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 2021, at 140,763. North Dakota had the lowest, at 1,873. The median was 11,456 and the figure for the United States was 962,470. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest140,763California
Lowest1,873North Dakota
Median11,45651 states
United States962,470History

Map of states, 2021

Alabama: 9,662 countAlaska: 1,966 countArizona: 19,975 countArkansas: 6,109 countCalifornia: 140,763 countColorado: 28,084 countConnecticut: 9,057 countDelaware: 3,838 countDistrict of Columbia: 5,993 countFlorida: 89,886 countGeorgia: 32,004 countHawaii: 3,414 countIdaho: 5,432 countIllinois: 38,314 countIndiana: 13,166 countIowa: 6,488 countKansas: 7,159 countKentucky: 8,252 countLouisiana: 12,371 countMaine: 3,601 countMaryland: 21,358 countMassachusetts: 21,762 countMichigan: 21,856 countMinnesota: 16,270 countMississippi: 4,705 countMissouri: 13,888 countMontana: 4,119 countNebraska: 4,707 countNevada: 10,169 countNew Hampshire: 3,693 countNew Jersey: 28,459 countNew Mexico: 4,660 countNew York: 61,665 countNorth Carolina: 26,689 countNorth Dakota: 1,873 countOhio: 23,822 countOklahoma: 9,928 countOregon: 13,154 countPennsylvania: 30,183 countRhode Island: 3,063 countSouth Carolina: 11,744 countSouth Dakota: 2,077 countTennessee: 12,153 countTexas: 78,125 countUtah: 12,643 countVermont: 2,084 countVirginia: 31,871 countWashington: 23,266 countWest Virginia: 2,628 countWisconsin: 11,456 countWyoming: 2,866 count
  • Under 4,000
  • 4,000 to 6,000
  • 6,000 to 11K
  • 11K to 18K
  • 18K to 28K
  • 28K and over
count, 2021. 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, 2021

California: 140,763 countCalifornia140,763Florida: 89,886 countFlorida89,886Texas: 78,125 countTexas78,125New York: 61,665 countNew York61,665Illinois: 38,314 countIllinois38,314Georgia: 32,004 countGeorgia32,004Virginia: 31,871 countVirginia31,871Pennsylvania: 30,183 countPennsylvania30,183New Jersey: 28,459 countNew Jersey28,459Colorado: 28,084 countColorado28,084North Carolina: 26,689 countNorth Carolina26,689Ohio: 23,822 countOhio23,822Washington: 23,266 countWashington23,266Michigan: 21,856 countMichigan21,856Massachusetts: 21,762 countMassachusetts21,762Maryland: 21,358 countMaryland21,358Arizona: 19,975 countArizona19,975Minnesota: 16,270 countMinnesota16,270Missouri: 13,888 countMissouri13,888Indiana: 13,166 countIndiana13,166Oregon: 13,154 countOregon13,154Utah: 12,643 countUtah12,643Louisiana: 12,371 countLouisiana12,371Tennessee: 12,153 countTennessee12,153South Carolina: 11,744 countSouth Carolina11,744Wisconsin: 11,456 countWisconsin11,456Nevada: 10,169 countNevada10,169Oklahoma: 9,928 countOklahoma9,928Alabama: 9,662 countAlabama9,662Connecticut: 9,057 countConnecticut9,057Kentucky: 8,252 countKentucky8,252Kansas: 7,159 countKansas7,159Iowa: 6,488 countIowa6,488Arkansas: 6,109 countArkansas6,109District of Columbia: 5,993 countDistrict of Columbia5,993Idaho: 5,432 countIdaho5,432Nebraska: 4,707 countNebraska4,707Mississippi: 4,705 countMississippi4,705New Mexico: 4,660 countNew Mexico4,660Montana: 4,119 countMontana4,119Delaware: 3,838 countDelaware3,838New Hampshire: 3,693 countNew Hampshire3,693Maine: 3,601 countMaine3,601Hawaii: 3,414 countHawaii3,414Rhode Island: 3,063 countRhode Island3,063Wyoming: 2,866 countWyoming2,866West Virginia: 2,628 countWest Virginia2,628Vermont: 2,084 countVermont2,084South Dakota: 2,077 countSouth Dakota2,077Alaska: 1,966 countAlaska1,966North Dakota: 1,873 countNorth Dakota1,873California: 140,763 countCalifornia140,763Florida: 89,886 countFlorida89,886Texas: 78,125 countTexas78,125New York: 61,665 countNew York61,665Illinois: 38,314 countIllinois38,314Georgia: 32,004 countGeorgia32,004Virginia: 31,871 countVirginia31,871Pennsylvania: 30,183 countPennsylvania30,183New Jersey: 28,459 countNew Jersey28,459Colorado: 28,084 countColorado28,084North Carolina: 26,689 countNorth Carolina26,689Ohio: 23,822 countOhio23,822Washington: 23,266 countWashington23,266Michigan: 21,856 countMichigan21,856Massachusetts: 21,762 countMassachusetts21,762Maryland: 21,358 countMaryland21,358Arizona: 19,975 countArizona19,975Minnesota: 16,270 countMinnesota16,270Missouri: 13,888 countMissouri13,888Indiana: 13,166 countIndiana13,166Oregon: 13,154 countOregon13,154Utah: 12,643 countUtah12,643Louisiana: 12,371 countLouisiana12,371Tennessee: 12,153 countTennessee12,153South Carolina: 11,744 countSouth Carolina11,744Wisconsin: 11,456 countWisconsin11,456Nevada: 10,169 countNevada10,169Oklahoma: 9,928 countOklahoma9,928Alabama: 9,662 countAlabama9,662Connecticut: 9,057 countConnecticut9,057Kentucky: 8,252 countKentucky8,252Kansas: 7,159 countKansas7,159Iowa: 6,488 countIowa6,488Arkansas: 6,109 countArkansas6,109District of Columbia: 5,993 countDistrict of Columbia5,993Idaho: 5,432 countIdaho5,432Nebraska: 4,707 countNebraska4,707Mississippi: 4,705 countMississippi4,705New Mexico: 4,660 countNew Mexico4,660Montana: 4,119 countMontana4,119Delaware: 3,838 countDelaware3,838New Hampshire: 3,693 countNew Hampshire3,693Maine: 3,601 countMaine3,601Hawaii: 3,414 countHawaii3,414Rhode Island: 3,063 countRhode Island3,063Wyoming: 2,866 countWyoming2,866West Virginia: 2,628 countWest Virginia2,628Vermont: 2,084 countVermont2,084South Dakota: 2,077 countSouth Dakota2,077Alaska: 1,966 countAlaska1,966North Dakota: 1,873 countNorth Dakota1,873
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

RankStates2021
count		Change on 2020
1California140,763+2.4%
2Florida89,886+5%
3Texas78,125+4.3%
4New York61,665-0.1%
5Illinois38,314+0.2%
6Georgia32,004+2.8%
7Virginia31,871+0.7%
8Pennsylvania30,183+0.9%
9New Jersey28,459+0.4%
10Colorado28,084+1.8%
11North Carolina26,689+3.8%
12Ohio23,822+0.3%
13Washington23,266+2.1%
14Michigan21,856+1%
15Massachusetts21,762+0.3%
16Maryland21,358+0.6%
17Arizona19,975+3.1%
18Minnesota16,270-0.5%
19Missouri13,888+0.2%
20Indiana13,166+0.7%
21Oregon13,154+2.1%
22Utah12,643+5.3%
23Louisiana12,371-0.2%
24Tennessee12,153+3.1%
25South Carolina11,744+3.1%
26Wisconsin11,456+0.6%
27Nevada10,169+5.2%
28Oklahoma9,928+0.8%
29Alabama9,662+1.9%
30Connecticut9,057+1.9%
31Kentucky8,252+0.3%
32Kansas7,159+0.6%
33Iowa6,488+0.1%
34Arkansas6,109+0.7%
35District of Columbia5,993-0.6%
36Idaho5,432+5.3%
37Nebraska4,707+1.1%
38Mississippi4,705+1.2%
39New Mexico4,660+0.7%
40Montana4,119+2.6%
41Delaware3,838+10.5%
42New Hampshire3,693+0.8%
43Maine3,601+1.9%
44Hawaii3,414+0.8%
45Rhode Island3,063+1.3%
46Wyoming2,866+5.4%
47West Virginia2,628-2.2%
48Vermont2,084+1.9%
49South Dakota2,077+3.4%
50Alaska1,966-0.6%
51North Dakota1,873-1.6%

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/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), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), all legal forms (US states by employer establishments: professional, scientific and technical services, 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), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: professional, scientific and technical services, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 27 Apr. 2023, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2021/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-professional-services/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), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), all legal forms. US states by employer establishments: professional, scientific and technical services, 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-professional-services/us-states?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2023) 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, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2021/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-professional-services/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), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), all legal forms: US states by employer establishments: professional, scientific and technical services, 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-professional-services/us-states?period=2021. 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/2021/. 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, 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-professional-services/us-states?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-professional-services/us-states?period=2021.
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/2021/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

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

California, with 140,763 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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

North Dakota, with 1,873 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), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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