Data / Rankings / Employer establishments: utilities / US states

US states by employer establishments: utilities

Texas had the highest employer establishments: utilities of 51 states in 2017, at 1,972. Rhode Island had the lowest, at 40. The median was 292 and the figure for the United States was 18,965. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest1,972Texas
Lowest40Rhode Island
Median29251 states
United States18,965History

Map of states, 2017

Alabama: 344 countAlaska: 106 countArizona: 292 countArkansas: 330 countCalifornia: 1,247 countColorado: 405 countConnecticut: 134 countDelaware: 50 countDistrict of Columbia: 55 countFlorida: 866 countGeorgia: 610 countHawaii: 63 countIdaho: 214 countIllinois: 511 countIndiana: 636 countIowa: 271 countKansas: 246 countKentucky: 356 countLouisiana: 483 countMaine: 117 countMaryland: 160 countMassachusetts: 287 countMichigan: 418 countMinnesota: 347 countMississippi: 594 countMissouri: 373 countMontana: 211 countNebraska: 120 countNevada: 124 countNew Hampshire: 123 countNew Jersey: 364 countNew Mexico: 227 countNew York: 674 countNorth Carolina: 857 countNorth Dakota: 151 countOhio: 704 countOklahoma: 368 countOregon: 282 countPennsylvania: 854 countRhode Island: 40 countSouth Carolina: 418 countSouth Dakota: 154 countTennessee: 151 countTexas: 1,972 countUtah: 218 countVermont: 70 countVirginia: 335 countWashington: 309 countWest Virginia: 231 countWisconsin: 347 countWyoming: 146 count
  • Under 120
  • 120 to 210
  • 210 to 290
  • 290 to 370
  • 370 to 600
  • 600 and over
count, 2017. 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, 2017

Texas: 1,972 countTexas1,972California: 1,247 countCalifornia1,247Florida: 866 countFlorida866North Carolina: 857 countNorth Carolina857Pennsylvania: 854 countPennsylvania854Ohio: 704 countOhio704New York: 674 countNew York674Indiana: 636 countIndiana636Georgia: 610 countGeorgia610Mississippi: 594 countMississippi594Illinois: 511 countIllinois511Louisiana: 483 countLouisiana483Michigan: 418 countMichigan418South Carolina: 418 countSouth Carolina418Colorado: 405 countColorado405Missouri: 373 countMissouri373Oklahoma: 368 countOklahoma368New Jersey: 364 countNew Jersey364Kentucky: 356 countKentucky356Minnesota: 347 countMinnesota347Wisconsin: 347 countWisconsin347Alabama: 344 countAlabama344Virginia: 335 countVirginia335Arkansas: 330 countArkansas330Washington: 309 countWashington309Arizona: 292 countArizona292Massachusetts: 287 countMassachusetts287Oregon: 282 countOregon282Iowa: 271 countIowa271Kansas: 246 countKansas246West Virginia: 231 countWest Virginia231New Mexico: 227 countNew Mexico227Utah: 218 countUtah218Idaho: 214 countIdaho214Montana: 211 countMontana211Maryland: 160 countMaryland160South Dakota: 154 countSouth Dakota154North Dakota: 151 countNorth Dakota151Tennessee: 151 countTennessee151Wyoming: 146 countWyoming146Connecticut: 134 countConnecticut134Nevada: 124 countNevada124New Hampshire: 123 countNew Hampshire123Nebraska: 120 countNebraska120Maine: 117 countMaine117Alaska: 106 countAlaska106Vermont: 70 countVermont70Hawaii: 63 countHawaii63District of Columbia: 55 countDistrict of Columbia55Delaware: 50 countDelaware50Rhode Island: 40 countRhode Island40Texas: 1,972 countTexas1,972California: 1,247 countCalifornia1,247Florida: 866 countFlorida866North Carolina: 857 countNorth Carolina857Pennsylvania: 854 countPennsylvania854Ohio: 704 countOhio704New York: 674 countNew York674Indiana: 636 countIndiana636Georgia: 610 countGeorgia610Mississippi: 594 countMississippi594Illinois: 511 countIllinois511Louisiana: 483 countLouisiana483Michigan: 418 countMichigan418South Carolina: 418 countSouth Carolina418Colorado: 405 countColorado405Missouri: 373 countMissouri373Oklahoma: 368 countOklahoma368New Jersey: 364 countNew Jersey364Kentucky: 356 countKentucky356Minnesota: 347 countMinnesota347Wisconsin: 347 countWisconsin347Alabama: 344 countAlabama344Virginia: 335 countVirginia335Arkansas: 330 countArkansas330Washington: 309 countWashington309Arizona: 292 countArizona292Massachusetts: 287 countMassachusetts287Oregon: 282 countOregon282Iowa: 271 countIowa271Kansas: 246 countKansas246West Virginia: 231 countWest Virginia231New Mexico: 227 countNew Mexico227Utah: 218 countUtah218Idaho: 214 countIdaho214Montana: 211 countMontana211Maryland: 160 countMaryland160South Dakota: 154 countSouth Dakota154North Dakota: 151 countNorth Dakota151Tennessee: 151 countTennessee151Wyoming: 146 countWyoming146Connecticut: 134 countConnecticut134Nevada: 124 countNevada124New Hampshire: 123 countNew Hampshire123Nebraska: 120 countNebraska120Maine: 117 countMaine117Alaska: 106 countAlaska106Vermont: 70 countVermont70Hawaii: 63 countHawaii63District of Columbia: 55 countDistrict of Columbia55Delaware: 50 countDelaware50Rhode Island: 40 countRhode Island40
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

RankStates2017
count		Change on 2016
1Texas1,972-0.4%
2California1,247-1%
3Florida866+14.6%
4North Carolina857+47.5%
5Pennsylvania854+3.1%
6Ohio704+8.8%
7New York674+6.5%
8Indiana636+17.6%
9Georgia610-2.6%
10Mississippi594-2.3%
11Illinois511+2.4%
12Louisiana483-8.2%
13Michigan418+9.4%
13South Carolina418+18.8%
15Colorado405+3.8%
16Missouri373-0.8%
17Oklahoma368+0.5%
18New Jersey364-1.9%
19Kentucky356+6.3%
20Minnesota347+3.6%
20Wisconsin347+8.4%
22Alabama344-2.5%
23Virginia3350%
24Arkansas330-6.8%
25Washington309+4.4%
26Arizona292+14.5%
27Massachusetts287+4.4%
28Oregon282+4.1%
29Iowa271-1.5%
30Kansas246+0.4%
31West Virginia231-2.9%
32New Mexico227+6.1%
33Utah2180%
34Idaho214+5.9%
35Montana211+0.5%
36Maryland160+5.3%
37South Dakota1540%
38North Dakota151+3.4%
38Tennessee151+7.9%
40Wyoming146+8.1%
41Connecticut134+0.8%
42Nevada124+0.8%
43New Hampshire123+3.4%
44Nebraska1200%
45Maine117+4.5%
46Alaska106-0.9%
47Vermont70+12.9%
48Hawaii63-3.1%
49District of Columbia55+5.8%
50Delaware50+4.2%
51Rhode Island40+2.6%

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/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), utilities (NAICS 22), all legal forms (US states by employer establishments: utilities, 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), utilities (NAICS 22), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: utilities, 2017. U.S. Census Bureau, 26 Nov. 2019, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2017/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-utilities/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), utilities (NAICS 22), all legal forms. US states by employer establishments: utilities, 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-utilities/us-states?period=2017.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2019) County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), utilities (NAICS 22), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: utilities, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2017/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-utilities/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), utilities (NAICS 22), all legal forms: US states by employer establishments: utilities, 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-utilities/us-states?period=2017. 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/2017/. 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, 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-utilities/us-states?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-utilities/us-states?period=2017.
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/2017/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest employer establishments: utilities?

Texas, with 1,972 in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest employer establishments: utilities?

Rhode Island, with 40 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), utilities (NAICS 22), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

US states: more rankings