Data / Rankings / Employer establishments: manufacturing / US states

US states by employer establishments: manufacturing

California had the highest employer establishments: manufacturing of 51 states in 2021, at 35,874. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 108. The median was 3,621 and the figure for the United States was 283,015. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest35,874California
Lowest108District of Columbia
Median3,62151 states
United States283,015History

Map of states, 2021

Alabama: 4,138 countAlaska: 564 countArizona: 4,336 countArkansas: 2,516 countCalifornia: 35,874 countColorado: 5,114 countConnecticut: 3,776 countDelaware: 602 countDistrict of Columbia: 108 countFlorida: 13,555 countGeorgia: 7,651 countHawaii: 735 countIdaho: 2,025 countIllinois: 12,451 countIndiana: 7,848 countIowa: 3,420 countKansas: 2,673 countKentucky: 3,621 countLouisiana: 3,004 countMaine: 1,696 countMaryland: 2,853 countMassachusetts: 5,998 countMichigan: 12,088 countMinnesota: 6,793 countMississippi: 2,024 countMissouri: 5,535 countMontana: 1,381 countNebraska: 1,759 countNevada: 1,944 countNew Hampshire: 1,737 countNew Jersey: 6,969 countNew Mexico: 1,326 countNew York: 13,938 countNorth Carolina: 8,537 countNorth Dakota: 670 countOhio: 13,369 countOklahoma: 3,256 countOregon: 5,328 countPennsylvania: 13,208 countRhode Island: 1,189 countSouth Carolina: 3,890 countSouth Dakota: 1,032 countTennessee: 5,727 countTexas: 20,399 countUtah: 3,550 countVermont: 1,002 countVirginia: 4,924 countWashington: 6,758 countWest Virginia: 1,065 countWisconsin: 8,457 countWyoming: 602 count
  • Under 1,100
  • 1,100 to 2,000
  • 2,000 to 3,600
  • 3,600 to 5,600
  • 5,600 to 8,500
  • 8,500 and over
count, 2021. 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, 2021

California: 35,874 countCalifornia35,874Texas: 20,399 countTexas20,399New York: 13,938 countNew York13,938Florida: 13,555 countFlorida13,555Ohio: 13,369 countOhio13,369Pennsylvania: 13,208 countPennsylvania13,208Illinois: 12,451 countIllinois12,451Michigan: 12,088 countMichigan12,088North Carolina: 8,537 countNorth Carolina8,537Wisconsin: 8,457 countWisconsin8,457Indiana: 7,848 countIndiana7,848Georgia: 7,651 countGeorgia7,651New Jersey: 6,969 countNew Jersey6,969Minnesota: 6,793 countMinnesota6,793Washington: 6,758 countWashington6,758Massachusetts: 5,998 countMassachusetts5,998Tennessee: 5,727 countTennessee5,727Missouri: 5,535 countMissouri5,535Oregon: 5,328 countOregon5,328Colorado: 5,114 countColorado5,114Virginia: 4,924 countVirginia4,924Arizona: 4,336 countArizona4,336Alabama: 4,138 countAlabama4,138South Carolina: 3,890 countSouth Carolina3,890Connecticut: 3,776 countConnecticut3,776Kentucky: 3,621 countKentucky3,621Utah: 3,550 countUtah3,550Iowa: 3,420 countIowa3,420Oklahoma: 3,256 countOklahoma3,256Louisiana: 3,004 countLouisiana3,004Maryland: 2,853 countMaryland2,853Kansas: 2,673 countKansas2,673Arkansas: 2,516 countArkansas2,516Idaho: 2,025 countIdaho2,025Mississippi: 2,024 countMississippi2,024Nevada: 1,944 countNevada1,944Nebraska: 1,759 countNebraska1,759New Hampshire: 1,737 countNew Hampshire1,737Maine: 1,696 countMaine1,696Montana: 1,381 countMontana1,381New Mexico: 1,326 countNew Mexico1,326Rhode Island: 1,189 countRhode Island1,189West Virginia: 1,065 countWest Virginia1,065South Dakota: 1,032 countSouth Dakota1,032Vermont: 1,002 countVermont1,002Hawaii: 735 countHawaii735North Dakota: 670 countNorth Dakota670Delaware: 602 countDelaware602Wyoming: 602 countWyoming602Alaska: 564 countAlaska564District of Columbia: 108 countDistrict of Columbia108California: 35,874 countCalifornia35,874Texas: 20,399 countTexas20,399New York: 13,938 countNew York13,938Florida: 13,555 countFlorida13,555Ohio: 13,369 countOhio13,369Pennsylvania: 13,208 countPennsylvania13,208Illinois: 12,451 countIllinois12,451Michigan: 12,088 countMichigan12,088North Carolina: 8,537 countNorth Carolina8,537Wisconsin: 8,457 countWisconsin8,457Indiana: 7,848 countIndiana7,848Georgia: 7,651 countGeorgia7,651New Jersey: 6,969 countNew Jersey6,969Minnesota: 6,793 countMinnesota6,793Washington: 6,758 countWashington6,758Massachusetts: 5,998 countMassachusetts5,998Tennessee: 5,727 countTennessee5,727Missouri: 5,535 countMissouri5,535Oregon: 5,328 countOregon5,328Colorado: 5,114 countColorado5,114Virginia: 4,924 countVirginia4,924Arizona: 4,336 countArizona4,336Alabama: 4,138 countAlabama4,138South Carolina: 3,890 countSouth Carolina3,890Connecticut: 3,776 countConnecticut3,776Kentucky: 3,621 countKentucky3,621Utah: 3,550 countUtah3,550Iowa: 3,420 countIowa3,420Oklahoma: 3,256 countOklahoma3,256Louisiana: 3,004 countLouisiana3,004Maryland: 2,853 countMaryland2,853Kansas: 2,673 countKansas2,673Arkansas: 2,516 countArkansas2,516Idaho: 2,025 countIdaho2,025Mississippi: 2,024 countMississippi2,024Nevada: 1,944 countNevada1,944Nebraska: 1,759 countNebraska1,759New Hampshire: 1,737 countNew Hampshire1,737Maine: 1,696 countMaine1,696Montana: 1,381 countMontana1,381New Mexico: 1,326 countNew Mexico1,326Rhode Island: 1,189 countRhode Island1,189West Virginia: 1,065 countWest Virginia1,065South Dakota: 1,032 countSouth Dakota1,032Vermont: 1,002 countVermont1,002Hawaii: 735 countHawaii735North Dakota: 670 countNorth Dakota670Delaware: 602 countDelaware602Wyoming: 602 countWyoming602Alaska: 564 countAlaska564District of Columbia: 108 countDistrict of Columbia108
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

RankStates2021
count		Change on 2020
1California35,874-0.5%
2Texas20,399+1.1%
3New York13,938-2.2%
4Florida13,555+1.9%
5Ohio13,369-0.9%
6Pennsylvania13,208-0.2%
7Illinois12,451-1.4%
8Michigan12,088-0.5%
9North Carolina8,537-0.1%
10Wisconsin8,457-0.8%
11Indiana7,848-0%
12Georgia7,651+1.4%
13New Jersey6,969-1.4%
14Minnesota6,793-0.9%
15Washington6,758-0.4%
16Massachusetts5,998-1.8%
17Tennessee5,727+0.6%
18Missouri5,535-0.3%
19Oregon5,328-0%
20Colorado5,114-0.1%
21Virginia4,924+0.4%
22Arizona4,336+1.6%
23Alabama4,138+0.9%
24South Carolina3,890+0.3%
25Connecticut3,776-0.9%
26Kentucky3,621-0.7%
27Utah3,550+2.9%
28Iowa3,420-0.2%
29Oklahoma3,256-1.5%
30Louisiana3,004-2.1%
31Maryland2,853-1.3%
32Kansas2,6730%
33Arkansas2,516-0.4%
34Idaho2,025+4.9%
35Mississippi2,024+0.9%
36Nevada1,944+2.3%
37Nebraska1,759+1.2%
38New Hampshire1,737-1%
39Maine1,696+1.1%
40Montana1,381+2.2%
41New Mexico1,326+0.9%
42Rhode Island1,189-3.2%
43West Virginia1,065-0.6%
44South Dakota1,032-0.4%
45Vermont1,002-1.3%
46Hawaii735-3.3%
47North Dakota670-3.6%
48Delaware602+3.8%
48Wyoming602+1%
50Alaska564+2.7%
51District of Columbia108+1.9%

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/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), manufacturing (NAICS 31-33), all legal forms (US states by employer establishments: manufacturing, 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), manufacturing (NAICS 31-33), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: manufacturing, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 27 Apr. 2023, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2021/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-manufacturing/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), manufacturing (NAICS 31-33), all legal forms. US states by employer establishments: manufacturing, 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-manufacturing/us-states?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2023) County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), manufacturing (NAICS 31-33), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: manufacturing, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2021/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-manufacturing/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), manufacturing (NAICS 31-33), all legal forms: US states by employer establishments: manufacturing, 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-manufacturing/us-states?period=2021. 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/2021/. 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, 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-manufacturing/us-states?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-manufacturing/us-states?period=2021.
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/2021/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest employer establishments: manufacturing?

California, with 35,874 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest employer establishments: manufacturing?

District of Columbia, with 108 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), manufacturing (NAICS 31-33), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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