Data / Rankings / Employer establishments: utilities / US states

US states by employer establishments: utilities

Texas had the highest employer establishments: utilities of 51 states in 2016, at 1,979. Rhode Island had the lowest, at 39. The median was 275 and the figure for the United States was 18,159. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest1,979Texas
Lowest39Rhode Island
Median27551 states
United States18,159History

Map of states, 2016

Alabama: 353 countAlaska: 107 countArizona: 255 countArkansas: 354 countCalifornia: 1,260 countColorado: 390 countConnecticut: 133 countDelaware: 48 countDistrict of Columbia: 52 countFlorida: 756 countGeorgia: 626 countHawaii: 65 countIdaho: 202 countIllinois: 499 countIndiana: 541 countIowa: 275 countKansas: 245 countKentucky: 335 countLouisiana: 526 countMaine: 112 countMaryland: 152 countMassachusetts: 275 countMichigan: 382 countMinnesota: 335 countMississippi: 608 countMissouri: 376 countMontana: 210 countNebraska: 120 countNevada: 123 countNew Hampshire: 119 countNew Jersey: 371 countNew Mexico: 214 countNew York: 633 countNorth Carolina: 581 countNorth Dakota: 146 countOhio: 647 countOklahoma: 366 countOregon: 271 countPennsylvania: 828 countRhode Island: 39 countSouth Carolina: 352 countSouth Dakota: 154 countTennessee: 140 countTexas: 1,979 countUtah: 218 countVermont: 62 countVirginia: 335 countWashington: 296 countWest Virginia: 238 countWisconsin: 320 countWyoming: 135 count
  • Under 120
  • 120 to 210
  • 210 to 280
  • 280 to 360
  • 360 to 570
  • 570 and over
count, 2016. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), utilities (NAICS 22), all legal forms. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2016

Texas: 1,979 countTexas1,979California: 1,260 countCalifornia1,260Pennsylvania: 828 countPennsylvania828Florida: 756 countFlorida756Ohio: 647 countOhio647New York: 633 countNew York633Georgia: 626 countGeorgia626Mississippi: 608 countMississippi608North Carolina: 581 countNorth Carolina581Indiana: 541 countIndiana541Louisiana: 526 countLouisiana526Illinois: 499 countIllinois499Colorado: 390 countColorado390Michigan: 382 countMichigan382Missouri: 376 countMissouri376New Jersey: 371 countNew Jersey371Oklahoma: 366 countOklahoma366Arkansas: 354 countArkansas354Alabama: 353 countAlabama353South Carolina: 352 countSouth Carolina352Kentucky: 335 countKentucky335Minnesota: 335 countMinnesota335Virginia: 335 countVirginia335Wisconsin: 320 countWisconsin320Washington: 296 countWashington296Iowa: 275 countIowa275Massachusetts: 275 countMassachusetts275Oregon: 271 countOregon271Arizona: 255 countArizona255Kansas: 245 countKansas245West Virginia: 238 countWest Virginia238Utah: 218 countUtah218New Mexico: 214 countNew Mexico214Montana: 210 countMontana210Idaho: 202 countIdaho202South Dakota: 154 countSouth Dakota154Maryland: 152 countMaryland152North Dakota: 146 countNorth Dakota146Tennessee: 140 countTennessee140Wyoming: 135 countWyoming135Connecticut: 133 countConnecticut133Nevada: 123 countNevada123Nebraska: 120 countNebraska120New Hampshire: 119 countNew Hampshire119Maine: 112 countMaine112Alaska: 107 countAlaska107Hawaii: 65 countHawaii65Vermont: 62 countVermont62District of Columbia: 52 countDistrict of Columbia52Delaware: 48 countDelaware48Rhode Island: 39 countRhode Island39Texas: 1,979 countTexas1,979California: 1,260 countCalifornia1,260Pennsylvania: 828 countPennsylvania828Florida: 756 countFlorida756Ohio: 647 countOhio647New York: 633 countNew York633Georgia: 626 countGeorgia626Mississippi: 608 countMississippi608North Carolina: 581 countNorth Carolina581Indiana: 541 countIndiana541Louisiana: 526 countLouisiana526Illinois: 499 countIllinois499Colorado: 390 countColorado390Michigan: 382 countMichigan382Missouri: 376 countMissouri376New Jersey: 371 countNew Jersey371Oklahoma: 366 countOklahoma366Arkansas: 354 countArkansas354Alabama: 353 countAlabama353South Carolina: 352 countSouth Carolina352Kentucky: 335 countKentucky335Minnesota: 335 countMinnesota335Virginia: 335 countVirginia335Wisconsin: 320 countWisconsin320Washington: 296 countWashington296Iowa: 275 countIowa275Massachusetts: 275 countMassachusetts275Oregon: 271 countOregon271Arizona: 255 countArizona255Kansas: 245 countKansas245West Virginia: 238 countWest Virginia238Utah: 218 countUtah218New Mexico: 214 countNew Mexico214Montana: 210 countMontana210Idaho: 202 countIdaho202South Dakota: 154 countSouth Dakota154Maryland: 152 countMaryland152North Dakota: 146 countNorth Dakota146Tennessee: 140 countTennessee140Wyoming: 135 countWyoming135Connecticut: 133 countConnecticut133Nevada: 123 countNevada123Nebraska: 120 countNebraska120New Hampshire: 119 countNew Hampshire119Maine: 112 countMaine112Alaska: 107 countAlaska107Hawaii: 65 countHawaii65Vermont: 62 countVermont62District of Columbia: 52 countDistrict of Columbia52Delaware: 48 countDelaware48Rhode Island: 39 countRhode Island39
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), utilities (NAICS 22), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2016
count		Change on 2015
1Texas1,979+0.2%
2California1,260+3.4%
3Pennsylvania828-0.7%
4Florida756+0.3%
5Ohio647-3%
6New York633+8.2%
7Georgia626+4%
8Mississippi608+3.1%
9North Carolina581+2.1%
10Indiana541-0.7%
11Louisiana526+5%
12Illinois499+1.6%
13Colorado390+1.3%
14Michigan382+1.6%
15Missouri376+1.1%
16New Jersey371-1.9%
17Oklahoma366+0.8%
18Arkansas354+8.3%
19Alabama353-17.1%
20South Carolina352+2.3%
21Kentucky3350%
21Minnesota335-0.3%
21Virginia335+0.3%
24Wisconsin320+4.6%
25Washington296-0.3%
26Iowa2750%
26Massachusetts275+2.2%
28Oregon271-1.1%
29Arizona255-1.2%
30Kansas245+3.4%
31West Virginia2380%
32Utah218-1.4%
33New Mexico214-3.2%
34Montana210-2.3%
35Idaho202+1.5%
36South Dakota154-1.9%
37Maryland152+7%
38North Dakota146+2.1%
39Tennessee1400%
40Wyoming135+3.1%
41Connecticut133-4.3%
42Nevada123-4.7%
43Nebraska1200%
44New Hampshire119-1.7%
45Maine112+25.8%
46Alaska107+7%
47Hawaii65+4.8%
48Vermont62+5.1%
49District of Columbia52+6.1%
50Delaware48-7.7%
51Rhode Island390%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of establishments with paid employees in utilities (NAICS 22), from the U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns. Excludes government owned utilities.

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), utilities (NAICS 22), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2016/. 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. (2018). County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), utilities (NAICS 22), all legal forms (US states by employer establishments: utilities, 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2016/

MLA 9

County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), utilities (NAICS 22), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: utilities, 2016. U.S. Census Bureau, 19 Apr. 2018, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2016/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-utilities/us-states?period=2016. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2018. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), utilities (NAICS 22), all legal forms. US states by employer establishments: utilities, 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2016/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-utilities/us-states?period=2016.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2018) County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), utilities (NAICS 22), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: utilities, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2016/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-utilities/us-states?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_employer_2016,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), utilities (NAICS 22), all legal forms: US states by employer establishments: utilities, 2016}},
  year = {2018},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2016/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-utilities/us-states?period=2016. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), utilities (NAICS 22), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2016/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), utilities (NAICS 22), all legal forms: US states by employer establishments: utilities, 2016
PY  - 2018
DA  - 2018/04/19
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2016/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-utilities/us-states?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-utilities/us-states?period=2016.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), utilities (NAICS 22), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2016/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest employer establishments: utilities?

Texas, with 1,979 in 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest employer establishments: utilities?

Rhode Island, with 39 in 2016.

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), utilities (NAICS 22), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

US states: more rankings