US states by nonemployer businesses: accommodation and food services

California had the highest nonemployer businesses: accommodation and food services of 51 states in 2018, at 57,934. North Dakota had the lowest, at 862. The median was 5,013 and the figure for the United States was 459,908. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest57,934California

Lowest862North Dakota

Median5,01351 states

United States459,908History

Map of states, 2018

Under 1,600
1,600 to 3,000
3,000 to 5,000
5,000 to 7,700
7,700 to 13K
13K and over

count, 2018. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), all legal forms. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2018

count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	States	2018 count	Change on 2017
1	California Series break	57,934	+15.2%
2	Texas Series break	55,157	+14.7%
3	Florida Series break	42,374	+16.8%
4	New York Series break	30,862	+7.5%
5	Georgia Series break	19,359	+15%
6	Illinois Series break	15,162	+14.3%
7	Pennsylvania Series break	14,834	+11.3%
8	Ohio Series break	13,078	+17.5%
9	North Carolina Series break	12,815	+18.6%
10	New Jersey Series break	12,222	+13.3%
11	Michigan Series break	12,200	+16.8%
12	Virginia Series break	10,487	+14.3%
13	Tennessee Series break	10,294	+12.3%
14	Louisiana Series break	9,175	+10.4%
15	Maryland Series break	8,730	+14.5%
16	Colorado Series break	8,545	+21.2%
17	Arizona Series break	8,066	+19.9%
18	Washington Series break	7,477	+13.6%
19	Massachusetts Series break	7,375	+12%
20	South Carolina Series break	6,962	+13.7%
21	Wisconsin Series break	6,511	+8.3%
22	Missouri Series break	6,255	+14.4%
23	Indiana Series break	6,249	+20%
24	Alabama Series break	6,246	+13.2%
25	Oregon Series break	5,814	+13.7%
26	Oklahoma Series break	5,013	+16.4%
27	Minnesota Series break	4,918	+14.1%
28	Mississippi Series break	4,752	+7.6%
29	Connecticut Series break	4,281	+11.2%
30	Kentucky Series break	4,145	+17.2%
31	Nevada Series break	3,992	+17.2%
32	Arkansas Series break	3,781	+17.2%
33	Utah Series break	3,346	+25.1%
34	Iowa Series break	3,008	+6.9%
35	Kansas Series break	2,890	+13.6%
36	Hawaii Series break	2,530	+5.3%
36	New Mexico Series break	2,530	+18%
38	Idaho Series break	2,027	+16.1%
39	Alaska Series break	2,004	+10.8%
40	Maine Series break	1,984	+10%
41	Nebraska Series break	1,944	+13.2%
42	Montana Series break	1,790	+9.1%
43	District of Columbia Series break	1,489	+12.5%
44	West Virginia Series break	1,487	+14.1%
45	New Hampshire Series break	1,395	+7.5%
46	Vermont Series break	1,270	+3.8%
47	Rhode Island Series break	1,231	+15.5%
48	South Dakota Series break	1,119	+2.2%
49	Delaware Series break	1,035	+13.6%
50	Wyoming Series break	902	+12.6%
51	North Dakota Series break	862	+16.3%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of businesses without paid employees in accommodation and food services (hotels, restaurants and bars) (NAICS 72), from the U.S. Census Bureau Nonemployer Statistics.

Nonemployer Statistics: businesses with no paid employees that are subject to federal income tax, mostly the self-employed, counted from tax records, with receipts above small minimum amounts. Census says some years are not comparable with earlier ones, and they are marked as series breaks: 2018 in every sector (businesses were reclassified from their descriptions, which moved many out of other services), 2022 in every sector (new receipts cutoffs) and 2017 in utilities (the same reclassification). Most nonemployers are sole proprietors whose business may be a side activity. 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. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2018/historical-datasets/. 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. (2020). Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), all legal forms (US states by nonemployer businesses: accommodation and food services, 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2018/historical-datasets/

MLA 9

Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), all legal forms, US states by nonemployer businesses: accommodation and food services, 2018. U.S. Census Bureau, 21 May 2020, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2018/historical-datasets/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2018. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2020. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), all legal forms. US states by nonemployer businesses: accommodation and food services, 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2018/historical-datasets/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2018.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2020) Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), all legal forms, US states by nonemployer businesses: accommodation and food services, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2018/historical-datasets/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{census_us_states_by_nonemployer_2018,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), all legal forms: US states by nonemployer businesses: accommodation and food services, 2018}},
  year = {2020},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2018/historical-datasets/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2018. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2018/historical-datasets/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), all legal forms: US states by nonemployer businesses: accommodation and food services, 2018
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/05/21
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2018/historical-datasets/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-accommodation-food-services/us-states?period=2018.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2018/historical-datasets/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

Which state has the highest nonemployer businesses: accommodation and food services?

California, with 57,934 in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest nonemployer businesses: accommodation and food services?

North Dakota, with 862 in 2018.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), accommodation and food services (NAICS 72), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.