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

US states by employer establishments: retail trade

California had the highest employer establishments: retail trade of 51 states in 2014, at 107,469. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 1,740. The median was 15,223 and the figure for the United States was 1.07 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest107,469California
Lowest1,740District of Columbia
Median15,22351 states
United States1,065,368History

Map of states, 2014

Alabama: 18,029 countAlaska: 2,496 countArizona: 17,944 countArkansas: 10,866 countCalifornia: 107,469 countColorado: 18,643 countConnecticut: 12,542 countDelaware: 3,627 countDistrict of Columbia: 1,740 countFlorida: 73,200 countGeorgia: 33,666 countHawaii: 4,639 countIdaho: 5,818 countIllinois: 39,252 countIndiana: 21,431 countIowa: 11,828 countKansas: 10,391 countKentucky: 15,223 countLouisiana: 16,596 countMaine: 6,304 countMaryland: 18,171 countMassachusetts: 24,136 countMichigan: 34,686 countMinnesota: 18,993 countMississippi: 11,555 countMissouri: 21,228 countMontana: 4,757 countNebraska: 7,240 countNevada: 8,512 countNew Hampshire: 6,044 countNew Jersey: 31,685 countNew Mexico: 6,557 countNew York: 78,763 countNorth Carolina: 34,246 countNorth Dakota: 3,242 countOhio: 36,260 countOklahoma: 13,237 countOregon: 13,994 countPennsylvania: 43,598 countRhode Island: 3,744 countSouth Carolina: 17,567 countSouth Dakota: 3,866 countTennessee: 22,533 countTexas: 79,814 countUtah: 9,224 countVermont: 3,400 countVirginia: 27,059 countWashington: 21,586 countWest Virginia: 6,214 countWisconsin: 19,143 countWyoming: 2,610 count
  • Under 5,000
  • 5,000 to 9,000
  • 9,000 to 15K
  • 15K to 20K
  • 20K to 34K
  • 34K and over
count, 2014. 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, 2014

California: 107,469 countCalifornia107,469Texas: 79,814 countTexas79,814New York: 78,763 countNew York78,763Florida: 73,200 countFlorida73,200Pennsylvania: 43,598 countPennsylvania43,598Illinois: 39,252 countIllinois39,252Ohio: 36,260 countOhio36,260Michigan: 34,686 countMichigan34,686North Carolina: 34,246 countNorth Carolina34,246Georgia: 33,666 countGeorgia33,666New Jersey: 31,685 countNew Jersey31,685Virginia: 27,059 countVirginia27,059Massachusetts: 24,136 countMassachusetts24,136Tennessee: 22,533 countTennessee22,533Washington: 21,586 countWashington21,586Indiana: 21,431 countIndiana21,431Missouri: 21,228 countMissouri21,228Wisconsin: 19,143 countWisconsin19,143Minnesota: 18,993 countMinnesota18,993Colorado: 18,643 countColorado18,643Maryland: 18,171 countMaryland18,171Alabama: 18,029 countAlabama18,029Arizona: 17,944 countArizona17,944South Carolina: 17,567 countSouth Carolina17,567Louisiana: 16,596 countLouisiana16,596Kentucky: 15,223 countKentucky15,223Oregon: 13,994 countOregon13,994Oklahoma: 13,237 countOklahoma13,237Connecticut: 12,542 countConnecticut12,542Iowa: 11,828 countIowa11,828Mississippi: 11,555 countMississippi11,555Arkansas: 10,866 countArkansas10,866Kansas: 10,391 countKansas10,391Utah: 9,224 countUtah9,224Nevada: 8,512 countNevada8,512Nebraska: 7,240 countNebraska7,240New Mexico: 6,557 countNew Mexico6,557Maine: 6,304 countMaine6,304West Virginia: 6,214 countWest Virginia6,214New Hampshire: 6,044 countNew Hampshire6,044Idaho: 5,818 countIdaho5,818Montana: 4,757 countMontana4,757Hawaii: 4,639 countHawaii4,639South Dakota: 3,866 countSouth Dakota3,866Rhode Island: 3,744 countRhode Island3,744Delaware: 3,627 countDelaware3,627Vermont: 3,400 countVermont3,400North Dakota: 3,242 countNorth Dakota3,242Wyoming: 2,610 countWyoming2,610Alaska: 2,496 countAlaska2,496District of Columbia: 1,740 countDistrict of Columbia1,740California: 107,469 countCalifornia107,469Texas: 79,814 countTexas79,814New York: 78,763 countNew York78,763Florida: 73,200 countFlorida73,200Pennsylvania: 43,598 countPennsylvania43,598Illinois: 39,252 countIllinois39,252Ohio: 36,260 countOhio36,260Michigan: 34,686 countMichigan34,686North Carolina: 34,246 countNorth Carolina34,246Georgia: 33,666 countGeorgia33,666New Jersey: 31,685 countNew Jersey31,685Virginia: 27,059 countVirginia27,059Massachusetts: 24,136 countMassachusetts24,136Tennessee: 22,533 countTennessee22,533Washington: 21,586 countWashington21,586Indiana: 21,431 countIndiana21,431Missouri: 21,228 countMissouri21,228Wisconsin: 19,143 countWisconsin19,143Minnesota: 18,993 countMinnesota18,993Colorado: 18,643 countColorado18,643Maryland: 18,171 countMaryland18,171Alabama: 18,029 countAlabama18,029Arizona: 17,944 countArizona17,944South Carolina: 17,567 countSouth Carolina17,567Louisiana: 16,596 countLouisiana16,596Kentucky: 15,223 countKentucky15,223Oregon: 13,994 countOregon13,994Oklahoma: 13,237 countOklahoma13,237Connecticut: 12,542 countConnecticut12,542Iowa: 11,828 countIowa11,828Mississippi: 11,555 countMississippi11,555Arkansas: 10,866 countArkansas10,866Kansas: 10,391 countKansas10,391Utah: 9,224 countUtah9,224Nevada: 8,512 countNevada8,512Nebraska: 7,240 countNebraska7,240New Mexico: 6,557 countNew Mexico6,557Maine: 6,304 countMaine6,304West Virginia: 6,214 countWest Virginia6,214New Hampshire: 6,044 countNew Hampshire6,044Idaho: 5,818 countIdaho5,818Montana: 4,757 countMontana4,757Hawaii: 4,639 countHawaii4,639South Dakota: 3,866 countSouth Dakota3,866Rhode Island: 3,744 countRhode Island3,744Delaware: 3,627 countDelaware3,627Vermont: 3,400 countVermont3,400North Dakota: 3,242 countNorth Dakota3,242Wyoming: 2,610 countWyoming2,610Alaska: 2,496 countAlaska2,496District of Columbia: 1,740 countDistrict of Columbia1,740
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

RankStates2014
count		Change on 2013
1California107,469+0.6%
2Texas79,814+0.9%
3New York78,763+0.9%
4Florida73,200+1.2%
5Pennsylvania43,598-0.7%
6Illinois39,252-1.1%
7Ohio36,260-0.4%
8Michigan34,686-0.4%
9North Carolina34,246+0.1%
10Georgia33,666+0.7%
11New Jersey31,685-0.1%
12Virginia27,059-0.4%
13Massachusetts24,136-0.3%
14Tennessee22,533+0.8%
15Washington21,586+0.1%
16Indiana21,431-0.4%
17Missouri21,228-0.4%
18Wisconsin19,143-0.5%
19Minnesota18,993-0.9%
20Colorado18,643+0.3%
21Maryland18,171-0.4%
22Alabama18,029-0%
23Arizona17,944+0.8%
24South Carolina17,567-0.6%
25Louisiana16,596+0.2%
26Kentucky15,223+0.1%
27Oregon13,994+0.6%
28Oklahoma13,237+0.6%
29Connecticut12,542-0.2%
30Iowa11,828-1.2%
31Mississippi11,555+0.2%
32Arkansas10,866-0.4%
33Kansas10,391-0.4%
34Utah9,224+0.8%
35Nevada8,512+2.7%
36Nebraska7,2400%
37New Mexico6,557-0.2%
38Maine6,304-0.7%
39West Virginia6,214-0.9%
40New Hampshire6,044-0.7%
41Idaho5,818+0.5%
42Montana4,757-0.9%
43Hawaii4,639-0.9%
44South Dakota3,866-0.6%
45Rhode Island3,744-0.5%
46Delaware3,627+0.3%
47Vermont3,400-0.7%
48North Dakota3,242+1.2%
49Wyoming2,610-1.1%
50Alaska2,496-0.3%
51District of Columbia1,740+1.2%

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/2014/. 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. (2017). County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms (US states by employer establishments: retail trade, 2014) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2014/

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, 2014. U.S. Census Bureau, 19 May 2017, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2014/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-retail-trade/us-states?period=2014. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2017. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms. US states by employer establishments: retail trade, 2014. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2014/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-retail-trade/us-states?period=2014.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2017) County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: retail trade, 2014 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2014/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-retail-trade/us-states?period=2014 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_employer_2014,
  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, 2014}},
  year = {2017},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2014/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-retail-trade/us-states?period=2014. 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/2014/. 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, 2014
PY  - 2017
DA  - 2017/05/19
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2014/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-retail-trade/us-states?period=2014
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-retail-trade/us-states?period=2014.
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/2014/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest employer establishments: retail trade?

California, with 107,469 in 2014, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest employer establishments: retail trade?

District of Columbia, with 1,740 in 2014.

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.

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