Data / Rankings / Employer establishments: construction / US states

US states by employer establishments: construction

California had the highest employer establishments: construction of 51 states in 2015, at 69,900. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 459. The median was 8,542 and the figure for the United States was 682,390. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest69,900California
Lowest459District of Columbia
Median8,54251 states
United States682,390History

Map of states, 2015

Alabama: 7,317 countAlaska: 2,537 countArizona: 11,615 countArkansas: 5,198 countCalifornia: 69,900 countColorado: 17,083 countConnecticut: 7,958 countDelaware: 2,194 countDistrict of Columbia: 459 countFlorida: 48,731 countGeorgia: 16,958 countHawaii: 2,773 countIdaho: 6,184 countIllinois: 28,676 countIndiana: 13,035 countIowa: 8,542 countKansas: 7,014 countKentucky: 7,108 countLouisiana: 8,002 countMaine: 4,834 countMaryland: 13,970 countMassachusetts: 17,934 countMichigan: 18,566 countMinnesota: 16,246 countMississippi: 3,802 countMissouri: 13,052 countMontana: 5,291 countNebraska: 6,245 countNevada: 4,784 countNew Hampshire: 3,938 countNew Jersey: 21,079 countNew Mexico: 4,282 countNew York: 47,471 countNorth Carolina: 21,698 countNorth Dakota: 3,127 countOhio: 19,731 countOklahoma: 8,189 countOregon: 11,802 countPennsylvania: 26,428 countRhode Island: 3,039 countSouth Carolina: 9,082 countSouth Dakota: 3,363 countTennessee: 9,464 countTexas: 42,030 countUtah: 8,855 countVermont: 2,701 countVirginia: 19,389 countWashington: 21,374 countWest Virginia: 3,154 countWisconsin: 13,521 countWyoming: 2,665 count
  • Under 3,200
  • 3,200 to 5,900
  • 5,900 to 8,500
  • 8,500 to 14K
  • 14K to 21K
  • 21K and over
count, 2015. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2015

California: 69,900 countCalifornia69,900Florida: 48,731 countFlorida48,731New York: 47,471 countNew York47,471Texas: 42,030 countTexas42,030Illinois: 28,676 countIllinois28,676Pennsylvania: 26,428 countPennsylvania26,428North Carolina: 21,698 countNorth Carolina21,698Washington: 21,374 countWashington21,374New Jersey: 21,079 countNew Jersey21,079Ohio: 19,731 countOhio19,731Virginia: 19,389 countVirginia19,389Michigan: 18,566 countMichigan18,566Massachusetts: 17,934 countMassachusetts17,934Colorado: 17,083 countColorado17,083Georgia: 16,958 countGeorgia16,958Minnesota: 16,246 countMinnesota16,246Maryland: 13,970 countMaryland13,970Wisconsin: 13,521 countWisconsin13,521Missouri: 13,052 countMissouri13,052Indiana: 13,035 countIndiana13,035Oregon: 11,802 countOregon11,802Arizona: 11,615 countArizona11,615Tennessee: 9,464 countTennessee9,464South Carolina: 9,082 countSouth Carolina9,082Utah: 8,855 countUtah8,855Iowa: 8,542 countIowa8,542Oklahoma: 8,189 countOklahoma8,189Louisiana: 8,002 countLouisiana8,002Connecticut: 7,958 countConnecticut7,958Alabama: 7,317 countAlabama7,317Kentucky: 7,108 countKentucky7,108Kansas: 7,014 countKansas7,014Nebraska: 6,245 countNebraska6,245Idaho: 6,184 countIdaho6,184Montana: 5,291 countMontana5,291Arkansas: 5,198 countArkansas5,198Maine: 4,834 countMaine4,834Nevada: 4,784 countNevada4,784New Mexico: 4,282 countNew Mexico4,282New Hampshire: 3,938 countNew Hampshire3,938Mississippi: 3,802 countMississippi3,802South Dakota: 3,363 countSouth Dakota3,363West Virginia: 3,154 countWest Virginia3,154North Dakota: 3,127 countNorth Dakota3,127Rhode Island: 3,039 countRhode Island3,039Hawaii: 2,773 countHawaii2,773Vermont: 2,701 countVermont2,701Wyoming: 2,665 countWyoming2,665Alaska: 2,537 countAlaska2,537Delaware: 2,194 countDelaware2,194District of Columbia: 459 countDistrict of Columbia459California: 69,900 countCalifornia69,900Florida: 48,731 countFlorida48,731New York: 47,471 countNew York47,471Texas: 42,030 countTexas42,030Illinois: 28,676 countIllinois28,676Pennsylvania: 26,428 countPennsylvania26,428North Carolina: 21,698 countNorth Carolina21,698Washington: 21,374 countWashington21,374New Jersey: 21,079 countNew Jersey21,079Ohio: 19,731 countOhio19,731Virginia: 19,389 countVirginia19,389Michigan: 18,566 countMichigan18,566Massachusetts: 17,934 countMassachusetts17,934Colorado: 17,083 countColorado17,083Georgia: 16,958 countGeorgia16,958Minnesota: 16,246 countMinnesota16,246Maryland: 13,970 countMaryland13,970Wisconsin: 13,521 countWisconsin13,521Missouri: 13,052 countMissouri13,052Indiana: 13,035 countIndiana13,035Oregon: 11,802 countOregon11,802Arizona: 11,615 countArizona11,615Tennessee: 9,464 countTennessee9,464South Carolina: 9,082 countSouth Carolina9,082Utah: 8,855 countUtah8,855Iowa: 8,542 countIowa8,542Oklahoma: 8,189 countOklahoma8,189Louisiana: 8,002 countLouisiana8,002Connecticut: 7,958 countConnecticut7,958Alabama: 7,317 countAlabama7,317Kentucky: 7,108 countKentucky7,108Kansas: 7,014 countKansas7,014Nebraska: 6,245 countNebraska6,245Idaho: 6,184 countIdaho6,184Montana: 5,291 countMontana5,291Arkansas: 5,198 countArkansas5,198Maine: 4,834 countMaine4,834Nevada: 4,784 countNevada4,784New Mexico: 4,282 countNew Mexico4,282New Hampshire: 3,938 countNew Hampshire3,938Mississippi: 3,802 countMississippi3,802South Dakota: 3,363 countSouth Dakota3,363West Virginia: 3,154 countWest Virginia3,154North Dakota: 3,127 countNorth Dakota3,127Rhode Island: 3,039 countRhode Island3,039Hawaii: 2,773 countHawaii2,773Vermont: 2,701 countVermont2,701Wyoming: 2,665 countWyoming2,665Alaska: 2,537 countAlaska2,537Delaware: 2,194 countDelaware2,194District of Columbia: 459 countDistrict of Columbia459
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2015
count		Change on 2014
1California69,900+3.5%
2Florida48,731+4.6%
3New York47,471+2.2%
4Texas42,030+3.7%
5Illinois28,676+1.4%
6Pennsylvania26,428+0.8%
7North Carolina21,698+2.9%
8Washington21,374+4.4%
9New Jersey21,079+0.7%
10Ohio19,731+0.7%
11Virginia19,389+1.3%
12Michigan18,566+1.2%
13Massachusetts17,934+3.6%
14Colorado17,083+4.2%
15Georgia16,958+3.6%
16Minnesota16,246+0.8%
17Maryland13,970+0.6%
18Wisconsin13,521+1.1%
19Missouri13,052+0.7%
20Indiana13,035+0.5%
21Oregon11,802+3.9%
22Arizona11,615+1.5%
23Tennessee9,464+2%
24South Carolina9,082+2.3%
25Utah8,855+3%
26Iowa8,542+1%
27Oklahoma8,189-0.1%
28Louisiana8,002+1.6%
29Connecticut7,958+1.4%
30Alabama7,317+0.5%
31Kentucky7,108-0.4%
32Kansas7,014+1.4%
33Nebraska6,245+1.7%
34Idaho6,184+3.8%
35Montana5,291+4%
36Arkansas5,198+1.3%
37Maine4,834+2.2%
38Nevada4,784+3.3%
39New Mexico4,282-0.2%
40New Hampshire3,938+2.7%
41Mississippi3,802-0.1%
42South Dakota3,363+2.9%
43West Virginia3,154-2.4%
44North Dakota3,127+1.3%
45Rhode Island3,039+2.9%
46Hawaii2,773+1.4%
47Vermont2,701+2%
48Wyoming2,665+2%
49Alaska2,537+1%
50Delaware2,194+1%
51District of Columbia459+2.2%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of establishments with paid employees in construction (NAICS 23), 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), construction (NAICS 23), 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), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms (US states by employer establishments: construction, 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), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: construction, 2015. U.S. Census Bureau, 9 May 2017, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2015/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-construction/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), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms. US states by employer establishments: construction, 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-construction/us-states?period=2015.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2017) County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: construction, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2015/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-construction/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), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms: US states by employer establishments: construction, 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-construction/us-states?period=2015. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), construction (NAICS 23), 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), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms: US states by employer establishments: construction, 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-construction/us-states?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-construction/us-states?period=2015.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), construction (NAICS 23), 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: construction?

California, with 69,900 in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest employer establishments: construction?

District of Columbia, with 459 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), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

US states: more rankings