Virginia: 758 countWest Virginia758New Mexico: 719 countNew Mexico719Mississippi: 700 countMississippi700South Dakota: 697 countSouth Dakota697Alaska: 577 countAlaska577Rhode Island: 577 countRhode Island577Hawaii: 510 countHawaii510North Dakota: 481 countNorth Dakota481Vermont: 468 countVermont468Wyoming: 449 countWyoming449Delaware: 446 countDelaware446District of Columbia: 391 countDistrict of Columbia391
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

RankStates2017
count		Change on 2016
1California26,451+6.2%
2New York12,977+2.3%
3Florida8,896+3.9%
4Texas7,639+4.5%
5Illinois5,232+7.1%
6Pennsylvania4,889+2.9%
7Ohio4,019+5.3%
8North Carolina3,873+3.1%
9New Jersey3,846+6.4%
10Michigan3,494+2.8%
11Massachusetts3,478+2.4%
12Georgia3,476+9%
13Washington3,116+4.8%
14Virginia3,078+2.8%
15Colorado3,039+6%
16Minnesota3,015+4.2%
17Tennessee2,828+8.7%
18Wisconsin2,811+2.9%
19Indiana2,318+8.1%
20Missouri2,300+5.4%
21Maryland2,166+2.4%
22Arizona2,094+8.8%
23Oregon2,000+7.3%
24Connecticut1,745+1.5%
25South Carolina1,698+1.9%
26Nevada1,642+7.4%
27Louisiana1,539+6.9%
28Iowa1,456+0.6%
29Kentucky1,410+6.5%
30Montana1,236+2.9%
31Utah1,178+4.4%
32Alabama1,169+2%
32Oklahoma1,169+1.7%
34Kansas1,096+3.4%
35Nebraska928+2.3%
36Maine890-0.1%
37New Hampshire819+2.8%
38Idaho812+2.8%
39Arkansas801-1.1%
40West Virginia758+2.4%
41New Mexico719+2.7%
42Mississippi700+1.7%
43South Dakota697+1%
44Alaska577+1.4%
44Rhode Island577+4.3%
46Hawaii510-2.3%
47North Dakota481+5.3%
48Vermont468-4.7%
49Wyoming449+1.4%
50Delaware446+2.3%
51District of Columbia391+8.9%

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/2017/. 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. (2019). 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, 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2017/

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, 2017. U.S. Census Bureau, 26 Nov. 2019, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2017/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/us-states?period=2017. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2019. 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, 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2017/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/us-states?period=2017.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2019) 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, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2017/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/us-states?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_employer_2017,
  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, 2017}},
  year = {2019},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2017/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/us-states?period=2017. 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/2017/. 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, 2017
PY  - 2019
DA  - 2019/11/26
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2017/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/us-states?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/us-states?period=2017.
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/2017/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

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

California, with 26,451 in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

District of Columbia, with 391 in 2017.

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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