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 2018, at 28,167. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 396. The median was 1,699 and the figure for the United States was 147,122. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest28,167California
Lowest396District of Columbia
Median1,69951 states
United States147,122History

Map of states, 2018

Alabama: 1,206 countAlaska: 585 countArizona: 2,229 countArkansas: 799 countCalifornia: 28,167 countColorado: 3,115 countConnecticut: 1,770 countDelaware: 476 countDistrict of Columbia: 396 countFlorida: 9,194 countGeorgia: 3,550 countHawaii: 523 countIdaho: 858 countIllinois: 5,341 countIndiana: 2,292 countIowa: 1,447 countKansas: 1,088 countKentucky: 1,307 countLouisiana: 1,549 countMaine: 909 countMaryland: 2,189 countMassachusetts: 3,492 countMichigan: 3,457 countMinnesota: 3,035 countMississippi: 695 countMissouri: 2,291 countMontana: 1,250 countNebraska: 963 countNevada: 1,699 countNew Hampshire: 846 countNew Jersey: 3,927 countNew Mexico: 710 countNew York: 13,441 countNorth Carolina: 3,979 countNorth Dakota: 464 countOhio: 3,910 countOklahoma: 1,166 countOregon: 2,042 countPennsylvania: 4,955 countRhode Island: 592 countSouth Carolina: 1,749 countSouth Dakota: 700 countTennessee: 2,793 countTexas: 7,916 countUtah: 1,233 countVermont: 475 countVirginia: 3,122 countWashington: 3,166 countWest Virginia: 764 countWisconsin: 2,848 countWyoming: 452 count
  • Under 700
  • 700 to 1,000
  • 1,000 to 1,700
  • 1,700 to 2,800
  • 2,800 to 3,800
  • 3,800 and over
count, 2018. 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, 2018

California: 28,167 countCalifornia28,167New York: 13,441 countNew York13,441Florida: 9,194 countFlorida9,194Texas: 7,916 countTexas7,916Illinois: 5,341 countIllinois5,341Pennsylvania: 4,955 countPennsylvania4,955North Carolina: 3,979 countNorth Carolina3,979New Jersey: 3,927 countNew Jersey3,927Ohio: 3,910 countOhio3,910Georgia: 3,550 countGeorgia3,550Massachusetts: 3,492 countMassachusetts3,492Michigan: 3,457 countMichigan3,457Washington: 3,166 countWashington3,166Virginia: 3,122 countVirginia3,122Colorado: 3,115 countColorado3,115Minnesota: 3,035 countMinnesota3,035Wisconsin: 2,848 countWisconsin2,848Tennessee: 2,793 countTennessee2,793Indiana: 2,292 countIndiana2,292Missouri: 2,291 countMissouri2,291Arizona: 2,229 countArizona2,229Maryland: 2,189 countMaryland2,189Oregon: 2,042 countOregon2,042Connecticut: 1,770 countConnecticut1,770South Carolina: 1,749 countSouth Carolina1,749Nevada: 1,699 countNevada1,699Louisiana: 1,549 countLouisiana1,549Iowa: 1,447 countIowa1,447Kentucky: 1,307 countKentucky1,307Montana: 1,250 countMontana1,250Utah: 1,233 countUtah1,233Alabama: 1,206 countAlabama1,206Oklahoma: 1,166 countOklahoma1,166Kansas: 1,088 countKansas1,088Nebraska: 963 countNebraska963Maine: 909 countMaine909Idaho: 858 countIdaho858New Hampshire: 846 countNew Hampshire846Arkansas: 799 countArkansas799West Virginia: 764 countWest Virginia764New Mexico: 710 countNew Mexico710South Dakota: 700 countSouth Dakota700Mississippi: 695 countMississippi695Rhode Island: 592 countRhode Island592Alaska: 585 countAlaska585Hawaii: 523 countHawaii523Delaware: 476 countDelaware476Vermont: 475 countVermont475North Dakota: 464 countNorth Dakota464Wyoming: 452 countWyoming452District of Columbia: 396 countDistrict of Columbia396California: 28,167 countCalifornia28,167New York: 13,441 countNew York13,441Florida: 9,194 countFlorida9,194Texas: 7,916 countTexas7,916Illinois: 5,341 countIllinois5,341Pennsylvania: 4,955 countPennsylvania4,955North Carolina: 3,979 countNorth Carolina3,979New Jersey: 3,927 countNew Jersey3,927Ohio: 3,910 countOhio3,910Georgia: 3,550 countGeorgia3,550Massachusetts: 3,492 countMassachusetts3,492Michigan: 3,457 countMichigan3,457Washington: 3,166 countWashington3,166Virginia: 3,122 countVirginia3,122Colorado: 3,115 countColorado3,115Minnesota: 3,035 countMinnesota3,035Wisconsin: 2,848 countWisconsin2,848Tennessee: 2,793 countTennessee2,793Indiana: 2,292 countIndiana2,292Missouri: 2,291 countMissouri2,291Arizona: 2,229 countArizona2,229Maryland: 2,189 countMaryland2,189Oregon: 2,042 countOregon2,042Connecticut: 1,770 countConnecticut1,770South Carolina: 1,749 countSouth Carolina1,749Nevada: 1,699 countNevada1,699Louisiana: 1,549 countLouisiana1,549Iowa: 1,447 countIowa1,447Kentucky: 1,307 countKentucky1,307Montana: 1,250 countMontana1,250Utah: 1,233 countUtah1,233Alabama: 1,206 countAlabama1,206Oklahoma: 1,166 countOklahoma1,166Kansas: 1,088 countKansas1,088Nebraska: 963 countNebraska963Maine: 909 countMaine909Idaho: 858 countIdaho858New Hampshire: 846 countNew Hampshire846Arkansas: 799 countArkansas799West Virginia: 764 countWest Virginia764New Mexico: 710 countNew Mexico710South Dakota: 700 countSouth Dakota700Mississippi: 695 countMississippi695Rhode Island: 592 countRhode Island592Alaska: 585 countAlaska585Hawaii: 523 countHawaii523Delaware: 476 countDelaware476Vermont: 475 countVermont475North Dakota: 464 countNorth Dakota464Wyoming: 452 countWyoming452District of Columbia: 396 countDistrict of Columbia396
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

RankStates2018
count		Change on 2017
1California28,167+6.5%
2New York13,441+3.6%
3Florida9,194+3.3%
4Texas7,916+3.6%
5Illinois5,341+2.1%
6Pennsylvania4,955+1.3%
7North Carolina3,979+2.7%
8New Jersey3,927+2.1%
9Ohio3,910-2.7%
10Georgia3,550+2.1%
11Massachusetts3,492+0.4%
12Michigan3,457-1.1%
13Washington3,166+1.6%
14Virginia3,122+1.4%
15Colorado3,115+2.5%
16Minnesota3,035+0.7%
17Wisconsin2,848+1.3%
18Tennessee2,793-1.2%
19Indiana2,292-1.1%
20Missouri2,291-0.4%
21Arizona2,229+6.4%
22Maryland2,189+1.1%
23Oregon2,042+2.1%
24Connecticut1,770+1.4%
25South Carolina1,749+3%
26Nevada1,699+3.5%
27Louisiana1,549+0.6%
28Iowa1,447-0.6%
29Kentucky1,307-7.3%
30Montana1,250+1.1%
31Utah1,233+4.7%
32Alabama1,206+3.2%
33Oklahoma1,166-0.3%
34Kansas1,088-0.7%
35Nebraska963+3.8%
36Maine909+2.1%
37Idaho858+5.7%
38New Hampshire846+3.3%
39Arkansas799-0.2%
40West Virginia764+0.8%
41New Mexico710-1.3%
42South Dakota700+0.4%
43Mississippi695-0.7%
44Rhode Island592+2.6%
45Alaska585+1.4%
46Hawaii523+2.5%
47Delaware476+6.7%
48Vermont475+1.5%
49North Dakota464-3.5%
50Wyoming452+0.7%
51District of Columbia396+1.3%

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/2018/. 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. (2020). 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, 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2018/

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, 2018. U.S. Census Bureau, 25 June 2020, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2018/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/us-states?period=2018. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2020. 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, 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2018/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/us-states?period=2018.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2020) 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, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2018/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/us-states?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_employer_2018,
  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, 2018}},
  year = {2020},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2018/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/us-states?period=2018. 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/2018/. 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, 2018
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/06/25
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2018/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/us-states?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-arts-entertainment/us-states?period=2018.
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/2018/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

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

California, with 28,167 in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

District of Columbia, with 396 in 2018.

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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