Data / Rankings / Employer establishments: manufacturing / US states

US states by employer establishments: manufacturing

California had the highest employer establishments: manufacturing of 51 states in 2012, at 38,789. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 114. The median was 3,776 and the figure for the United States was 297,221. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest38,789California
Lowest114District of Columbia
Median3,77651 states
United States297,221History

Map of states, 2012

Alabama: 4,288 countAlaska: 524 countArizona: 4,269 countArkansas: 2,682 countCalifornia: 38,789 countColorado: 4,924 countConnecticut: 4,357 countDelaware: 575 countDistrict of Columbia: 114 countFlorida: 12,872 countGeorgia: 7,438 countHawaii: 794 countIdaho: 1,768 countIllinois: 13,890 countIndiana: 8,142 countIowa: 3,603 countKansas: 2,889 countKentucky: 3,776 countLouisiana: 3,307 countMaine: 1,655 countMaryland: 3,095 countMassachusetts: 6,815 countMichigan: 12,482 countMinnesota: 7,328 countMississippi: 2,243 countMissouri: 6,097 countMontana: 1,240 countNebraska: 1,849 countNevada: 1,712 countNew Hampshire: 1,854 countNew Jersey: 7,772 countNew Mexico: 1,401 countNew York: 16,528 countNorth Carolina: 8,961 countNorth Dakota: 746 countOhio: 14,489 countOklahoma: 3,615 countOregon: 5,289 countPennsylvania: 13,995 countRhode Island: 1,511 countSouth Carolina: 3,867 countSouth Dakota: 1,024 countTennessee: 5,833 countTexas: 19,777 countUtah: 3,169 countVermont: 1,011 countVirginia: 5,084 countWashington: 7,000 countWest Virginia: 1,248 countWisconsin: 8,977 countWyoming: 553 count
  • Under 1,200
  • 1,200 to 2,100
  • 2,100 to 3,800
  • 3,800 to 5,900
  • 5,900 to 9,000
  • 9,000 and over
count, 2012. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), manufacturing (NAICS 31-33), all legal forms. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2012

California: 38,789 countCalifornia38,789Texas: 19,777 countTexas19,777New York: 16,528 countNew York16,528Ohio: 14,489 countOhio14,489Pennsylvania: 13,995 countPennsylvania13,995Illinois: 13,890 countIllinois13,890Florida: 12,872 countFlorida12,872Michigan: 12,482 countMichigan12,482Wisconsin: 8,977 countWisconsin8,977North Carolina: 8,961 countNorth Carolina8,961Indiana: 8,142 countIndiana8,142New Jersey: 7,772 countNew Jersey7,772Georgia: 7,438 countGeorgia7,438Minnesota: 7,328 countMinnesota7,328Washington: 7,000 countWashington7,000Massachusetts: 6,815 countMassachusetts6,815Missouri: 6,097 countMissouri6,097Tennessee: 5,833 countTennessee5,833Oregon: 5,289 countOregon5,289Virginia: 5,084 countVirginia5,084Colorado: 4,924 countColorado4,924Connecticut: 4,357 countConnecticut4,357Alabama: 4,288 countAlabama4,288Arizona: 4,269 countArizona4,269South Carolina: 3,867 countSouth Carolina3,867Kentucky: 3,776 countKentucky3,776Oklahoma: 3,615 countOklahoma3,615Iowa: 3,603 countIowa3,603Louisiana: 3,307 countLouisiana3,307Utah: 3,169 countUtah3,169Maryland: 3,095 countMaryland3,095Kansas: 2,889 countKansas2,889Arkansas: 2,682 countArkansas2,682Mississippi: 2,243 countMississippi2,243New Hampshire: 1,854 countNew Hampshire1,854Nebraska: 1,849 countNebraska1,849Idaho: 1,768 countIdaho1,768Nevada: 1,712 countNevada1,712Maine: 1,655 countMaine1,655Rhode Island: 1,511 countRhode Island1,511New Mexico: 1,401 countNew Mexico1,401West Virginia: 1,248 countWest Virginia1,248Montana: 1,240 countMontana1,240South Dakota: 1,024 countSouth Dakota1,024Vermont: 1,011 countVermont1,011Hawaii: 794 countHawaii794North Dakota: 746 countNorth Dakota746Delaware: 575 countDelaware575Wyoming: 553 countWyoming553Alaska: 524 countAlaska524District of Columbia: 114 countDistrict of Columbia114California: 38,789 countCalifornia38,789Texas: 19,777 countTexas19,777New York: 16,528 countNew York16,528Ohio: 14,489 countOhio14,489Pennsylvania: 13,995 countPennsylvania13,995Illinois: 13,890 countIllinois13,890Florida: 12,872 countFlorida12,872Michigan: 12,482 countMichigan12,482Wisconsin: 8,977 countWisconsin8,977North Carolina: 8,961 countNorth Carolina8,961Indiana: 8,142 countIndiana8,142New Jersey: 7,772 countNew Jersey7,772Georgia: 7,438 countGeorgia7,438Minnesota: 7,328 countMinnesota7,328Washington: 7,000 countWashington7,000Massachusetts: 6,815 countMassachusetts6,815Missouri: 6,097 countMissouri6,097Tennessee: 5,833 countTennessee5,833Oregon: 5,289 countOregon5,289Virginia: 5,084 countVirginia5,084Colorado: 4,924 countColorado4,924Connecticut: 4,357 countConnecticut4,357Alabama: 4,288 countAlabama4,288Arizona: 4,269 countArizona4,269South Carolina: 3,867 countSouth Carolina3,867Kentucky: 3,776 countKentucky3,776Oklahoma: 3,615 countOklahoma3,615Iowa: 3,603 countIowa3,603Louisiana: 3,307 countLouisiana3,307Utah: 3,169 countUtah3,169Maryland: 3,095 countMaryland3,095Kansas: 2,889 countKansas2,889Arkansas: 2,682 countArkansas2,682Mississippi: 2,243 countMississippi2,243New Hampshire: 1,854 countNew Hampshire1,854Nebraska: 1,849 countNebraska1,849Idaho: 1,768 countIdaho1,768Nevada: 1,712 countNevada1,712Maine: 1,655 countMaine1,655Rhode Island: 1,511 countRhode Island1,511New Mexico: 1,401 countNew Mexico1,401West Virginia: 1,248 countWest Virginia1,248Montana: 1,240 countMontana1,240South Dakota: 1,024 countSouth Dakota1,024Vermont: 1,011 countVermont1,011Hawaii: 794 countHawaii794North Dakota: 746 countNorth Dakota746Delaware: 575 countDelaware575Wyoming: 553 countWyoming553Alaska: 524 countAlaska524District of Columbia: 114 countDistrict of Columbia114
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), manufacturing (NAICS 31-33), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2012
count
1California38,789
2Texas19,777
3New York16,528
4Ohio14,489
5Pennsylvania13,995
6Illinois13,890
7Florida12,872
8Michigan12,482
9Wisconsin8,977
10North Carolina8,961
11Indiana8,142
12New Jersey7,772
13Georgia7,438
14Minnesota7,328
15Washington7,000
16Massachusetts6,815
17Missouri6,097
18Tennessee5,833
19Oregon5,289
20Virginia5,084
21Colorado4,924
22Connecticut4,357
23Alabama4,288
24Arizona4,269
25South Carolina3,867
26Kentucky3,776
27Oklahoma3,615
28Iowa3,603
29Louisiana3,307
30Utah3,169
31Maryland3,095
32Kansas2,889
33Arkansas2,682
34Mississippi2,243
35New Hampshire1,854
36Nebraska1,849
37Idaho1,768
38Nevada1,712
39Maine1,655
40Rhode Island1,511
41New Mexico1,401
42West Virginia1,248
43Montana1,240
44South Dakota1,024
45Vermont1,011
46Hawaii794
47North Dakota746
48Delaware575
49Wyoming553
50Alaska524
51District of Columbia114

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of establishments with paid employees in manufacturing (NAICS 31-33), 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), manufacturing (NAICS 31-33), 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), manufacturing (NAICS 31-33), all legal forms (US states by employer establishments: manufacturing, 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), manufacturing (NAICS 31-33), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: manufacturing, 2012. U.S. Census Bureau, 12 Sept. 2018, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2012/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-manufacturing/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), manufacturing (NAICS 31-33), all legal forms. US states by employer establishments: manufacturing, 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-manufacturing/us-states?period=2012.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2018) County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), manufacturing (NAICS 31-33), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: manufacturing, 2012 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2012/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-manufacturing/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), manufacturing (NAICS 31-33), all legal forms: US states by employer establishments: manufacturing, 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-manufacturing/us-states?period=2012. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), manufacturing (NAICS 31-33), 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), manufacturing (NAICS 31-33), all legal forms: US states by employer establishments: manufacturing, 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-manufacturing/us-states?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-manufacturing/us-states?period=2012.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), manufacturing (NAICS 31-33), 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: manufacturing?

California, with 38,789 in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest employer establishments: manufacturing?

District of Columbia, with 114 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), manufacturing (NAICS 31-33), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

US states: more rankings