Data / Rankings / Employer establishments: information / US states

US states by employer establishments: information

California had the highest employer establishments: information of 51 states in 2018, at 26,339. North Dakota had the lowest, at 356. The median was 1,813 and the figure for the United States was 157,766. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest26,339California
Lowest356North Dakota
Median1,81351 states
United States157,766History

Map of states, 2018

Alabama: 1,852 countAlaska: 416 countArizona: 2,598 countArkansas: 1,178 countCalifornia: 26,339 countColorado: 3,763 countConnecticut: 1,778 countDelaware: 585 countDistrict of Columbia: 812 countFlorida: 9,603 countGeorgia: 4,893 countHawaii: 562 countIdaho: 829 countIllinois: 6,102 countIndiana: 2,450 countIowa: 1,643 countKansas: 1,407 countKentucky: 1,819 countLouisiana: 1,590 countMaine: 806 countMaryland: 2,535 countMassachusetts: 3,825 countMichigan: 4,233 countMinnesota: 2,771 countMississippi: 1,071 countMissouri: 2,738 countMontana: 689 countNebraska: 969 countNevada: 1,467 countNew Hampshire: 779 countNew Jersey: 3,875 countNew Mexico: 842 countNew York: 12,096 countNorth Carolina: 4,025 countNorth Dakota: 356 countOhio: 4,298 countOklahoma: 1,569 countOregon: 2,436 countPennsylvania: 5,656 countRhode Island: 444 countSouth Carolina: 1,691 countSouth Dakota: 473 countTennessee: 2,912 countTexas: 10,920 countUtah: 1,813 countVermont: 502 countVirginia: 4,070 countWashington: 3,989 countWest Virginia: 660 countWisconsin: 2,616 countWyoming: 421 count
  • Under 700
  • 700 to 1,100
  • 1,100 to 1,800
  • 1,800 to 2,700
  • 2,700 to 4,200
  • 4,200 and over
count, 2018. 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, 2018

California: 26,339 countCalifornia26,339New York: 12,096 countNew York12,096Texas: 10,920 countTexas10,920Florida: 9,603 countFlorida9,603Illinois: 6,102 countIllinois6,102Pennsylvania: 5,656 countPennsylvania5,656Georgia: 4,893 countGeorgia4,893Ohio: 4,298 countOhio4,298Michigan: 4,233 countMichigan4,233Virginia: 4,070 countVirginia4,070North Carolina: 4,025 countNorth Carolina4,025Washington: 3,989 countWashington3,989New Jersey: 3,875 countNew Jersey3,875Massachusetts: 3,825 countMassachusetts3,825Colorado: 3,763 countColorado3,763Tennessee: 2,912 countTennessee2,912Minnesota: 2,771 countMinnesota2,771Missouri: 2,738 countMissouri2,738Wisconsin: 2,616 countWisconsin2,616Arizona: 2,598 countArizona2,598Maryland: 2,535 countMaryland2,535Indiana: 2,450 countIndiana2,450Oregon: 2,436 countOregon2,436Alabama: 1,852 countAlabama1,852Kentucky: 1,819 countKentucky1,819Utah: 1,813 countUtah1,813Connecticut: 1,778 countConnecticut1,778South Carolina: 1,691 countSouth Carolina1,691Iowa: 1,643 countIowa1,643Louisiana: 1,590 countLouisiana1,590Oklahoma: 1,569 countOklahoma1,569Nevada: 1,467 countNevada1,467Kansas: 1,407 countKansas1,407Arkansas: 1,178 countArkansas1,178Mississippi: 1,071 countMississippi1,071Nebraska: 969 countNebraska969New Mexico: 842 countNew Mexico842Idaho: 829 countIdaho829District of Columbia: 812 countDistrict of Columbia812Maine: 806 countMaine806New Hampshire: 779 countNew Hampshire779Montana: 689 countMontana689West Virginia: 660 countWest Virginia660Delaware: 585 countDelaware585Hawaii: 562 countHawaii562Vermont: 502 countVermont502South Dakota: 473 countSouth Dakota473Rhode Island: 444 countRhode Island444Wyoming: 421 countWyoming421Alaska: 416 countAlaska416North Dakota: 356 countNorth Dakota356California: 26,339 countCalifornia26,339New York: 12,096 countNew York12,096Texas: 10,920 countTexas10,920Florida: 9,603 countFlorida9,603Illinois: 6,102 countIllinois6,102Pennsylvania: 5,656 countPennsylvania5,656Georgia: 4,893 countGeorgia4,893Ohio: 4,298 countOhio4,298Michigan: 4,233 countMichigan4,233Virginia: 4,070 countVirginia4,070North Carolina: 4,025 countNorth Carolina4,025Washington: 3,989 countWashington3,989New Jersey: 3,875 countNew Jersey3,875Massachusetts: 3,825 countMassachusetts3,825Colorado: 3,763 countColorado3,763Tennessee: 2,912 countTennessee2,912Minnesota: 2,771 countMinnesota2,771Missouri: 2,738 countMissouri2,738Wisconsin: 2,616 countWisconsin2,616Arizona: 2,598 countArizona2,598Maryland: 2,535 countMaryland2,535Indiana: 2,450 countIndiana2,450Oregon: 2,436 countOregon2,436Alabama: 1,852 countAlabama1,852Kentucky: 1,819 countKentucky1,819Utah: 1,813 countUtah1,813Connecticut: 1,778 countConnecticut1,778South Carolina: 1,691 countSouth Carolina1,691Iowa: 1,643 countIowa1,643Louisiana: 1,590 countLouisiana1,590Oklahoma: 1,569 countOklahoma1,569Nevada: 1,467 countNevada1,467Kansas: 1,407 countKansas1,407Arkansas: 1,178 countArkansas1,178Mississippi: 1,071 countMississippi1,071Nebraska: 969 countNebraska969New Mexico: 842 countNew Mexico842Idaho: 829 countIdaho829District of Columbia: 812 countDistrict of Columbia812Maine: 806 countMaine806New Hampshire: 779 countNew Hampshire779Montana: 689 countMontana689West Virginia: 660 countWest Virginia660Delaware: 585 countDelaware585Hawaii: 562 countHawaii562Vermont: 502 countVermont502South Dakota: 473 countSouth Dakota473Rhode Island: 444 countRhode Island444Wyoming: 421 countWyoming421Alaska: 416 countAlaska416North Dakota: 356 countNorth Dakota356
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

RankStates2018
count		Change on 2017
1California26,339+4.7%
2New York12,096+3%
3Texas10,920+4.2%
4Florida9,603+2.7%
5Illinois6,102+1.9%
6Pennsylvania5,656+1.5%
7Georgia4,893+4.2%
8Ohio4,2980%
9Michigan4,233+3.6%
10Virginia4,070-0.8%
11North Carolina4,025+2.7%
12Washington3,989+3%
13New Jersey3,875-0.3%
14Massachusetts3,825-0.7%
15Colorado3,763+4.1%
16Tennessee2,912+4.4%
17Minnesota2,771-0.6%
18Missouri2,738+1.8%
19Wisconsin2,616-0.6%
20Arizona2,598+3.1%
21Maryland2,535-0.4%
22Indiana2,450+0.5%
23Oregon2,436+1.7%
24Alabama1,852+6.7%
25Kentucky1,819+1.4%
26Utah1,813+3.8%
27Connecticut1,778-1.4%
28South Carolina1,691+3.2%
29Iowa1,643+2.2%
30Louisiana1,590+4.1%
31Oklahoma1,569-0.4%
32Nevada1,467+2.7%
33Kansas1,407-2.2%
34Arkansas1,178+2.4%
35Mississippi1,071+5%
36Nebraska969-0.8%
37New Mexico842+2.4%
38Idaho829+3.8%
39District of Columbia812+4.9%
40Maine806-0.9%
41New Hampshire779+1%
42Montana689-1%
43West Virginia660-2.2%
44Delaware585+0.2%
45Hawaii562+5.4%
46Vermont502-1.8%
47South Dakota473-0.2%
48Rhode Island444-2%
49Wyoming421+5.3%
50Alaska416+0.5%
51North Dakota356+2.3%

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/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), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms (US states by employer establishments: information, 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), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: information, 2018. U.S. Census Bureau, 25 June 2020, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2018/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/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), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms. US states by employer establishments: information, 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-information/us-states?period=2018.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2020) County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: information, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2018/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/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), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms: US states by employer establishments: information, 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-information/us-states?period=2018. 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/2018/. 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, 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-information/us-states?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/us-states?period=2018.
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/2018/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest employer establishments: information?

California, with 26,339 in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest employer establishments: information?

North Dakota, with 356 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), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

US states: more rankings