Data / Rankings / Employer establishments: professional, scientific and technical services / US states

US states by employer establishments: professional, scientific and technical services

California had the highest employer establishments: professional, scientific and technical services of 51 states in 2012, at 115,018. North Dakota had the lowest, at 1,716. The median was 9,489 and the figure for the United States was 859,182. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest115,018California
Lowest1,716North Dakota
Median9,48951 states
United States859,182History

Map of states, 2012

Alabama: 9,138 countAlaska: 1,908 countArizona: 16,316 countArkansas: 5,700 countCalifornia: 115,018 countColorado: 23,980 countConnecticut: 9,245 countDelaware: 2,557 countDistrict of Columbia: 5,040 countFlorida: 70,964 countGeorgia: 28,153 countHawaii: 3,253 countIdaho: 4,243 countIllinois: 38,807 countIndiana: 12,880 countIowa: 6,250 countKansas: 7,122 countKentucky: 8,111 countLouisiana: 11,767 countMaine: 3,507 countMaryland: 19,710 countMassachusetts: 21,469 countMichigan: 21,668 countMinnesota: 16,428 countMississippi: 4,756 countMissouri: 13,280 countMontana: 3,584 countNebraska: 4,450 countNevada: 8,166 countNew Hampshire: 3,842 countNew Jersey: 29,462 countNew Mexico: 4,686 countNew York: 59,490 countNorth Carolina: 22,926 countNorth Dakota: 1,716 countOhio: 23,994 countOklahoma: 9,489 countOregon: 11,737 countPennsylvania: 29,366 countRhode Island: 3,008 countSouth Carolina: 9,729 countSouth Dakota: 1,827 countTennessee: 10,883 countTexas: 62,436 countUtah: 9,078 countVermont: 2,129 countVirginia: 29,338 countWashington: 20,102 countWest Virginia: 2,984 countWisconsin: 11,330 countWyoming: 2,160 count
  • Under 3,000
  • 3,000 to 5,000
  • 5,000 to 9,000
  • 9,000 to 16K
  • 16K to 27K
  • 27K and over
count, 2012. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), all legal forms. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2012

California: 115,018 countCalifornia115,018Florida: 70,964 countFlorida70,964Texas: 62,436 countTexas62,436New York: 59,490 countNew York59,490Illinois: 38,807 countIllinois38,807New Jersey: 29,462 countNew Jersey29,462Pennsylvania: 29,366 countPennsylvania29,366Virginia: 29,338 countVirginia29,338Georgia: 28,153 countGeorgia28,153Ohio: 23,994 countOhio23,994Colorado: 23,980 countColorado23,980North Carolina: 22,926 countNorth Carolina22,926Michigan: 21,668 countMichigan21,668Massachusetts: 21,469 countMassachusetts21,469Washington: 20,102 countWashington20,102Maryland: 19,710 countMaryland19,710Minnesota: 16,428 countMinnesota16,428Arizona: 16,316 countArizona16,316Missouri: 13,280 countMissouri13,280Indiana: 12,880 countIndiana12,880Louisiana: 11,767 countLouisiana11,767Oregon: 11,737 countOregon11,737Wisconsin: 11,330 countWisconsin11,330Tennessee: 10,883 countTennessee10,883South Carolina: 9,729 countSouth Carolina9,729Oklahoma: 9,489 countOklahoma9,489Connecticut: 9,245 countConnecticut9,245Alabama: 9,138 countAlabama9,138Utah: 9,078 countUtah9,078Nevada: 8,166 countNevada8,166Kentucky: 8,111 countKentucky8,111Kansas: 7,122 countKansas7,122Iowa: 6,250 countIowa6,250Arkansas: 5,700 countArkansas5,700District of Columbia: 5,040 countDistrict of Columbia5,040Mississippi: 4,756 countMississippi4,756New Mexico: 4,686 countNew Mexico4,686Nebraska: 4,450 countNebraska4,450Idaho: 4,243 countIdaho4,243New Hampshire: 3,842 countNew Hampshire3,842Montana: 3,584 countMontana3,584Maine: 3,507 countMaine3,507Hawaii: 3,253 countHawaii3,253Rhode Island: 3,008 countRhode Island3,008West Virginia: 2,984 countWest Virginia2,984Delaware: 2,557 countDelaware2,557Wyoming: 2,160 countWyoming2,160Vermont: 2,129 countVermont2,129Alaska: 1,908 countAlaska1,908South Dakota: 1,827 countSouth Dakota1,827North Dakota: 1,716 countNorth Dakota1,716California: 115,018 countCalifornia115,018Florida: 70,964 countFlorida70,964Texas: 62,436 countTexas62,436New York: 59,490 countNew York59,490Illinois: 38,807 countIllinois38,807New Jersey: 29,462 countNew Jersey29,462Pennsylvania: 29,366 countPennsylvania29,366Virginia: 29,338 countVirginia29,338Georgia: 28,153 countGeorgia28,153Ohio: 23,994 countOhio23,994Colorado: 23,980 countColorado23,980North Carolina: 22,926 countNorth Carolina22,926Michigan: 21,668 countMichigan21,668Massachusetts: 21,469 countMassachusetts21,469Washington: 20,102 countWashington20,102Maryland: 19,710 countMaryland19,710Minnesota: 16,428 countMinnesota16,428Arizona: 16,316 countArizona16,316Missouri: 13,280 countMissouri13,280Indiana: 12,880 countIndiana12,880Louisiana: 11,767 countLouisiana11,767Oregon: 11,737 countOregon11,737Wisconsin: 11,330 countWisconsin11,330Tennessee: 10,883 countTennessee10,883South Carolina: 9,729 countSouth Carolina9,729Oklahoma: 9,489 countOklahoma9,489Connecticut: 9,245 countConnecticut9,245Alabama: 9,138 countAlabama9,138Utah: 9,078 countUtah9,078Nevada: 8,166 countNevada8,166Kentucky: 8,111 countKentucky8,111Kansas: 7,122 countKansas7,122Iowa: 6,250 countIowa6,250Arkansas: 5,700 countArkansas5,700District of Columbia: 5,040 countDistrict of Columbia5,040Mississippi: 4,756 countMississippi4,756New Mexico: 4,686 countNew Mexico4,686Nebraska: 4,450 countNebraska4,450Idaho: 4,243 countIdaho4,243New Hampshire: 3,842 countNew Hampshire3,842Montana: 3,584 countMontana3,584Maine: 3,507 countMaine3,507Hawaii: 3,253 countHawaii3,253Rhode Island: 3,008 countRhode Island3,008West Virginia: 2,984 countWest Virginia2,984Delaware: 2,557 countDelaware2,557Wyoming: 2,160 countWyoming2,160Vermont: 2,129 countVermont2,129Alaska: 1,908 countAlaska1,908South Dakota: 1,827 countSouth Dakota1,827North Dakota: 1,716 countNorth Dakota1,716
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2012
count
1California115,018
2Florida70,964
3Texas62,436
4New York59,490
5Illinois38,807
6New Jersey29,462
7Pennsylvania29,366
8Virginia29,338
9Georgia28,153
10Ohio23,994
11Colorado23,980
12North Carolina22,926
13Michigan21,668
14Massachusetts21,469
15Washington20,102
16Maryland19,710
17Minnesota16,428
18Arizona16,316
19Missouri13,280
20Indiana12,880
21Louisiana11,767
22Oregon11,737
23Wisconsin11,330
24Tennessee10,883
25South Carolina9,729
26Oklahoma9,489
27Connecticut9,245
28Alabama9,138
29Utah9,078
30Nevada8,166
31Kentucky8,111
32Kansas7,122
33Iowa6,250
34Arkansas5,700
35District of Columbia5,040
36Mississippi4,756
37New Mexico4,686
38Nebraska4,450
39Idaho4,243
40New Hampshire3,842
41Montana3,584
42Maine3,507
43Hawaii3,253
44Rhode Island3,008
45West Virginia2,984
46Delaware2,557
47Wyoming2,160
48Vermont2,129
49Alaska1,908
50South Dakota1,827
51North Dakota1,716

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of establishments with paid employees in professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), 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), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), 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), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), all legal forms (US states by employer establishments: professional, scientific and technical services, 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), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: professional, scientific and technical services, 2012. U.S. Census Bureau, 12 Sept. 2018, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2012/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-professional-services/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), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), all legal forms. US states by employer establishments: professional, scientific and technical services, 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-professional-services/us-states?period=2012.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2018) County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: professional, scientific and technical services, 2012 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2012/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-professional-services/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), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), all legal forms: US states by employer establishments: professional, scientific and technical services, 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-professional-services/us-states?period=2012. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), 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), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), all legal forms: US states by employer establishments: professional, scientific and technical services, 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-professional-services/us-states?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-professional-services/us-states?period=2012.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), 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: professional, scientific and technical services?

California, with 115,018 in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest employer establishments: professional, scientific and technical services?

North Dakota, with 1,716 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), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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