Data / Rankings / Employer establishments: information / US states

US states by employer establishments: information

California had the highest employer establishments: information of 51 states in 2012, at 21,386. Wyoming had the lowest, at 322. The median was 1,537 and the figure for the United States was 135,185. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest21,386California
Lowest322Wyoming
Median1,53751 states
United States135,185History

Map of states, 2012

Alabama: 1,551 countAlaska: 395 countArizona: 2,027 countArkansas: 1,006 countCalifornia: 21,386 countColorado: 2,933 countConnecticut: 1,631 countDelaware: 392 countDistrict of Columbia: 715 countFlorida: 7,864 countGeorgia: 4,035 countHawaii: 526 countIdaho: 641 countIllinois: 5,286 countIndiana: 2,158 countIowa: 1,524 countKansas: 1,387 countKentucky: 1,537 countLouisiana: 1,393 countMaine: 824 countMaryland: 2,312 countMassachusetts: 3,563 countMichigan: 3,253 countMinnesota: 2,599 countMississippi: 899 countMissouri: 2,380 countMontana: 601 countNebraska: 942 countNevada: 1,180 countNew Hampshire: 785 countNew Jersey: 3,603 countNew Mexico: 759 countNew York: 11,093 countNorth Carolina: 3,511 countNorth Dakota: 354 countOhio: 3,888 countOklahoma: 1,478 countOregon: 1,950 countPennsylvania: 4,985 countRhode Island: 424 countSouth Carolina: 1,393 countSouth Dakota: 442 countTennessee: 2,445 countTexas: 8,965 countUtah: 1,376 countVermont: 488 countVirginia: 3,847 countWashington: 3,198 countWest Virginia: 664 countWisconsin: 2,275 countWyoming: 322 count
  • Under 600
  • 600 to 1,000
  • 1,000 to 1,500
  • 1,500 to 2,400
  • 2,400 to 3,800
  • 3,800 and over
count, 2012. 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, 2012

California: 21,386 countCalifornia21,386New York: 11,093 countNew York11,093Texas: 8,965 countTexas8,965Florida: 7,864 countFlorida7,864Illinois: 5,286 countIllinois5,286Pennsylvania: 4,985 countPennsylvania4,985Georgia: 4,035 countGeorgia4,035Ohio: 3,888 countOhio3,888Virginia: 3,847 countVirginia3,847New Jersey: 3,603 countNew Jersey3,603Massachusetts: 3,563 countMassachusetts3,563North Carolina: 3,511 countNorth Carolina3,511Michigan: 3,253 countMichigan3,253Washington: 3,198 countWashington3,198Colorado: 2,933 countColorado2,933Minnesota: 2,599 countMinnesota2,599Tennessee: 2,445 countTennessee2,445Missouri: 2,380 countMissouri2,380Maryland: 2,312 countMaryland2,312Wisconsin: 2,275 countWisconsin2,275Indiana: 2,158 countIndiana2,158Arizona: 2,027 countArizona2,027Oregon: 1,950 countOregon1,950Connecticut: 1,631 countConnecticut1,631Alabama: 1,551 countAlabama1,551Kentucky: 1,537 countKentucky1,537Iowa: 1,524 countIowa1,524Oklahoma: 1,478 countOklahoma1,478Louisiana: 1,393 countLouisiana1,393South Carolina: 1,393 countSouth Carolina1,393Kansas: 1,387 countKansas1,387Utah: 1,376 countUtah1,376Nevada: 1,180 countNevada1,180Arkansas: 1,006 countArkansas1,006Nebraska: 942 countNebraska942Mississippi: 899 countMississippi899Maine: 824 countMaine824New Hampshire: 785 countNew Hampshire785New Mexico: 759 countNew Mexico759District of Columbia: 715 countDistrict of Columbia715West Virginia: 664 countWest Virginia664Idaho: 641 countIdaho641Montana: 601 countMontana601Hawaii: 526 countHawaii526Vermont: 488 countVermont488South Dakota: 442 countSouth Dakota442Rhode Island: 424 countRhode Island424Alaska: 395 countAlaska395Delaware: 392 countDelaware392North Dakota: 354 countNorth Dakota354Wyoming: 322 countWyoming322California: 21,386 countCalifornia21,386New York: 11,093 countNew York11,093Texas: 8,965 countTexas8,965Florida: 7,864 countFlorida7,864Illinois: 5,286 countIllinois5,286Pennsylvania: 4,985 countPennsylvania4,985Georgia: 4,035 countGeorgia4,035Ohio: 3,888 countOhio3,888Virginia: 3,847 countVirginia3,847New Jersey: 3,603 countNew Jersey3,603Massachusetts: 3,563 countMassachusetts3,563North Carolina: 3,511 countNorth Carolina3,511Michigan: 3,253 countMichigan3,253Washington: 3,198 countWashington3,198Colorado: 2,933 countColorado2,933Minnesota: 2,599 countMinnesota2,599Tennessee: 2,445 countTennessee2,445Missouri: 2,380 countMissouri2,380Maryland: 2,312 countMaryland2,312Wisconsin: 2,275 countWisconsin2,275Indiana: 2,158 countIndiana2,158Arizona: 2,027 countArizona2,027Oregon: 1,950 countOregon1,950Connecticut: 1,631 countConnecticut1,631Alabama: 1,551 countAlabama1,551Kentucky: 1,537 countKentucky1,537Iowa: 1,524 countIowa1,524Oklahoma: 1,478 countOklahoma1,478Louisiana: 1,393 countLouisiana1,393South Carolina: 1,393 countSouth Carolina1,393Kansas: 1,387 countKansas1,387Utah: 1,376 countUtah1,376Nevada: 1,180 countNevada1,180Arkansas: 1,006 countArkansas1,006Nebraska: 942 countNebraska942Mississippi: 899 countMississippi899Maine: 824 countMaine824New Hampshire: 785 countNew Hampshire785New Mexico: 759 countNew Mexico759District of Columbia: 715 countDistrict of Columbia715West Virginia: 664 countWest Virginia664Idaho: 641 countIdaho641Montana: 601 countMontana601Hawaii: 526 countHawaii526Vermont: 488 countVermont488South Dakota: 442 countSouth Dakota442Rhode Island: 424 countRhode Island424Alaska: 395 countAlaska395Delaware: 392 countDelaware392North Dakota: 354 countNorth Dakota354Wyoming: 322 countWyoming322
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

RankStates2012
count
1California21,386
2New York11,093
3Texas8,965
4Florida7,864
5Illinois5,286
6Pennsylvania4,985
7Georgia4,035
8Ohio3,888
9Virginia3,847
10New Jersey3,603
11Massachusetts3,563
12North Carolina3,511
13Michigan3,253
14Washington3,198
15Colorado2,933
16Minnesota2,599
17Tennessee2,445
18Missouri2,380
19Maryland2,312
20Wisconsin2,275
21Indiana2,158
22Arizona2,027
23Oregon1,950
24Connecticut1,631
25Alabama1,551
26Kentucky1,537
27Iowa1,524
28Oklahoma1,478
29Louisiana1,393
29South Carolina1,393
31Kansas1,387
32Utah1,376
33Nevada1,180
34Arkansas1,006
35Nebraska942
36Mississippi899
37Maine824
38New Hampshire785
39New Mexico759
40District of Columbia715
41West Virginia664
42Idaho641
43Montana601
44Hawaii526
45Vermont488
46South Dakota442
47Rhode Island424
48Alaska395
49Delaware392
50North Dakota354
51Wyoming322

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/2012/. 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), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms (US states by employer establishments: information, 2012) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2012/

MLA 9

County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: information, 2012. U.S. Census Bureau, 12 Sept. 2018, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2012/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/us-states?period=2012. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2018. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms. US states by employer establishments: information, 2012. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2012/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/us-states?period=2012.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2018) County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: information, 2012 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2012/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/us-states?period=2012 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_employer_2012,
  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, 2012}},
  year = {2018},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2012/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/us-states?period=2012. 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/2012/. 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, 2012
PY  - 2018
DA  - 2018/09/12
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2012/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/us-states?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/us-states?period=2012.
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/2012/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest employer establishments: information?

California, with 21,386 in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest employer establishments: information?

Wyoming, with 322 in 2012.

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