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 2015, at 108,542. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 1,751. The median was 15,187 and the figure for the United States was 1.07 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest108,542California
Lowest1,751District of Columbia
Median15,18751 states
United States1,070,209History

Map of states, 2015

Alabama: 18,043 countAlaska: 2,514 countArizona: 18,103 countArkansas: 10,908 countCalifornia: 108,542 countColorado: 18,734 countConnecticut: 12,524 countDelaware: 3,656 countDistrict of Columbia: 1,751 countFlorida: 74,533 countGeorgia: 34,041 countHawaii: 4,602 countIdaho: 6,004 countIllinois: 39,165 countIndiana: 21,426 countIowa: 11,736 countKansas: 10,327 countKentucky: 15,187 countLouisiana: 16,525 countMaine: 6,281 countMaryland: 18,273 countMassachusetts: 24,101 countMichigan: 34,711 countMinnesota: 18,974 countMississippi: 11,587 countMissouri: 21,177 countMontana: 4,791 countNebraska: 7,352 countNevada: 8,682 countNew Hampshire: 6,050 countNew Jersey: 31,557 countNew Mexico: 6,536 countNew York: 78,832 countNorth Carolina: 34,527 countNorth Dakota: 3,259 countOhio: 36,339 countOklahoma: 13,305 countOregon: 14,159 countPennsylvania: 43,399 countRhode Island: 3,748 countSouth Carolina: 17,599 countSouth Dakota: 3,941 countTennessee: 22,643 countTexas: 80,298 countUtah: 9,546 countVermont: 3,351 countVirginia: 27,188 countWashington: 21,778 countWest Virginia: 6,150 countWisconsin: 19,114 countWyoming: 2,640 count
  • Under 5,000
  • 5,000 to 9,000
  • 9,000 to 15K
  • 15K to 20K
  • 20K to 34K
  • 34K and over
count, 2015. 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, 2015

California: 108,542 countCalifornia108,542Texas: 80,298 countTexas80,298New York: 78,832 countNew York78,832Florida: 74,533 countFlorida74,533Pennsylvania: 43,399 countPennsylvania43,399Illinois: 39,165 countIllinois39,165Ohio: 36,339 countOhio36,339Michigan: 34,711 countMichigan34,711North Carolina: 34,527 countNorth Carolina34,527Georgia: 34,041 countGeorgia34,041New Jersey: 31,557 countNew Jersey31,557Virginia: 27,188 countVirginia27,188Massachusetts: 24,101 countMassachusetts24,101Tennessee: 22,643 countTennessee22,643Washington: 21,778 countWashington21,778Indiana: 21,426 countIndiana21,426Missouri: 21,177 countMissouri21,177Wisconsin: 19,114 countWisconsin19,114Minnesota: 18,974 countMinnesota18,974Colorado: 18,734 countColorado18,734Maryland: 18,273 countMaryland18,273Arizona: 18,103 countArizona18,103Alabama: 18,043 countAlabama18,043South Carolina: 17,599 countSouth Carolina17,599Louisiana: 16,525 countLouisiana16,525Kentucky: 15,187 countKentucky15,187Oregon: 14,159 countOregon14,159Oklahoma: 13,305 countOklahoma13,305Connecticut: 12,524 countConnecticut12,524Iowa: 11,736 countIowa11,736Mississippi: 11,587 countMississippi11,587Arkansas: 10,908 countArkansas10,908Kansas: 10,327 countKansas10,327Utah: 9,546 countUtah9,546Nevada: 8,682 countNevada8,682Nebraska: 7,352 countNebraska7,352New Mexico: 6,536 countNew Mexico6,536Maine: 6,281 countMaine6,281West Virginia: 6,150 countWest Virginia6,150New Hampshire: 6,050 countNew Hampshire6,050Idaho: 6,004 countIdaho6,004Montana: 4,791 countMontana4,791Hawaii: 4,602 countHawaii4,602South Dakota: 3,941 countSouth Dakota3,941Rhode Island: 3,748 countRhode Island3,748Delaware: 3,656 countDelaware3,656Vermont: 3,351 countVermont3,351North Dakota: 3,259 countNorth Dakota3,259Wyoming: 2,640 countWyoming2,640Alaska: 2,514 countAlaska2,514District of Columbia: 1,751 countDistrict of Columbia1,751California: 108,542 countCalifornia108,542Texas: 80,298 countTexas80,298New York: 78,832 countNew York78,832Florida: 74,533 countFlorida74,533Pennsylvania: 43,399 countPennsylvania43,399Illinois: 39,165 countIllinois39,165Ohio: 36,339 countOhio36,339Michigan: 34,711 countMichigan34,711North Carolina: 34,527 countNorth Carolina34,527Georgia: 34,041 countGeorgia34,041New Jersey: 31,557 countNew Jersey31,557Virginia: 27,188 countVirginia27,188Massachusetts: 24,101 countMassachusetts24,101Tennessee: 22,643 countTennessee22,643Washington: 21,778 countWashington21,778Indiana: 21,426 countIndiana21,426Missouri: 21,177 countMissouri21,177Wisconsin: 19,114 countWisconsin19,114Minnesota: 18,974 countMinnesota18,974Colorado: 18,734 countColorado18,734Maryland: 18,273 countMaryland18,273Arizona: 18,103 countArizona18,103Alabama: 18,043 countAlabama18,043South Carolina: 17,599 countSouth Carolina17,599Louisiana: 16,525 countLouisiana16,525Kentucky: 15,187 countKentucky15,187Oregon: 14,159 countOregon14,159Oklahoma: 13,305 countOklahoma13,305Connecticut: 12,524 countConnecticut12,524Iowa: 11,736 countIowa11,736Mississippi: 11,587 countMississippi11,587Arkansas: 10,908 countArkansas10,908Kansas: 10,327 countKansas10,327Utah: 9,546 countUtah9,546Nevada: 8,682 countNevada8,682Nebraska: 7,352 countNebraska7,352New Mexico: 6,536 countNew Mexico6,536Maine: 6,281 countMaine6,281West Virginia: 6,150 countWest Virginia6,150New Hampshire: 6,050 countNew Hampshire6,050Idaho: 6,004 countIdaho6,004Montana: 4,791 countMontana4,791Hawaii: 4,602 countHawaii4,602South Dakota: 3,941 countSouth Dakota3,941Rhode Island: 3,748 countRhode Island3,748Delaware: 3,656 countDelaware3,656Vermont: 3,351 countVermont3,351North Dakota: 3,259 countNorth Dakota3,259Wyoming: 2,640 countWyoming2,640Alaska: 2,514 countAlaska2,514District of Columbia: 1,751 countDistrict of Columbia1,751
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

RankStates2015
count		Change on 2014
1California108,542+1%
2Texas80,298+0.6%
3New York78,832+0.1%
4Florida74,533+1.8%
5Pennsylvania43,399-0.5%
6Illinois39,165-0.2%
7Ohio36,339+0.2%
8Michigan34,711+0.1%
9North Carolina34,527+0.8%
10Georgia34,041+1.1%
11New Jersey31,557-0.4%
12Virginia27,188+0.5%
13Massachusetts24,101-0.1%
14Tennessee22,643+0.5%
15Washington21,778+0.9%
16Indiana21,426-0%
17Missouri21,177-0.2%
18Wisconsin19,114-0.2%
19Minnesota18,974-0.1%
20Colorado18,734+0.5%
21Maryland18,273+0.6%
22Arizona18,103+0.9%
23Alabama18,043+0.1%
24South Carolina17,599+0.2%
25Louisiana16,525-0.4%
26Kentucky15,187-0.2%
27Oregon14,159+1.2%
28Oklahoma13,305+0.5%
29Connecticut12,524-0.1%
30Iowa11,736-0.8%
31Mississippi11,587+0.3%
32Arkansas10,908+0.4%
33Kansas10,327-0.6%
34Utah9,546+3.5%
35Nevada8,682+2%
36Nebraska7,352+1.5%
37New Mexico6,536-0.3%
38Maine6,281-0.4%
39West Virginia6,150-1%
40New Hampshire6,050+0.1%
41Idaho6,004+3.2%
42Montana4,791+0.7%
43Hawaii4,602-0.8%
44South Dakota3,941+1.9%
45Rhode Island3,748+0.1%
46Delaware3,656+0.8%
47Vermont3,351-1.4%
48North Dakota3,259+0.5%
49Wyoming2,640+1.1%
50Alaska2,514+0.7%
51District of Columbia1,751+0.6%

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/2015/. 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, 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2015/

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, 2015. U.S. Census Bureau, 9 May 2017, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2015/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-retail-trade/us-states?period=2015. 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, 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2015/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-retail-trade/us-states?period=2015.

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, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2015/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-retail-trade/us-states?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_employer_2015,
  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, 2015}},
  year = {2017},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2015/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-retail-trade/us-states?period=2015. 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/2015/. 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, 2015
PY  - 2017
DA  - 2017/05/09
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2015/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-retail-trade/us-states?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-retail-trade/us-states?period=2015.
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/2015/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest employer establishments: retail trade?

California, with 108,542 in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest employer establishments: retail trade?

District of Columbia, with 1,751 in 2015.

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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