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 2020, at 137,424. North Dakota had the lowest, at 1,903. The median was 11,392 and the figure for the United States was 943,222. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest137,424California
Lowest1,903North Dakota
Median11,39251 states
United States943,222History

Map of states, 2020

Alabama: 9,485 countAlaska: 1,977 countArizona: 19,366 countArkansas: 6,067 countCalifornia: 137,424 countColorado: 27,585 countConnecticut: 8,891 countDelaware: 3,473 countDistrict of Columbia: 6,030 countFlorida: 85,614 countGeorgia: 31,130 countHawaii: 3,387 countIdaho: 5,159 countIllinois: 38,239 countIndiana: 13,072 countIowa: 6,480 countKansas: 7,117 countKentucky: 8,224 countLouisiana: 12,402 countMaine: 3,534 countMaryland: 21,223 countMassachusetts: 21,704 countMichigan: 21,641 countMinnesota: 16,353 countMississippi: 4,651 countMissouri: 13,856 countMontana: 4,013 countNebraska: 4,656 countNevada: 9,669 countNew Hampshire: 3,664 countNew Jersey: 28,334 countNew Mexico: 4,628 countNew York: 61,739 countNorth Carolina: 25,714 countNorth Dakota: 1,903 countOhio: 23,745 countOklahoma: 9,848 countOregon: 12,885 countPennsylvania: 29,921 countRhode Island: 3,025 countSouth Carolina: 11,392 countSouth Dakota: 2,009 countTennessee: 11,784 countTexas: 74,903 countUtah: 12,007 countVermont: 2,046 countVirginia: 31,659 countWashington: 22,796 countWest Virginia: 2,688 countWisconsin: 11,392 countWyoming: 2,718 count
  • Under 3,000
  • 3,000 to 6,000
  • 6,000 to 11K
  • 11K to 17K
  • 17K to 28K
  • 28K and over
count, 2020. 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, 2020

California: 137,424 countCalifornia137,424Florida: 85,614 countFlorida85,614Texas: 74,903 countTexas74,903New York: 61,739 countNew York61,739Illinois: 38,239 countIllinois38,239Virginia: 31,659 countVirginia31,659Georgia: 31,130 countGeorgia31,130Pennsylvania: 29,921 countPennsylvania29,921New Jersey: 28,334 countNew Jersey28,334Colorado: 27,585 countColorado27,585North Carolina: 25,714 countNorth Carolina25,714Ohio: 23,745 countOhio23,745Washington: 22,796 countWashington22,796Massachusetts: 21,704 countMassachusetts21,704Michigan: 21,641 countMichigan21,641Maryland: 21,223 countMaryland21,223Arizona: 19,366 countArizona19,366Minnesota: 16,353 countMinnesota16,353Missouri: 13,856 countMissouri13,856Indiana: 13,072 countIndiana13,072Oregon: 12,885 countOregon12,885Louisiana: 12,402 countLouisiana12,402Utah: 12,007 countUtah12,007Tennessee: 11,784 countTennessee11,784South Carolina: 11,392 countSouth Carolina11,392Wisconsin: 11,392 countWisconsin11,392Oklahoma: 9,848 countOklahoma9,848Nevada: 9,669 countNevada9,669Alabama: 9,485 countAlabama9,485Connecticut: 8,891 countConnecticut8,891Kentucky: 8,224 countKentucky8,224Kansas: 7,117 countKansas7,117Iowa: 6,480 countIowa6,480Arkansas: 6,067 countArkansas6,067District of Columbia: 6,030 countDistrict of Columbia6,030Idaho: 5,159 countIdaho5,159Nebraska: 4,656 countNebraska4,656Mississippi: 4,651 countMississippi4,651New Mexico: 4,628 countNew Mexico4,628Montana: 4,013 countMontana4,013New Hampshire: 3,664 countNew Hampshire3,664Maine: 3,534 countMaine3,534Delaware: 3,473 countDelaware3,473Hawaii: 3,387 countHawaii3,387Rhode Island: 3,025 countRhode Island3,025Wyoming: 2,718 countWyoming2,718West Virginia: 2,688 countWest Virginia2,688Vermont: 2,046 countVermont2,046South Dakota: 2,009 countSouth Dakota2,009Alaska: 1,977 countAlaska1,977North Dakota: 1,903 countNorth Dakota1,903California: 137,424 countCalifornia137,424Florida: 85,614 countFlorida85,614Texas: 74,903 countTexas74,903New York: 61,739 countNew York61,739Illinois: 38,239 countIllinois38,239Virginia: 31,659 countVirginia31,659Georgia: 31,130 countGeorgia31,130Pennsylvania: 29,921 countPennsylvania29,921New Jersey: 28,334 countNew Jersey28,334Colorado: 27,585 countColorado27,585North Carolina: 25,714 countNorth Carolina25,714Ohio: 23,745 countOhio23,745Washington: 22,796 countWashington22,796Massachusetts: 21,704 countMassachusetts21,704Michigan: 21,641 countMichigan21,641Maryland: 21,223 countMaryland21,223Arizona: 19,366 countArizona19,366Minnesota: 16,353 countMinnesota16,353Missouri: 13,856 countMissouri13,856Indiana: 13,072 countIndiana13,072Oregon: 12,885 countOregon12,885Louisiana: 12,402 countLouisiana12,402Utah: 12,007 countUtah12,007Tennessee: 11,784 countTennessee11,784South Carolina: 11,392 countSouth Carolina11,392Wisconsin: 11,392 countWisconsin11,392Oklahoma: 9,848 countOklahoma9,848Nevada: 9,669 countNevada9,669Alabama: 9,485 countAlabama9,485Connecticut: 8,891 countConnecticut8,891Kentucky: 8,224 countKentucky8,224Kansas: 7,117 countKansas7,117Iowa: 6,480 countIowa6,480Arkansas: 6,067 countArkansas6,067District of Columbia: 6,030 countDistrict of Columbia6,030Idaho: 5,159 countIdaho5,159Nebraska: 4,656 countNebraska4,656Mississippi: 4,651 countMississippi4,651New Mexico: 4,628 countNew Mexico4,628Montana: 4,013 countMontana4,013New Hampshire: 3,664 countNew Hampshire3,664Maine: 3,534 countMaine3,534Delaware: 3,473 countDelaware3,473Hawaii: 3,387 countHawaii3,387Rhode Island: 3,025 countRhode Island3,025Wyoming: 2,718 countWyoming2,718West Virginia: 2,688 countWest Virginia2,688Vermont: 2,046 countVermont2,046South Dakota: 2,009 countSouth Dakota2,009Alaska: 1,977 countAlaska1,977North Dakota: 1,903 countNorth Dakota1,903
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

RankStates2020
count		Change on 2019
1California137,424+3.6%
2Florida85,614+4.8%
3Texas74,903+2.9%
4New York61,739+0.1%
5Illinois38,239-0.1%
6Virginia31,659+0.9%
7Georgia31,130+3.4%
8Pennsylvania29,921+0.2%
9New Jersey28,334-0.1%
10Colorado27,585+1.5%
11North Carolina25,714+2%
12Ohio23,7450%
13Washington22,796+1%
14Massachusetts21,704-1%
15Michigan21,641+0.2%
16Maryland21,223+1.8%
17Arizona19,366+3%
18Minnesota16,353-0.3%
19Missouri13,856-0.8%
20Indiana13,072+0.4%
21Oregon12,885+0.8%
22Louisiana12,402+0.3%
23Utah12,007+4.6%
24Tennessee11,784+2.1%
25South Carolina11,392+1.8%
25Wisconsin11,392-0.3%
27Oklahoma9,848-0.8%
28Nevada9,669+3.5%
29Alabama9,485+0.6%
30Connecticut8,891-0.5%
31Kentucky8,224+1.1%
32Kansas7,117-0%
33Iowa6,480-0.1%
34Arkansas6,067+1%
35District of Columbia6,030+1.7%
36Idaho5,159+2%
37Nebraska4,6560%
38Mississippi4,651+0.1%
39New Mexico4,628-0%
40Montana4,013+1.5%
41New Hampshire3,664+0.6%
42Maine3,534+0.5%
43Delaware3,473+7%
44Hawaii3,387+0.1%
45Rhode Island3,025+0.5%
46Wyoming2,718+2.9%
47West Virginia2,688-2.1%
48Vermont2,046-1.7%
49South Dakota2,009+0.8%
50Alaska1,977+0.9%
51North Dakota1,903-0.3%

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/2020/. 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. (2022). 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, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2020/

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, 2020. U.S. Census Bureau, 28 Apr. 2022, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2020/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-professional-services/us-states?period=2020. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2022. 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, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2020/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-professional-services/us-states?period=2020.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2022) 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, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2020/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-professional-services/us-states?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_employer_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  year = {2022},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2020/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-professional-services/us-states?period=2020. 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/2020/. 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, 2020
PY  - 2022
DA  - 2022/04/28
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2020/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-professional-services/us-states?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-professional-services/us-states?period=2020.
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/2020/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

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

California, with 137,424 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

North Dakota, with 1,903 in 2020.

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