Data / Rankings / Employer establishments: information / US states

US states by employer establishments: information, 2023

California had the highest employer establishments: information of 51 states in 2023, at 27,338. North Dakota had the lowest, at 376. The median was 1,887 and the figure for the United States was 160,704. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest27,338California
Lowest376North Dakota
Median1,88751 states
United States160,704History

Map of states, 2023

Alabama: 1,887 countAlaska: 422 countArizona: 2,662 countArkansas: 1,174 countCalifornia: 27,338 countColorado: 3,804 countConnecticut: 1,687 countDelaware: 1,070 countDistrict of Columbia: 851 countFlorida: 10,336 countGeorgia: 5,030 countHawaii: 557 countIdaho: 877 countIllinois: 5,616 countIndiana: 2,380 countIowa: 1,615 countKansas: 1,424 countKentucky: 1,995 countLouisiana: 1,591 countMaine: 817 countMaryland: 2,598 countMassachusetts: 3,655 countMichigan: 3,887 countMinnesota: 2,631 countMississippi: 1,087 countMissouri: 2,582 countMontana: 697 countNebraska: 978 countNevada: 1,631 countNew Hampshire: 772 countNew Jersey: 3,802 countNew Mexico: 857 countNew York: 12,089 countNorth Carolina: 4,150 countNorth Dakota: 376 countOhio: 4,391 countOklahoma: 1,604 countOregon: 2,404 countPennsylvania: 5,685 countRhode Island: 477 countSouth Carolina: 1,764 countSouth Dakota: 463 countTennessee: 2,980 countTexas: 11,777 countUtah: 2,004 countVermont: 490 countVirginia: 4,006 countWashington: 4,036 countWest Virginia: 752 countWisconsin: 2,400 countWyoming: 546 count
  • Under 800
  • 800 to 1,100
  • 1,100 to 1,900
  • 1,900 to 2,600
  • 2,600 to 4,100
  • 4,100 and over
count, 2023. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2023

California: 27,338 countCalifornia27,338New York: 12,089 countNew York12,089Texas: 11,777 countTexas11,777Florida: 10,336 countFlorida10,336Pennsylvania: 5,685 countPennsylvania5,685Illinois: 5,616 countIllinois5,616Georgia: 5,030 countGeorgia5,030Ohio: 4,391 countOhio4,391North Carolina: 4,150 countNorth Carolina4,150Washington: 4,036 countWashington4,036Virginia: 4,006 countVirginia4,006Michigan: 3,887 countMichigan3,887Colorado: 3,804 countColorado3,804New Jersey: 3,802 countNew Jersey3,802Massachusetts: 3,655 countMassachusetts3,655Tennessee: 2,980 countTennessee2,980Arizona: 2,662 countArizona2,662Minnesota: 2,631 countMinnesota2,631Maryland: 2,598 countMaryland2,598Missouri: 2,582 countMissouri2,582Oregon: 2,404 countOregon2,404Wisconsin: 2,400 countWisconsin2,400Indiana: 2,380 countIndiana2,380Utah: 2,004 countUtah2,004Kentucky: 1,995 countKentucky1,995Alabama: 1,887 countAlabama1,887South Carolina: 1,764 countSouth Carolina1,764Connecticut: 1,687 countConnecticut1,687Nevada: 1,631 countNevada1,631Iowa: 1,615 countIowa1,615Oklahoma: 1,604 countOklahoma1,604Louisiana: 1,591 countLouisiana1,591Kansas: 1,424 countKansas1,424Arkansas: 1,174 countArkansas1,174Mississippi: 1,087 countMississippi1,087Delaware: 1,070 countDelaware1,070Nebraska: 978 countNebraska978Idaho: 877 countIdaho877New Mexico: 857 countNew Mexico857District of Columbia: 851 countDistrict of Columbia851Maine: 817 countMaine817New Hampshire: 772 countNew Hampshire772West Virginia: 752 countWest Virginia752Montana: 697 countMontana697Hawaii: 557 countHawaii557Wyoming: 546 countWyoming546Vermont: 490 countVermont490Rhode Island: 477 countRhode Island477South Dakota: 463 countSouth Dakota463Alaska: 422 countAlaska422North Dakota: 376 countNorth Dakota376California: 27,338 countCalifornia27,338New York: 12,089 countNew York12,089Texas: 11,777 countTexas11,777Florida: 10,336 countFlorida10,336Pennsylvania: 5,685 countPennsylvania5,685Illinois: 5,616 countIllinois5,616Georgia: 5,030 countGeorgia5,030Ohio: 4,391 countOhio4,391North Carolina: 4,150 countNorth Carolina4,150Washington: 4,036 countWashington4,036Virginia: 4,006 countVirginia4,006Michigan: 3,887 countMichigan3,887Colorado: 3,804 countColorado3,804New Jersey: 3,802 countNew Jersey3,802Massachusetts: 3,655 countMassachusetts3,655Tennessee: 2,980 countTennessee2,980Arizona: 2,662 countArizona2,662Minnesota: 2,631 countMinnesota2,631Maryland: 2,598 countMaryland2,598Missouri: 2,582 countMissouri2,582Oregon: 2,404 countOregon2,404Wisconsin: 2,400 countWisconsin2,400Indiana: 2,380 countIndiana2,380Utah: 2,004 countUtah2,004Kentucky: 1,995 countKentucky1,995Alabama: 1,887 countAlabama1,887South Carolina: 1,764 countSouth Carolina1,764Connecticut: 1,687 countConnecticut1,687Nevada: 1,631 countNevada1,631Iowa: 1,615 countIowa1,615Oklahoma: 1,604 countOklahoma1,604Louisiana: 1,591 countLouisiana1,591Kansas: 1,424 countKansas1,424Arkansas: 1,174 countArkansas1,174Mississippi: 1,087 countMississippi1,087Delaware: 1,070 countDelaware1,070Nebraska: 978 countNebraska978Idaho: 877 countIdaho877New Mexico: 857 countNew Mexico857District of Columbia: 851 countDistrict of Columbia851Maine: 817 countMaine817New Hampshire: 772 countNew Hampshire772West Virginia: 752 countWest Virginia752Montana: 697 countMontana697Hawaii: 557 countHawaii557Wyoming: 546 countWyoming546Vermont: 490 countVermont490Rhode Island: 477 countRhode Island477South Dakota: 463 countSouth Dakota463Alaska: 422 countAlaska422North Dakota: 376 countNorth Dakota376
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2023
count		Change on 2022
1California27,338-1.8%
2New York12,089-2.9%
3Texas11,777+2.3%
4Florida10,336-0.1%
5Pennsylvania5,685+2.7%
6Illinois5,616-0.4%
7Georgia5,030-1.4%
8Ohio4,391+2%
9North Carolina4,150+1.6%
10Washington4,036-0.4%
11Virginia4,006+2%
12Michigan3,887-2.8%
13Colorado3,804-0.5%
14New Jersey3,802+0.4%
15Massachusetts3,655+0.3%
16Tennessee2,980+0.2%
17Arizona2,662-2.1%
18Minnesota2,631-0%
19Maryland2,598+5.1%
20Missouri2,582-1.3%
21Oregon2,404-0.9%
22Wisconsin2,400-1.2%
23Indiana2,380+2.9%
24Utah2,004-1.2%
25Kentucky1,995+1.6%
26Alabama1,887+1%
27South Carolina1,764+0.9%
28Connecticut1,687-3.9%
29Nevada1,631-0.9%
30Iowa1,615-0.3%
31Oklahoma1,604+1.3%
32Louisiana1,591+0.1%
33Kansas1,424-1.6%
34Arkansas1,174-0.5%
35Mississippi1,087+3.7%
36Delaware1,070+15.1%
37Nebraska978+0.6%
38Idaho877-5.5%
39New Mexico857-2.7%
40District of Columbia851+0.4%
41Maine8170%
42New Hampshire772+2%
43West Virginia752+13.3%
44Montana697-2%
45Hawaii557-4.3%
46Wyoming546+2.8%
47Vermont490-0.2%
48Rhode Island477+4.6%
49South Dakota463-1.7%
50Alaska422-1.6%
51North Dakota376-0.8%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of establishments with paid employees in information (publishing, media, telecommunications and data processing) (NAICS 51), 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), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/. 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. (2025). County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms (US states by employer establishments: information, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/

MLA 9

County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: information, 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 26 June 2025, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/us-states. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms. US states by employer establishments: information, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/us-states.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: information, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/us-states (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_employer_2023,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms: US states by employer establishments: information, 2023}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/us-states. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms: US states by employer establishments: information, 2023
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/06/26
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/us-states
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/us-states.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest employer establishments: information?

California, with 27,338 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest employer establishments: information?

North Dakota, with 376 in 2023.

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), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

US states: more rankings