Data / Rankings / Employer establishments: management of companies / US states

US states by employer establishments: management of companies

California had the highest employer establishments: management of companies of 51 states in 2021, at 4,996. Vermont had the lowest, at 72. The median was 661 and the figure for the United States was 52,072. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest4,996California
Lowest72Vermont
Median66151 states
United States52,072History

Map of states, 2021

Alabama: 583 countAlaska: 166 countArizona: 929 countArkansas: 1,044 countCalifornia: 4,996 countColorado: 988 countConnecticut: 683 countDelaware: 563 countDistrict of Columbia: 200 countFlorida: 2,897 countGeorgia: 1,698 countHawaii: 230 countIdaho: 243 countIllinois: 2,265 countIndiana: 851 countIowa: 505 countKansas: 614 countKentucky: 671 countLouisiana: 627 countMaine: 191 countMaryland: 1,281 countMassachusetts: 1,191 countMichigan: 1,500 countMinnesota: 1,176 countMississippi: 318 countMissouri: 1,332 countMontana: 127 countNebraska: 347 countNevada: 458 countNew Hampshire: 212 countNew Jersey: 1,448 countNew Mexico: 213 countNew York: 2,982 countNorth Carolina: 1,750 countNorth Dakota: 137 countOhio: 2,094 countOklahoma: 550 countOregon: 661 countPennsylvania: 2,270 countRhode Island: 154 countSouth Carolina: 650 countSouth Dakota: 140 countTennessee: 1,393 countTexas: 4,480 countUtah: 513 countVermont: 72 countVirginia: 1,251 countWashington: 1,125 countWest Virginia: 221 countWisconsin: 981 countWyoming: 101 count
  • Under 200
  • 200 to 490
  • 490 to 660
  • 660 to 1,100
  • 1,100 to 1,600
  • 1,600 and over
count, 2021. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), management of companies and enterprises (NAICS 55), all legal forms. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2021

California: 4,996 countCalifornia4,996Texas: 4,480 countTexas4,480New York: 2,982 countNew York2,982Florida: 2,897 countFlorida2,897Pennsylvania: 2,270 countPennsylvania2,270Illinois: 2,265 countIllinois2,265Ohio: 2,094 countOhio2,094North Carolina: 1,750 countNorth Carolina1,750Georgia: 1,698 countGeorgia1,698Michigan: 1,500 countMichigan1,500New Jersey: 1,448 countNew Jersey1,448Tennessee: 1,393 countTennessee1,393Missouri: 1,332 countMissouri1,332Maryland: 1,281 countMaryland1,281Virginia: 1,251 countVirginia1,251Massachusetts: 1,191 countMassachusetts1,191Minnesota: 1,176 countMinnesota1,176Washington: 1,125 countWashington1,125Arkansas: 1,044 countArkansas1,044Colorado: 988 countColorado988Wisconsin: 981 countWisconsin981Arizona: 929 countArizona929Indiana: 851 countIndiana851Connecticut: 683 countConnecticut683Kentucky: 671 countKentucky671Oregon: 661 countOregon661South Carolina: 650 countSouth Carolina650Louisiana: 627 countLouisiana627Kansas: 614 countKansas614Alabama: 583 countAlabama583Delaware: 563 countDelaware563Oklahoma: 550 countOklahoma550Utah: 513 countUtah513Iowa: 505 countIowa505Nevada: 458 countNevada458Nebraska: 347 countNebraska347Mississippi: 318 countMississippi318Idaho: 243 countIdaho243Hawaii: 230 countHawaii230West Virginia: 221 countWest Virginia221New Mexico: 213 countNew Mexico213New Hampshire: 212 countNew Hampshire212District of Columbia: 200 countDistrict of Columbia200Maine: 191 countMaine191Alaska: 166 countAlaska166Rhode Island: 154 countRhode Island154South Dakota: 140 countSouth Dakota140North Dakota: 137 countNorth Dakota137Montana: 127 countMontana127Wyoming: 101 countWyoming101Vermont: 72 countVermont72California: 4,996 countCalifornia4,996Texas: 4,480 countTexas4,480New York: 2,982 countNew York2,982Florida: 2,897 countFlorida2,897Pennsylvania: 2,270 countPennsylvania2,270Illinois: 2,265 countIllinois2,265Ohio: 2,094 countOhio2,094North Carolina: 1,750 countNorth Carolina1,750Georgia: 1,698 countGeorgia1,698Michigan: 1,500 countMichigan1,500New Jersey: 1,448 countNew Jersey1,448Tennessee: 1,393 countTennessee1,393Missouri: 1,332 countMissouri1,332Maryland: 1,281 countMaryland1,281Virginia: 1,251 countVirginia1,251Massachusetts: 1,191 countMassachusetts1,191Minnesota: 1,176 countMinnesota1,176Washington: 1,125 countWashington1,125Arkansas: 1,044 countArkansas1,044Colorado: 988 countColorado988Wisconsin: 981 countWisconsin981Arizona: 929 countArizona929Indiana: 851 countIndiana851Connecticut: 683 countConnecticut683Kentucky: 671 countKentucky671Oregon: 661 countOregon661South Carolina: 650 countSouth Carolina650Louisiana: 627 countLouisiana627Kansas: 614 countKansas614Alabama: 583 countAlabama583Delaware: 563 countDelaware563Oklahoma: 550 countOklahoma550Utah: 513 countUtah513Iowa: 505 countIowa505Nevada: 458 countNevada458Nebraska: 347 countNebraska347Mississippi: 318 countMississippi318Idaho: 243 countIdaho243Hawaii: 230 countHawaii230West Virginia: 221 countWest Virginia221New Mexico: 213 countNew Mexico213New Hampshire: 212 countNew Hampshire212District of Columbia: 200 countDistrict of Columbia200Maine: 191 countMaine191Alaska: 166 countAlaska166Rhode Island: 154 countRhode Island154South Dakota: 140 countSouth Dakota140North Dakota: 137 countNorth Dakota137Montana: 127 countMontana127Wyoming: 101 countWyoming101Vermont: 72 countVermont72
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), management of companies and enterprises (NAICS 55), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2021
count		Change on 2020
1California4,996-0.9%
2Texas4,480-1.6%
3New York2,982-0.7%
4Florida2,897+1.2%
5Pennsylvania2,270-0.7%
6Illinois2,265+0.7%
7Ohio2,0940%
8North Carolina1,750-2.5%
9Georgia1,698+1.6%
10Michigan1,500-1.7%
11New Jersey1,448-2.9%
12Tennessee1,393-1.1%
13Missouri1,332-2.6%
14Maryland1,281+4.2%
15Virginia1,251-3.2%
16Massachusetts1,191-2.9%
17Minnesota1,176-3.4%
18Washington1,125+0.8%
19Arkansas1,044-4%
20Colorado988-3.9%
21Wisconsin981-3.5%
22Arizona929-2.9%
23Indiana851-1%
24Connecticut683+0.3%
25Kentucky671+13.7%
26Oregon661-1.8%
27South Carolina650+1.9%
28Louisiana627+4.7%
29Kansas614-2.1%
30Alabama583+0.2%
31Delaware563-3.6%
32Oklahoma550+0.4%
33Utah513+1.8%
34Iowa505+0.8%
35Nevada458+1.8%
36Nebraska347+3%
37Mississippi318+1.6%
38Idaho243-0.4%
39Hawaii230-3%
40West Virginia221-0.9%
41New Mexico213-2.7%
42New Hampshire212+2.4%
43District of Columbia200-3.4%
44Maine191-1.5%
45Alaska166-1.8%
46Rhode Island154+0.7%
47South Dakota140+1.4%
48North Dakota137+6.2%
49Montana127+0.8%
50Wyoming101+17.4%
51Vermont72-4%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of establishments with paid employees in management of companies and enterprises (head offices and holding companies) (NAICS 55), 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), management of companies and enterprises (NAICS 55), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2021/. 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. (2023). County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), management of companies and enterprises (NAICS 55), all legal forms (US states by employer establishments: management of companies, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2021/

MLA 9

County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), management of companies and enterprises (NAICS 55), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: management of companies, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 27 Apr. 2023, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2021/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-management-companies/us-states?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2023. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), management of companies and enterprises (NAICS 55), all legal forms. US states by employer establishments: management of companies, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2021/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-management-companies/us-states?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2023) County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), management of companies and enterprises (NAICS 55), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: management of companies, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2021/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-management-companies/us-states?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_employer_2021,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), management of companies and enterprises (NAICS 55), all legal forms: US states by employer establishments: management of companies, 2021}},
  year = {2023},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2021/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-management-companies/us-states?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), management of companies and enterprises (NAICS 55), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2021/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), management of companies and enterprises (NAICS 55), all legal forms: US states by employer establishments: management of companies, 2021
PY  - 2023
DA  - 2023/04/27
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2021/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-management-companies/us-states?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-management-companies/us-states?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), management of companies and enterprises (NAICS 55), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2021/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest employer establishments: management of companies?

California, with 4,996 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest employer establishments: management of companies?

Vermont, with 72 in 2021.

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), management of companies and enterprises (NAICS 55), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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