Data / Rankings / Employer establishments: utilities / US states

US states by employer establishments: utilities

Texas had the highest employer establishments: utilities of 51 states in 2021, at 2,140. Rhode Island had the lowest, at 39. The median was 333 and the figure for the United States was 19,896. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest2,140Texas
Lowest39Rhode Island
Median33351 states
United States19,896History

Map of states, 2021

Alabama: 349 countAlaska: 114 countArizona: 295 countArkansas: 333 countCalifornia: 1,354 countColorado: 438 countConnecticut: 143 countDelaware: 80 countDistrict of Columbia: 76 countFlorida: 910 countGeorgia: 594 countHawaii: 78 countIdaho: 219 countIllinois: 681 countIndiana: 535 countIowa: 393 countKansas: 257 countKentucky: 346 countLouisiana: 521 countMaine: 128 countMaryland: 229 countMassachusetts: 293 countMichigan: 433 countMinnesota: 371 countMississippi: 591 countMissouri: 409 countMontana: 199 countNebraska: 105 countNevada: 119 countNew Hampshire: 115 countNew Jersey: 427 countNew Mexico: 225 countNew York: 777 countNorth Carolina: 648 countNorth Dakota: 152 countOhio: 722 countOklahoma: 399 countOregon: 303 countPennsylvania: 882 countRhode Island: 39 countSouth Carolina: 359 countSouth Dakota: 160 countTennessee: 170 countTexas: 2,140 countUtah: 243 countVermont: 65 countVirginia: 384 countWashington: 335 countWest Virginia: 245 countWisconsin: 368 countWyoming: 145 count
  • Under 120
  • 120 to 220
  • 220 to 330
  • 330 to 400
  • 400 to 590
  • 590 and over
count, 2021. 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, 2021

Texas: 2,140 countTexas2,140California: 1,354 countCalifornia1,354Florida: 910 countFlorida910Pennsylvania: 882 countPennsylvania882New York: 777 countNew York777Ohio: 722 countOhio722Illinois: 681 countIllinois681North Carolina: 648 countNorth Carolina648Georgia: 594 countGeorgia594Mississippi: 591 countMississippi591Indiana: 535 countIndiana535Louisiana: 521 countLouisiana521Colorado: 438 countColorado438Michigan: 433 countMichigan433New Jersey: 427 countNew Jersey427Missouri: 409 countMissouri409Oklahoma: 399 countOklahoma399Iowa: 393 countIowa393Virginia: 384 countVirginia384Minnesota: 371 countMinnesota371Wisconsin: 368 countWisconsin368South Carolina: 359 countSouth Carolina359Alabama: 349 countAlabama349Kentucky: 346 countKentucky346Washington: 335 countWashington335Arkansas: 333 countArkansas333Oregon: 303 countOregon303Arizona: 295 countArizona295Massachusetts: 293 countMassachusetts293Kansas: 257 countKansas257West Virginia: 245 countWest Virginia245Utah: 243 countUtah243Maryland: 229 countMaryland229New Mexico: 225 countNew Mexico225Idaho: 219 countIdaho219Montana: 199 countMontana199Tennessee: 170 countTennessee170South Dakota: 160 countSouth Dakota160North Dakota: 152 countNorth Dakota152Wyoming: 145 countWyoming145Connecticut: 143 countConnecticut143Maine: 128 countMaine128Nevada: 119 countNevada119New Hampshire: 115 countNew Hampshire115Alaska: 114 countAlaska114Nebraska: 105 countNebraska105Delaware: 80 countDelaware80Hawaii: 78 countHawaii78District of Columbia: 76 countDistrict of Columbia76Vermont: 65 countVermont65Rhode Island: 39 countRhode Island39Texas: 2,140 countTexas2,140California: 1,354 countCalifornia1,354Florida: 910 countFlorida910Pennsylvania: 882 countPennsylvania882New York: 777 countNew York777Ohio: 722 countOhio722Illinois: 681 countIllinois681North Carolina: 648 countNorth Carolina648Georgia: 594 countGeorgia594Mississippi: 591 countMississippi591Indiana: 535 countIndiana535Louisiana: 521 countLouisiana521Colorado: 438 countColorado438Michigan: 433 countMichigan433New Jersey: 427 countNew Jersey427Missouri: 409 countMissouri409Oklahoma: 399 countOklahoma399Iowa: 393 countIowa393Virginia: 384 countVirginia384Minnesota: 371 countMinnesota371Wisconsin: 368 countWisconsin368South Carolina: 359 countSouth Carolina359Alabama: 349 countAlabama349Kentucky: 346 countKentucky346Washington: 335 countWashington335Arkansas: 333 countArkansas333Oregon: 303 countOregon303Arizona: 295 countArizona295Massachusetts: 293 countMassachusetts293Kansas: 257 countKansas257West Virginia: 245 countWest Virginia245Utah: 243 countUtah243Maryland: 229 countMaryland229New Mexico: 225 countNew Mexico225Idaho: 219 countIdaho219Montana: 199 countMontana199Tennessee: 170 countTennessee170South Dakota: 160 countSouth Dakota160North Dakota: 152 countNorth Dakota152Wyoming: 145 countWyoming145Connecticut: 143 countConnecticut143Maine: 128 countMaine128Nevada: 119 countNevada119New Hampshire: 115 countNew Hampshire115Alaska: 114 countAlaska114Nebraska: 105 countNebraska105Delaware: 80 countDelaware80Hawaii: 78 countHawaii78District of Columbia: 76 countDistrict of Columbia76Vermont: 65 countVermont65Rhode 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

RankStates2021
count		Change on 2020
1Texas2,140+3.1%
2California1,354+4.1%
3Florida910+7.8%
4Pennsylvania882-1.6%
5New York777+3.3%
6Ohio722-1.2%
7Illinois681+8.3%
8North Carolina648+1.7%
9Georgia594+1.7%
10Mississippi591+1.7%
11Indiana535-0.4%
12Louisiana521+1.4%
13Colorado438+2.8%
14Michigan433+2.1%
15New Jersey427+9.8%
16Missouri409+6.8%
17Oklahoma399+2.6%
18Iowa393+0.8%
19Virginia384+2.9%
20Minnesota371+3.1%
21Wisconsin368+1.1%
22South Carolina3590%
23Alabama349-1.7%
24Kentucky346-0.9%
25Washington335+5.3%
26Arkansas333+2.5%
27Oregon303+2%
28Arizona295-4.2%
29Massachusetts293-7.9%
30Kansas257+0.8%
31West Virginia245+2.1%
32Utah243+4.3%
33Maryland229+7.5%
34New Mexico225+2.7%
35Idaho219+2.8%
36Montana199-4.8%
37Tennessee170+4.9%
38South Dakota1600%
39North Dakota152-0.7%
40Wyoming145-5.2%
41Connecticut143-9.5%
42Maine128+7.6%
43Nevada119-0.8%
44New Hampshire115-11.5%
45Alaska114+4.6%
46Nebraska105-7.9%
47Delaware80+11.1%
48Hawaii78+9.9%
49District of Columbia76+13.4%
50Vermont65+3.2%
51Rhode Island39-7.1%

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/2021/. 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. (2023). County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), utilities (NAICS 22), all legal forms (US states by employer establishments: utilities, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2021/

MLA 9

County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), utilities (NAICS 22), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: utilities, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 27 Apr. 2023, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2021/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-utilities/us-states?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2023. County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), utilities (NAICS 22), all legal forms. US states by employer establishments: utilities, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2021/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-utilities/us-states?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2023) County Business Patterns, state and US files: establishments (EST), utilities (NAICS 22), all legal forms, US states by employer establishments: utilities, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2021/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-utilities/us-states?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_employer_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  year = {2023},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2021/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-utilities/us-states?period=2021. 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/2021/. 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, 2021
PY  - 2023
DA  - 2023/04/27
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/datasets/2021/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-utilities/us-states?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employer-establishments-utilities/us-states?period=2021.
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/2021/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest employer establishments: utilities?

Texas, with 2,140 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest employer establishments: utilities?

Rhode Island, with 39 in 2021.

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