Data / Rankings / Employer establishments: retail trade / US states

US states by employer establishments: retail trade, 2023

California had the highest employer establishments: retail trade of 51 states in 2023, at 106,675. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 1,653. The median was 15,020 and the figure for the United States was 1.04 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest106,675California
Lowest1,653District of Columbia
Median15,02051 states
United States1,043,373History

Map of states, 2023

Alabama: 17,877 countAlaska: 2,419 countArizona: 17,844 countArkansas: 10,566 countCalifornia: 106,675 countColorado: 18,589 countConnecticut: 11,696 countDelaware: 3,742 countDistrict of Columbia: 1,653 countFlorida: 75,988 countGeorgia: 35,820 countHawaii: 4,395 countIdaho: 6,268 countIllinois: 35,801 countIndiana: 21,015 countIowa: 10,970 countKansas: 9,580 countKentucky: 15,020 countLouisiana: 15,868 countMaine: 6,039 countMaryland: 16,687 countMassachusetts: 22,550 countMichigan: 32,868 countMinnesota: 17,727 countMississippi: 11,303 countMissouri: 19,971 countMontana: 4,706 countNebraska: 6,925 countNevada: 9,047 countNew Hampshire: 5,706 countNew Jersey: 29,729 countNew Mexico: 6,382 countNew York: 71,941 countNorth Carolina: 35,534 countNorth Dakota: 3,103 countOhio: 34,275 countOklahoma: 13,097 countOregon: 13,800 countPennsylvania: 40,238 countRhode Island: 3,567 countSouth Carolina: 18,647 countSouth Dakota: 3,838 countTennessee: 23,463 countTexas: 84,369 countUtah: 10,270 countVermont: 2,937 countVirginia: 25,872 countWashington: 20,582 countWest Virginia: 5,696 countWisconsin: 18,044 countWyoming: 2,674 count
  • Under 4,000
  • 4,000 to 9,000
  • 9,000 to 15K
  • 15K to 19K
  • 19K to 34K
  • 34K and over
count, 2023. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2023

California: 106,675 countCalifornia106,675Texas: 84,369 countTexas84,369Florida: 75,988 countFlorida75,988New York: 71,941 countNew York71,941Pennsylvania: 40,238 countPennsylvania40,238Georgia: 35,820 countGeorgia35,820Illinois: 35,801 countIllinois35,801North Carolina: 35,534 countNorth Carolina35,534Ohio: 34,275 countOhio34,275Michigan: 32,868 countMichigan32,868New Jersey: 29,729 countNew Jersey29,729Virginia: 25,872 countVirginia25,872Tennessee: 23,463 countTennessee23,463Massachusetts: 22,550 countMassachusetts22,550Indiana: 21,015 countIndiana21,015Washington: 20,582 countWashington20,582Missouri: 19,971 countMissouri19,971South Carolina: 18,647 countSouth Carolina18,647Colorado: 18,589 countColorado18,589Wisconsin: 18,044 countWisconsin18,044Alabama: 17,877 countAlabama17,877Arizona: 17,844 countArizona17,844Minnesota: 17,727 countMinnesota17,727Maryland: 16,687 countMaryland16,687Louisiana: 15,868 countLouisiana15,868Kentucky: 15,020 countKentucky15,020Oregon: 13,800 countOregon13,800Oklahoma: 13,097 countOklahoma13,097Connecticut: 11,696 countConnecticut11,696Mississippi: 11,303 countMississippi11,303Iowa: 10,970 countIowa10,970Arkansas: 10,566 countArkansas10,566Utah: 10,270 countUtah10,270Kansas: 9,580 countKansas9,580Nevada: 9,047 countNevada9,047Nebraska: 6,925 countNebraska6,925New Mexico: 6,382 countNew Mexico6,382Idaho: 6,268 countIdaho6,268Maine: 6,039 countMaine6,039New Hampshire: 5,706 countNew Hampshire5,706West Virginia: 5,696 countWest Virginia5,696Montana: 4,706 countMontana4,706Hawaii: 4,395 countHawaii4,395South Dakota: 3,838 countSouth Dakota3,838Delaware: 3,742 countDelaware3,742Rhode Island: 3,567 countRhode Island3,567North Dakota: 3,103 countNorth Dakota3,103Vermont: 2,937 countVermont2,937Wyoming: 2,674 countWyoming2,674Alaska: 2,419 countAlaska2,419District of Columbia: 1,653 countDistrict of Columbia1,653California: 106,675 countCalifornia106,675Texas: 84,369 countTexas84,369Florida: 75,988 countFlorida75,988New York: 71,941 countNew York71,941Pennsylvania: 40,238 countPennsylvania40,238Georgia: 35,820 countGeorgia35,820Illinois: 35,801 countIllinois35,801North Carolina: 35,534 countNorth Carolina35,534Ohio: 34,275 countOhio34,275Michigan: 32,868 countMichigan32,868New Jersey: 29,729 countNew Jersey29,729Virginia: 25,872 countVirginia25,872Tennessee: 23,463 countTennessee23,463Massachusetts: 22,550 countMassachusetts22,550Indiana: 21,015 countIndiana21,015Washington: 20,582 countWashington20,582Missouri: 19,971 countMissouri19,971South Carolina: 18,647 countSouth Carolina18,647Colorado: 18,589 countColorado18,589Wisconsin: 18,044 countWisconsin18,044Alabama: 17,877 countAlabama17,877Arizona: 17,844 countArizona17,844Minnesota: 17,727 countMinnesota17,727Maryland: 16,687 countMaryland16,687Louisiana: 15,868 countLouisiana15,868Kentucky: 15,020 countKentucky15,020Oregon: 13,800 countOregon13,800Oklahoma: 13,097 countOklahoma13,097Connecticut: 11,696 countConnecticut11,696Mississippi: 11,303 countMississippi11,303Iowa: 10,970 countIowa10,970Arkansas: 10,566 countArkansas10,566Utah: 10,270 countUtah10,270Kansas: 9,580 countKansas9,580Nevada: 9,047 countNevada9,047Nebraska: 6,925 countNebraska6,925New Mexico: 6,382 countNew Mexico6,382Idaho: 6,268 countIdaho6,268Maine: 6,039 countMaine6,039New Hampshire: 5,706 countNew Hampshire5,706West Virginia: 5,696 countWest Virginia5,696Montana: 4,706 countMontana4,706Hawaii: 4,395 countHawaii4,395South Dakota: 3,838 countSouth Dakota3,838Delaware: 3,742 countDelaware3,742Rhode Island: 3,567 countRhode Island3,567North Dakota: 3,103 countNorth Dakota3,103Vermont: 2,937 countVermont2,937Wyoming: 2,674 countWyoming2,674Alaska: 2,419 countAlaska2,419District of Columbia: 1,653 countDistrict of Columbia1,653
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2023
count		Change on 2022
1California106,675-0.4%
2Texas84,369+0.7%
3Florida75,988+0.3%
4New York71,941-1%
5Pennsylvania40,238-0.6%
6Georgia35,820-0%
7Illinois35,801-0.4%
8North Carolina35,534+0.2%
9Ohio34,275-0.3%
10Michigan32,868-0.2%
11New Jersey29,729-1%
12Virginia25,872-0.6%
13Tennessee23,463+1.1%
14Massachusetts22,550-0.4%
15Indiana21,015-0.5%
16Washington20,582-1%
17Missouri19,971-0.2%
18South Carolina18,647+0.8%
19Colorado18,589-0.6%
20Wisconsin18,044-0.7%
21Alabama17,877+0.1%
22Arizona17,844+0.1%
23Minnesota17,727-0.5%
24Maryland16,687-0.1%
25Louisiana15,868-0.4%
26Kentucky15,020-0%
27Oregon13,800-1.4%
28Oklahoma13,097-1.7%
29Connecticut11,696+0.4%
30Mississippi11,303-0.3%
31Iowa10,970-1.6%
32Arkansas10,566-1.2%
33Utah10,270-0.4%
34Kansas9,5800%
35Nevada9,047+0.4%
36Nebraska6,925-0.1%
37New Mexico6,382+1.6%
38Idaho6,268-1.1%
39Maine6,039-0.9%
40New Hampshire5,706-0.8%
41West Virginia5,696-0.4%
42Montana4,706+0.2%
43Hawaii4,395-0.7%
44South Dakota3,838-0.8%
45Delaware3,742+0.2%
46Rhode Island3,567-0.7%
47North Dakota3,103-0.9%
48Vermont2,937+0.3%
49Wyoming2,674+1.1%
50Alaska2,419-0.3%
51District of Columbia1,653+0.2%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of establishments with paid employees in retail trade (NAICS 44-45), 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), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/. 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. (2025). County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms (US states by employer establishments: retail trade, 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/

MLA 9

County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: retail trade, 2023. U.S. Census Bureau, 26 June 2025, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-retail-trade/us-states. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms. US states by employer establishments: retail trade, 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-retail-trade/us-states.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: retail trade, 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-retail-trade/us-states (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_employer_2023,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms: US states by employer establishments: retail trade, 2023}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-retail-trade/us-states. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms: US states by employer establishments: retail trade, 2023
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/06/26
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-retail-trade/us-states
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-retail-trade/us-states.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2023/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest employer establishments: retail trade?

California, with 106,675 in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest employer establishments: retail trade?

District of Columbia, with 1,653 in 2023.

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), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

US states: more rankings