Data / Rankings / Employer establishments: information / US states

US states by employer establishments: information

California had the highest employer establishments: information of 51 states in 2019, at 27,180. North Dakota had the lowest, at 350. The median was 1,825 and the figure for the United States was 159,260. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest27,180California
Lowest350North Dakota
Median1,82551 states
United States159,260History

Map of states, 2019

Alabama: 1,852 countAlaska: 415 countArizona: 2,632 countArkansas: 1,186 countCalifornia: 27,180 countColorado: 3,865 countConnecticut: 1,825 countDelaware: 654 countDistrict of Columbia: 864 countFlorida: 9,803 countGeorgia: 4,994 countHawaii: 566 countIdaho: 842 countIllinois: 6,093 countIndiana: 2,479 countIowa: 1,616 countKansas: 1,422 countKentucky: 1,823 countLouisiana: 1,567 countMaine: 806 countMaryland: 2,488 countMassachusetts: 3,848 countMichigan: 4,170 countMinnesota: 2,712 countMississippi: 1,048 countMissouri: 2,723 countMontana: 694 countNebraska: 965 countNevada: 1,488 countNew Hampshire: 777 countNew Jersey: 3,859 countNew Mexico: 853 countNew York: 12,321 countNorth Carolina: 4,046 countNorth Dakota: 350 countOhio: 4,333 countOklahoma: 1,566 countOregon: 2,370 countPennsylvania: 5,645 countRhode Island: 435 countSouth Carolina: 1,717 countSouth Dakota: 474 countTennessee: 2,914 countTexas: 10,966 countUtah: 1,832 countVermont: 488 countVirginia: 4,050 countWashington: 4,018 countWest Virginia: 668 countWisconsin: 2,537 countWyoming: 421 count
  • Under 700
  • 700 to 1,100
  • 1,100 to 1,800
  • 1,800 to 2,700
  • 2,700 to 4,100
  • 4,100 and over
count, 2019. 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, 2019

California: 27,180 countCalifornia27,180New York: 12,321 countNew York12,321Texas: 10,966 countTexas10,966Florida: 9,803 countFlorida9,803Illinois: 6,093 countIllinois6,093Pennsylvania: 5,645 countPennsylvania5,645Georgia: 4,994 countGeorgia4,994Ohio: 4,333 countOhio4,333Michigan: 4,170 countMichigan4,170Virginia: 4,050 countVirginia4,050North Carolina: 4,046 countNorth Carolina4,046Washington: 4,018 countWashington4,018Colorado: 3,865 countColorado3,865New Jersey: 3,859 countNew Jersey3,859Massachusetts: 3,848 countMassachusetts3,848Tennessee: 2,914 countTennessee2,914Missouri: 2,723 countMissouri2,723Minnesota: 2,712 countMinnesota2,712Arizona: 2,632 countArizona2,632Wisconsin: 2,537 countWisconsin2,537Maryland: 2,488 countMaryland2,488Indiana: 2,479 countIndiana2,479Oregon: 2,370 countOregon2,370Alabama: 1,852 countAlabama1,852Utah: 1,832 countUtah1,832Connecticut: 1,825 countConnecticut1,825Kentucky: 1,823 countKentucky1,823South Carolina: 1,717 countSouth Carolina1,717Iowa: 1,616 countIowa1,616Louisiana: 1,567 countLouisiana1,567Oklahoma: 1,566 countOklahoma1,566Nevada: 1,488 countNevada1,488Kansas: 1,422 countKansas1,422Arkansas: 1,186 countArkansas1,186Mississippi: 1,048 countMississippi1,048Nebraska: 965 countNebraska965District of Columbia: 864 countDistrict of Columbia864New Mexico: 853 countNew Mexico853Idaho: 842 countIdaho842Maine: 806 countMaine806New Hampshire: 777 countNew Hampshire777Montana: 694 countMontana694West Virginia: 668 countWest Virginia668Delaware: 654 countDelaware654Hawaii: 566 countHawaii566Vermont: 488 countVermont488South Dakota: 474 countSouth Dakota474Rhode Island: 435 countRhode Island435Wyoming: 421 countWyoming421Alaska: 415 countAlaska415North Dakota: 350 countNorth Dakota350California: 27,180 countCalifornia27,180New York: 12,321 countNew York12,321Texas: 10,966 countTexas10,966Florida: 9,803 countFlorida9,803Illinois: 6,093 countIllinois6,093Pennsylvania: 5,645 countPennsylvania5,645Georgia: 4,994 countGeorgia4,994Ohio: 4,333 countOhio4,333Michigan: 4,170 countMichigan4,170Virginia: 4,050 countVirginia4,050North Carolina: 4,046 countNorth Carolina4,046Washington: 4,018 countWashington4,018Colorado: 3,865 countColorado3,865New Jersey: 3,859 countNew Jersey3,859Massachusetts: 3,848 countMassachusetts3,848Tennessee: 2,914 countTennessee2,914Missouri: 2,723 countMissouri2,723Minnesota: 2,712 countMinnesota2,712Arizona: 2,632 countArizona2,632Wisconsin: 2,537 countWisconsin2,537Maryland: 2,488 countMaryland2,488Indiana: 2,479 countIndiana2,479Oregon: 2,370 countOregon2,370Alabama: 1,852 countAlabama1,852Utah: 1,832 countUtah1,832Connecticut: 1,825 countConnecticut1,825Kentucky: 1,823 countKentucky1,823South Carolina: 1,717 countSouth Carolina1,717Iowa: 1,616 countIowa1,616Louisiana: 1,567 countLouisiana1,567Oklahoma: 1,566 countOklahoma1,566Nevada: 1,488 countNevada1,488Kansas: 1,422 countKansas1,422Arkansas: 1,186 countArkansas1,186Mississippi: 1,048 countMississippi1,048Nebraska: 965 countNebraska965District of Columbia: 864 countDistrict of Columbia864New Mexico: 853 countNew Mexico853Idaho: 842 countIdaho842Maine: 806 countMaine806New Hampshire: 777 countNew Hampshire777Montana: 694 countMontana694West Virginia: 668 countWest Virginia668Delaware: 654 countDelaware654Hawaii: 566 countHawaii566Vermont: 488 countVermont488South Dakota: 474 countSouth Dakota474Rhode Island: 435 countRhode Island435Wyoming: 421 countWyoming421Alaska: 415 countAlaska415North Dakota: 350 countNorth Dakota350
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

RankStates2019
count		Change on 2018
1California27,180+3.2%
2New York12,321+1.9%
3Texas10,966+0.4%
4Florida9,803+2.1%
5Illinois6,093-0.1%
6Pennsylvania5,645-0.2%
7Georgia4,994+2.1%
8Ohio4,333+0.8%
9Michigan4,170-1.5%
10Virginia4,050-0.5%
11North Carolina4,046+0.5%
12Washington4,018+0.7%
13Colorado3,865+2.7%
14New Jersey3,859-0.4%
15Massachusetts3,848+0.6%
16Tennessee2,914+0.1%
17Missouri2,723-0.5%
18Minnesota2,712-2.1%
19Arizona2,632+1.3%
20Wisconsin2,537-3%
21Maryland2,488-1.9%
22Indiana2,479+1.2%
23Oregon2,370-2.7%
24Alabama1,8520%
25Utah1,832+1%
26Connecticut1,825+2.6%
27Kentucky1,823+0.2%
28South Carolina1,717+1.5%
29Iowa1,616-1.6%
30Louisiana1,567-1.4%
31Oklahoma1,566-0.2%
32Nevada1,488+1.4%
33Kansas1,422+1.1%
34Arkansas1,186+0.7%
35Mississippi1,048-2.1%
36Nebraska965-0.4%
37District of Columbia864+6.4%
38New Mexico853+1.3%
39Idaho842+1.6%
40Maine8060%
41New Hampshire777-0.3%
42Montana694+0.7%
43West Virginia668+1.2%
44Delaware654+11.8%
45Hawaii566+0.7%
46Vermont488-2.8%
47South Dakota474+0.2%
48Rhode Island435-2%
49Wyoming4210%
50Alaska415-0.2%
51North Dakota350-1.7%

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/2019/. 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. (2021). County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms (US states by employer establishments: information, 2019) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2019/

MLA 9

County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: information, 2019. U.S. Census Bureau, 22 Apr. 2021, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2019/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/us-states?period=2019. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2021. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms. US states by employer establishments: information, 2019. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2019/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/us-states?period=2019.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2021) County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: information, 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2019/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/us-states?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_employer_2019,
  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, 2019}},
  year = {2021},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2019/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/us-states?period=2019. 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/2019/. 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, 2019
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/04/22
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2019/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/us-states?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-information/us-states?period=2019.
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/2019/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest employer establishments: information?

California, with 27,180 in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest employer establishments: information?

North Dakota, with 350 in 2019.

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