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 2017, at 108,276. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 1,783. The median was 15,035 and the figure for the United States was 1.06 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest108,276California
Lowest1,783District of Columbia
Median15,03551 states
United States1,064,449History

Map of states, 2017

Alabama: 17,987 countAlaska: 2,489 countArizona: 17,931 countArkansas: 10,919 countCalifornia: 108,276 countColorado: 18,892 countConnecticut: 12,462 countDelaware: 3,678 countDistrict of Columbia: 1,783 countFlorida: 74,530 countGeorgia: 34,160 countHawaii: 4,681 countIdaho: 6,131 countIllinois: 38,142 countIndiana: 21,343 countIowa: 11,461 countKansas: 10,074 countKentucky: 15,035 countLouisiana: 16,614 countMaine: 6,238 countMaryland: 17,920 countMassachusetts: 24,129 countMichigan: 34,228 countMinnesota: 18,819 countMississippi: 11,547 countMissouri: 20,730 countMontana: 4,742 countNebraska: 7,132 countNevada: 8,689 countNew Hampshire: 6,023 countNew Jersey: 31,354 countNew Mexico: 6,333 countNew York: 78,497 countNorth Carolina: 34,954 countNorth Dakota: 3,258 countOhio: 35,550 countOklahoma: 12,991 countOregon: 14,336 countPennsylvania: 42,608 countRhode Island: 3,797 countSouth Carolina: 17,757 countSouth Dakota: 3,875 countTennessee: 22,629 countTexas: 80,629 countUtah: 9,942 countVermont: 3,232 countVirginia: 26,798 countWashington: 21,710 countWest Virginia: 5,963 countWisconsin: 18,880 countWyoming: 2,571 count
  • Under 5,000
  • 5,000 to 10K
  • 10K to 15K
  • 15K to 20K
  • 20K to 34K
  • 34K and over
count, 2017. 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, 2017

California: 108,276 countCalifornia108,276Texas: 80,629 countTexas80,629New York: 78,497 countNew York78,497Florida: 74,530 countFlorida74,530Pennsylvania: 42,608 countPennsylvania42,608Illinois: 38,142 countIllinois38,142Ohio: 35,550 countOhio35,550North Carolina: 34,954 countNorth Carolina34,954Michigan: 34,228 countMichigan34,228Georgia: 34,160 countGeorgia34,160New Jersey: 31,354 countNew Jersey31,354Virginia: 26,798 countVirginia26,798Massachusetts: 24,129 countMassachusetts24,129Tennessee: 22,629 countTennessee22,629Washington: 21,710 countWashington21,710Indiana: 21,343 countIndiana21,343Missouri: 20,730 countMissouri20,730Colorado: 18,892 countColorado18,892Wisconsin: 18,880 countWisconsin18,880Minnesota: 18,819 countMinnesota18,819Alabama: 17,987 countAlabama17,987Arizona: 17,931 countArizona17,931Maryland: 17,920 countMaryland17,920South Carolina: 17,757 countSouth Carolina17,757Louisiana: 16,614 countLouisiana16,614Kentucky: 15,035 countKentucky15,035Oregon: 14,336 countOregon14,336Oklahoma: 12,991 countOklahoma12,991Connecticut: 12,462 countConnecticut12,462Mississippi: 11,547 countMississippi11,547Iowa: 11,461 countIowa11,461Arkansas: 10,919 countArkansas10,919Kansas: 10,074 countKansas10,074Utah: 9,942 countUtah9,942Nevada: 8,689 countNevada8,689Nebraska: 7,132 countNebraska7,132New Mexico: 6,333 countNew Mexico6,333Maine: 6,238 countMaine6,238Idaho: 6,131 countIdaho6,131New Hampshire: 6,023 countNew Hampshire6,023West Virginia: 5,963 countWest Virginia5,963Montana: 4,742 countMontana4,742Hawaii: 4,681 countHawaii4,681South Dakota: 3,875 countSouth Dakota3,875Rhode Island: 3,797 countRhode Island3,797Delaware: 3,678 countDelaware3,678North Dakota: 3,258 countNorth Dakota3,258Vermont: 3,232 countVermont3,232Wyoming: 2,571 countWyoming2,571Alaska: 2,489 countAlaska2,489District of Columbia: 1,783 countDistrict of Columbia1,783California: 108,276 countCalifornia108,276Texas: 80,629 countTexas80,629New York: 78,497 countNew York78,497Florida: 74,530 countFlorida74,530Pennsylvania: 42,608 countPennsylvania42,608Illinois: 38,142 countIllinois38,142Ohio: 35,550 countOhio35,550North Carolina: 34,954 countNorth Carolina34,954Michigan: 34,228 countMichigan34,228Georgia: 34,160 countGeorgia34,160New Jersey: 31,354 countNew Jersey31,354Virginia: 26,798 countVirginia26,798Massachusetts: 24,129 countMassachusetts24,129Tennessee: 22,629 countTennessee22,629Washington: 21,710 countWashington21,710Indiana: 21,343 countIndiana21,343Missouri: 20,730 countMissouri20,730Colorado: 18,892 countColorado18,892Wisconsin: 18,880 countWisconsin18,880Minnesota: 18,819 countMinnesota18,819Alabama: 17,987 countAlabama17,987Arizona: 17,931 countArizona17,931Maryland: 17,920 countMaryland17,920South Carolina: 17,757 countSouth Carolina17,757Louisiana: 16,614 countLouisiana16,614Kentucky: 15,035 countKentucky15,035Oregon: 14,336 countOregon14,336Oklahoma: 12,991 countOklahoma12,991Connecticut: 12,462 countConnecticut12,462Mississippi: 11,547 countMississippi11,547Iowa: 11,461 countIowa11,461Arkansas: 10,919 countArkansas10,919Kansas: 10,074 countKansas10,074Utah: 9,942 countUtah9,942Nevada: 8,689 countNevada8,689Nebraska: 7,132 countNebraska7,132New Mexico: 6,333 countNew Mexico6,333Maine: 6,238 countMaine6,238Idaho: 6,131 countIdaho6,131New Hampshire: 6,023 countNew Hampshire6,023West Virginia: 5,963 countWest Virginia5,963Montana: 4,742 countMontana4,742Hawaii: 4,681 countHawaii4,681South Dakota: 3,875 countSouth Dakota3,875Rhode Island: 3,797 countRhode Island3,797Delaware: 3,678 countDelaware3,678North Dakota: 3,258 countNorth Dakota3,258Vermont: 3,232 countVermont3,232Wyoming: 2,571 countWyoming2,571Alaska: 2,489 countAlaska2,489District of Columbia: 1,783 countDistrict of Columbia1,783
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

RankStates2017
count		Change on 2016
1California108,276-0.1%
2Texas80,629-0%
3New York78,497-0.4%
4Florida74,530-0.9%
5Pennsylvania42,608-1.4%
6Illinois38,142-1.5%
7Ohio35,550-1.3%
8North Carolina34,954+0.6%
9Michigan34,228-0.8%
10Georgia34,160+0.1%
11New Jersey31,354-0.3%
12Virginia26,798-0.4%
13Massachusetts24,129-0.9%
14Tennessee22,629-0.5%
15Washington21,7100%
16Indiana21,343+0.5%
17Missouri20,730-1.4%
18Colorado18,892+0.5%
19Wisconsin18,880-0.6%
20Minnesota18,819-1%
21Alabama17,987-0.6%
22Arizona17,931-0.5%
23Maryland17,920-1.5%
24South Carolina17,757+0.7%
25Louisiana16,614+0.4%
26Kentucky15,035-0.2%
27Oregon14,336+1.7%
28Oklahoma12,991-1.3%
29Connecticut12,462-1%
30Mississippi11,547-0.5%
31Iowa11,461-1.3%
32Arkansas10,919+0.6%
33Kansas10,074-1.2%
34Utah9,942+1%
35Nevada8,689-0.2%
36Nebraska7,132-1.7%
37New Mexico6,333-2.2%
38Maine6,238-0.4%
39Idaho6,131+1.5%
40New Hampshire6,023+0.4%
41West Virginia5,963-1.3%
42Montana4,742-0.6%
43Hawaii4,681+1.4%
44South Dakota3,875-1.1%
45Rhode Island3,797+0.6%
46Delaware3,678-1%
47North Dakota3,258+0.3%
48Vermont3,232-1.5%
49Wyoming2,571-2.8%
50Alaska2,489+0.4%
51District of Columbia1,783-1%

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/2017/. 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. (2019). County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms (US states by employer establishments: retail trade, 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2017/

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, 2017. U.S. Census Bureau, 26 Nov. 2019, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2017/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-retail-trade/us-states?period=2017. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2019. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms. US states by employer establishments: retail trade, 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2017/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-retail-trade/us-states?period=2017.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2019) County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: retail trade, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2017/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-retail-trade/us-states?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_employer_2017,
  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, 2017}},
  year = {2019},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2017/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-retail-trade/us-states?period=2017. 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/2017/. 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, 2017
PY  - 2019
DA  - 2019/11/26
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2017/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-retail-trade/us-states?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-retail-trade/us-states?period=2017.
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/2017/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest employer establishments: retail trade?

California, with 108,276 in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest employer establishments: retail trade?

District of Columbia, with 1,783 in 2017.

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