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 2018, at 130,204. North Dakota had the lowest, at 1,837. The median was 11,060 and the figure for the United States was 921,521. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest130,204California
Lowest1,837North Dakota
Median11,06051 states
United States921,521History

Map of states, 2018

Alabama: 9,456 countAlaska: 1,959 countArizona: 18,467 countArkansas: 6,003 countCalifornia: 130,204 countColorado: 26,856 countConnecticut: 9,134 countDelaware: 3,128 countDistrict of Columbia: 5,840 countFlorida: 80,627 countGeorgia: 30,007 countHawaii: 3,413 countIdaho: 4,881 countIllinois: 38,599 countIndiana: 12,982 countIowa: 6,531 countKansas: 7,138 countKentucky: 8,100 countLouisiana: 12,300 countMaine: 3,544 countMaryland: 20,870 countMassachusetts: 21,874 countMichigan: 21,689 countMinnesota: 16,580 countMississippi: 4,689 countMissouri: 14,088 countMontana: 3,921 countNebraska: 4,679 countNevada: 9,220 countNew Hampshire: 3,644 countNew Jersey: 28,566 countNew Mexico: 4,646 countNew York: 61,859 countNorth Carolina: 25,001 countNorth Dakota: 1,837 countOhio: 23,777 countOklahoma: 9,887 countOregon: 12,737 countPennsylvania: 29,952 countRhode Island: 3,040 countSouth Carolina: 11,060 countSouth Dakota: 1,994 countTennessee: 11,463 countTexas: 71,548 countUtah: 11,224 countVermont: 2,094 countVirginia: 31,211 countWashington: 22,458 countWest Virginia: 2,754 countWisconsin: 11,503 countWyoming: 2,487 count
  • Under 3,000
  • 3,000 to 6,000
  • 6,000 to 11K
  • 11K to 17K
  • 17K to 28K
  • 28K and over
count, 2018. 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, 2018

California: 130,204 countCalifornia130,204Florida: 80,627 countFlorida80,627Texas: 71,548 countTexas71,548New York: 61,859 countNew York61,859Illinois: 38,599 countIllinois38,599Virginia: 31,211 countVirginia31,211Georgia: 30,007 countGeorgia30,007Pennsylvania: 29,952 countPennsylvania29,952New Jersey: 28,566 countNew Jersey28,566Colorado: 26,856 countColorado26,856North Carolina: 25,001 countNorth Carolina25,001Ohio: 23,777 countOhio23,777Washington: 22,458 countWashington22,458Massachusetts: 21,874 countMassachusetts21,874Michigan: 21,689 countMichigan21,689Maryland: 20,870 countMaryland20,870Arizona: 18,467 countArizona18,467Minnesota: 16,580 countMinnesota16,580Missouri: 14,088 countMissouri14,088Indiana: 12,982 countIndiana12,982Oregon: 12,737 countOregon12,737Louisiana: 12,300 countLouisiana12,300Wisconsin: 11,503 countWisconsin11,503Tennessee: 11,463 countTennessee11,463Utah: 11,224 countUtah11,224South Carolina: 11,060 countSouth Carolina11,060Oklahoma: 9,887 countOklahoma9,887Alabama: 9,456 countAlabama9,456Nevada: 9,220 countNevada9,220Connecticut: 9,134 countConnecticut9,134Kentucky: 8,100 countKentucky8,100Kansas: 7,138 countKansas7,138Iowa: 6,531 countIowa6,531Arkansas: 6,003 countArkansas6,003District of Columbia: 5,840 countDistrict of Columbia5,840Idaho: 4,881 countIdaho4,881Mississippi: 4,689 countMississippi4,689Nebraska: 4,679 countNebraska4,679New Mexico: 4,646 countNew Mexico4,646Montana: 3,921 countMontana3,921New Hampshire: 3,644 countNew Hampshire3,644Maine: 3,544 countMaine3,544Hawaii: 3,413 countHawaii3,413Delaware: 3,128 countDelaware3,128Rhode Island: 3,040 countRhode Island3,040West Virginia: 2,754 countWest Virginia2,754Wyoming: 2,487 countWyoming2,487Vermont: 2,094 countVermont2,094South Dakota: 1,994 countSouth Dakota1,994Alaska: 1,959 countAlaska1,959North Dakota: 1,837 countNorth Dakota1,837California: 130,204 countCalifornia130,204Florida: 80,627 countFlorida80,627Texas: 71,548 countTexas71,548New York: 61,859 countNew York61,859Illinois: 38,599 countIllinois38,599Virginia: 31,211 countVirginia31,211Georgia: 30,007 countGeorgia30,007Pennsylvania: 29,952 countPennsylvania29,952New Jersey: 28,566 countNew Jersey28,566Colorado: 26,856 countColorado26,856North Carolina: 25,001 countNorth Carolina25,001Ohio: 23,777 countOhio23,777Washington: 22,458 countWashington22,458Massachusetts: 21,874 countMassachusetts21,874Michigan: 21,689 countMichigan21,689Maryland: 20,870 countMaryland20,870Arizona: 18,467 countArizona18,467Minnesota: 16,580 countMinnesota16,580Missouri: 14,088 countMissouri14,088Indiana: 12,982 countIndiana12,982Oregon: 12,737 countOregon12,737Louisiana: 12,300 countLouisiana12,300Wisconsin: 11,503 countWisconsin11,503Tennessee: 11,463 countTennessee11,463Utah: 11,224 countUtah11,224South Carolina: 11,060 countSouth Carolina11,060Oklahoma: 9,887 countOklahoma9,887Alabama: 9,456 countAlabama9,456Nevada: 9,220 countNevada9,220Connecticut: 9,134 countConnecticut9,134Kentucky: 8,100 countKentucky8,100Kansas: 7,138 countKansas7,138Iowa: 6,531 countIowa6,531Arkansas: 6,003 countArkansas6,003District of Columbia: 5,840 countDistrict of Columbia5,840Idaho: 4,881 countIdaho4,881Mississippi: 4,689 countMississippi4,689Nebraska: 4,679 countNebraska4,679New Mexico: 4,646 countNew Mexico4,646Montana: 3,921 countMontana3,921New Hampshire: 3,644 countNew Hampshire3,644Maine: 3,544 countMaine3,544Hawaii: 3,413 countHawaii3,413Delaware: 3,128 countDelaware3,128Rhode Island: 3,040 countRhode Island3,040West Virginia: 2,754 countWest Virginia2,754Wyoming: 2,487 countWyoming2,487Vermont: 2,094 countVermont2,094South Dakota: 1,994 countSouth Dakota1,994Alaska: 1,959 countAlaska1,959North Dakota: 1,837 countNorth Dakota1,837
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

RankStates2018
count		Change on 2017
1California130,204+2.2%
2Florida80,627+1.6%
3Texas71,548+2%
4New York61,859+0.1%
5Illinois38,599-0.5%
6Virginia31,211-0.7%
7Georgia30,007+0.8%
8Pennsylvania29,952-0.3%
9New Jersey28,566-1.2%
10Colorado26,856+1.6%
11North Carolina25,001+0.9%
12Ohio23,777-0.5%
13Washington22,458+1.3%
14Massachusetts21,874-0.1%
15Michigan21,689-0.3%
16Maryland20,870-0.6%
17Arizona18,467+1.6%
18Minnesota16,580-0.7%
19Missouri14,088-0.6%
20Indiana12,982-0.7%
21Oregon12,737+0.7%
22Louisiana12,300+1.6%
23Wisconsin11,503-0.4%
24Tennessee11,463+0.1%
25Utah11,224+3%
26South Carolina11,060+1.6%
27Oklahoma9,887+1.4%
28Alabama9,456-0.4%
29Nevada9,220+2.2%
30Connecticut9,134-0.7%
31Kentucky8,100-0.4%
32Kansas7,138-1.2%
33Iowa6,531+0.9%
34Arkansas6,003+1.3%
35District of Columbia5,840+0.2%
36Idaho4,881+4%
37Mississippi4,689-1.2%
38Nebraska4,679-0.4%
39New Mexico4,646-1.9%
40Montana3,921+2.1%
41New Hampshire3,644-0.9%
42Maine3,544-0.3%
43Hawaii3,413+0.6%
44Delaware3,128+5.6%
45Rhode Island3,040+0.2%
46West Virginia2,754-2.5%
47Wyoming2,487+4.1%
48Vermont2,094-0.1%
49South Dakota1,994+1.3%
50Alaska1,959+0.3%
51North Dakota1,837+0.7%

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/2018/. 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. (2020). 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, 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2018/

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, 2018. U.S. Census Bureau, 25 June 2020, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2018/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-professional-services/us-states?period=2018. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2020. 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, 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2018/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-professional-services/us-states?period=2018.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2020) 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, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2018/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-professional-services/us-states?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_employer_2018,
  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, 2018}},
  year = {2020},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2018/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-professional-services/us-states?period=2018. 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/2018/. 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, 2018
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/06/25
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2018/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-professional-services/us-states?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-professional-services/us-states?period=2018.
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/2018/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

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

California, with 130,204 in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

North Dakota, with 1,837 in 2018.

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.

US states: more rankings