Data / Rankings / Employer establishments: information / US states

US states by employer establishments: information

California had the highest employer establishments: information of 51 states in 2016, at 23,830. North Dakota had the lowest, at 345. The median was 1,599 and the figure for the United States was 146,407. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest23,830California
Lowest345North Dakota
Median1,59951 states
United States146,407History

Map of states, 2016

Alabama: 1,658 countAlaska: 408 countArizona: 2,272 countArkansas: 1,085 countCalifornia: 23,830 countColorado: 3,347 countConnecticut: 1,749 countDelaware: 571 countDistrict of Columbia: 775 countFlorida: 8,835 countGeorgia: 4,385 countHawaii: 516 countIdaho: 703 countIllinois: 5,640 countIndiana: 2,207 countIowa: 1,530 countKansas: 1,431 countKentucky: 1,599 countLouisiana: 1,520 countMaine: 808 countMaryland: 2,573 countMassachusetts: 3,722 countMichigan: 3,983 countMinnesota: 2,679 countMississippi: 970 countMissouri: 2,559 countMontana: 663 countNebraska: 915 countNevada: 1,353 countNew Hampshire: 728 countNew Jersey: 3,821 countNew Mexico: 776 countNew York: 11,836 countNorth Carolina: 3,743 countNorth Dakota: 345 countOhio: 4,035 countOklahoma: 1,493 countOregon: 2,167 countPennsylvania: 5,229 countRhode Island: 476 countSouth Carolina: 1,494 countSouth Dakota: 453 countTennessee: 2,696 countTexas: 9,677 countUtah: 1,539 countVermont: 507 countVirginia: 4,016 countWashington: 3,528 countWest Virginia: 689 countWisconsin: 2,486 countWyoming: 387 count
  • Under 700
  • 700 to 1,000
  • 1,000 to 1,600
  • 1,600 to 2,600
  • 2,600 to 4,000
  • 4,000 and over
count, 2016. 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, 2016

California: 23,830 countCalifornia23,830New York: 11,836 countNew York11,836Texas: 9,677 countTexas9,677Florida: 8,835 countFlorida8,835Illinois: 5,640 countIllinois5,640Pennsylvania: 5,229 countPennsylvania5,229Georgia: 4,385 countGeorgia4,385Ohio: 4,035 countOhio4,035Virginia: 4,016 countVirginia4,016Michigan: 3,983 countMichigan3,983New Jersey: 3,821 countNew Jersey3,821North Carolina: 3,743 countNorth Carolina3,743Massachusetts: 3,722 countMassachusetts3,722Washington: 3,528 countWashington3,528Colorado: 3,347 countColorado3,347Tennessee: 2,696 countTennessee2,696Minnesota: 2,679 countMinnesota2,679Maryland: 2,573 countMaryland2,573Missouri: 2,559 countMissouri2,559Wisconsin: 2,486 countWisconsin2,486Arizona: 2,272 countArizona2,272Indiana: 2,207 countIndiana2,207Oregon: 2,167 countOregon2,167Connecticut: 1,749 countConnecticut1,749Alabama: 1,658 countAlabama1,658Kentucky: 1,599 countKentucky1,599Utah: 1,539 countUtah1,539Iowa: 1,530 countIowa1,530Louisiana: 1,520 countLouisiana1,520South Carolina: 1,494 countSouth Carolina1,494Oklahoma: 1,493 countOklahoma1,493Kansas: 1,431 countKansas1,431Nevada: 1,353 countNevada1,353Arkansas: 1,085 countArkansas1,085Mississippi: 970 countMississippi970Nebraska: 915 countNebraska915Maine: 808 countMaine808New Mexico: 776 countNew Mexico776District of Columbia: 775 countDistrict of Columbia775New Hampshire: 728 countNew Hampshire728Idaho: 703 countIdaho703West Virginia: 689 countWest Virginia689Montana: 663 countMontana663Delaware: 571 countDelaware571Hawaii: 516 countHawaii516Vermont: 507 countVermont507Rhode Island: 476 countRhode Island476South Dakota: 453 countSouth Dakota453Alaska: 408 countAlaska408Wyoming: 387 countWyoming387North Dakota: 345 countNorth Dakota345California: 23,830 countCalifornia23,830New York: 11,836 countNew York11,836Texas: 9,677 countTexas9,677Florida: 8,835 countFlorida8,835Illinois: 5,640 countIllinois5,640Pennsylvania: 5,229 countPennsylvania5,229Georgia: 4,385 countGeorgia4,385Ohio: 4,035 countOhio4,035Virginia: 4,016 countVirginia4,016Michigan: 3,983 countMichigan3,983New Jersey: 3,821 countNew Jersey3,821North Carolina: 3,743 countNorth Carolina3,743Massachusetts: 3,722 countMassachusetts3,722Washington: 3,528 countWashington3,528Colorado: 3,347 countColorado3,347Tennessee: 2,696 countTennessee2,696Minnesota: 2,679 countMinnesota2,679Maryland: 2,573 countMaryland2,573Missouri: 2,559 countMissouri2,559Wisconsin: 2,486 countWisconsin2,486Arizona: 2,272 countArizona2,272Indiana: 2,207 countIndiana2,207Oregon: 2,167 countOregon2,167Connecticut: 1,749 countConnecticut1,749Alabama: 1,658 countAlabama1,658Kentucky: 1,599 countKentucky1,599Utah: 1,539 countUtah1,539Iowa: 1,530 countIowa1,530Louisiana: 1,520 countLouisiana1,520South Carolina: 1,494 countSouth Carolina1,494Oklahoma: 1,493 countOklahoma1,493Kansas: 1,431 countKansas1,431Nevada: 1,353 countNevada1,353Arkansas: 1,085 countArkansas1,085Mississippi: 970 countMississippi970Nebraska: 915 countNebraska915Maine: 808 countMaine808New Mexico: 776 countNew Mexico776District of Columbia: 775 countDistrict of Columbia775New Hampshire: 728 countNew Hampshire728Idaho: 703 countIdaho703West Virginia: 689 countWest Virginia689Montana: 663 countMontana663Delaware: 571 countDelaware571Hawaii: 516 countHawaii516Vermont: 507 countVermont507Rhode Island: 476 countRhode Island476South Dakota: 453 countSouth Dakota453Alaska: 408 countAlaska408Wyoming: 387 countWyoming387North Dakota: 345 countNorth Dakota345
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

RankStates2016
count		Change on 2015
1California23,830+3.9%
2New York11,836+3.2%
3Texas9,677+4.8%
4Florida8,835+6.6%
5Illinois5,640+3.7%
6Pennsylvania5,229+3.6%
7Georgia4,385+7.2%
8Ohio4,035+7.5%
9Virginia4,016+3.8%
10Michigan3,983+5.9%
11New Jersey3,821+2.9%
12North Carolina3,743+4.2%
13Massachusetts3,722+2.6%
14Washington3,528+4.2%
15Colorado3,347+4%
16Tennessee2,696+10.5%
17Minnesota2,679+6.5%
18Maryland2,573+3.5%
19Missouri2,559+7%
20Wisconsin2,486+13.7%
21Arizona2,272+7.1%
22Indiana2,207+7.8%
23Oregon2,167+6.2%
24Connecticut1,749-0.3%
25Alabama1,658+10.4%
26Kentucky1,599+6.1%
27Utah1,539+4.6%
28Iowa1,530+3.9%
29Louisiana1,520+5%
30South Carolina1,494+8.6%
31Oklahoma1,493+2.5%
32Kansas1,431+5.3%
33Nevada1,353+6.4%
34Arkansas1,085+7%
35Mississippi970+5.3%
36Nebraska915+3.4%
37Maine808+2.1%
38New Mexico776+6.7%
39District of Columbia775+3.5%
40New Hampshire728+1.4%
41Idaho703+10.9%
42West Virginia689+4.4%
43Montana663+3.9%
44Delaware571+9.2%
45Hawaii516+3.6%
46Vermont507+4.5%
47Rhode Island476+4.4%
48South Dakota453+1.8%
49Alaska408+1.2%
50Wyoming387+10.3%
51North Dakota345+4.9%

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/2016/. 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, 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2016/

MLA 9

County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: information, 2016. U.S. Census Bureau, 19 Apr. 2018, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2016/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/us-states?period=2016. 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, 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2016/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/us-states?period=2016.

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, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2016/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/us-states?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_employer_2016,
  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, 2016}},
  year = {2018},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2016/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/us-states?period=2016. 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/2016/. 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, 2016
PY  - 2018
DA  - 2018/04/19
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2016/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/us-states?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/us-states?period=2016.
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/2016/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest employer establishments: information?

California, with 23,830 in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest employer establishments: information?

North Dakota, with 345 in 2016.

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