Data / Rankings / Nonemployer businesses: construction / US states

US states by nonemployer businesses: construction, 2024

Texas had the highest nonemployer businesses: construction of 51 states in 2024, at 402,604. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 2,123. The median was 40,931 and the figure for the United States was 3.04 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Highest402,604Texas
Lowest2,123District of Columbia
Median40,93151 states
United States3,042,704History

All states, 2024

Texas: 402,604 countTexas402,604Florida: 338,513 countFlorida338,513California: 246,176 countCalifornia246,176New York: 151,781 countNew York151,781Georgia: 130,933 countGeorgia130,933North Carolina: 106,952 countNorth Carolina106,952Ohio: 99,318 countOhio99,318Pennsylvania: 98,792 countPennsylvania98,792Illinois: 97,562 countIllinois97,562Michigan: 86,129 countMichigan86,129Tennessee: 75,084 countTennessee75,084Virginia: 70,484 countVirginia70,484New Jersey: 66,542 countNew Jersey66,542Colorado: 64,360 countColorado64,360Massachusetts: 61,885 countMassachusetts61,885Missouri: 56,991 countMissouri56,991Arizona: 55,359 countArizona55,359Indiana: 52,973 countIndiana52,973Maryland: 52,567 countMaryland52,567South Carolina: 49,760 countSouth Carolina49,760Alabama: 45,263 countAlabama45,263Louisiana: 43,740 countLouisiana43,740Kentucky: 43,702 countKentucky43,702Minnesota: 42,011 countMinnesota42,011Wisconsin: 41,445 countWisconsin41,445Oklahoma: 40,931 countOklahoma40,931Washington: 38,891 countWashington38,891Arkansas: 32,986 countArkansas32,986Connecticut: 32,464 countConnecticut32,464Mississippi: 31,855 countMississippi31,855Iowa: 27,050 countIowa27,050Utah: 25,171 countUtah25,171Oregon: 24,187 countOregon24,187Kansas: 22,697 countKansas22,697Idaho: 19,091 countIdaho19,091Maine: 18,781 countMaine18,781Nebraska: 17,140 countNebraska17,140Nevada: 16,545 countNevada16,545New Hampshire: 16,014 countNew Hampshire16,014Montana: 15,155 countMontana15,155New Mexico: 13,153 countNew Mexico13,153West Virginia: 9,398 countWest Virginia9,398Hawaii: 9,310 countHawaii9,310Vermont: 9,075 countVermont9,075Rhode Island: 8,650 countRhode Island8,650South Dakota: 8,026 countSouth Dakota8,026Delaware: 7,204 countDelaware7,204Wyoming: 5,633 countWyoming5,633North Dakota: 5,594 countNorth Dakota5,594Alaska: 4,654 countAlaska4,654District of Columbia: 2,123 countDistrict of Columbia2,123
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2024
count		Change on 2023
1Texas402,604+6.3%
2Florida338,513+12.3%
3California246,176+3.4%
4New York151,781+7%
5Georgia130,933+6%
6North Carolina106,952+4.3%
7Ohio99,318+1.5%
8Pennsylvania98,792+0.9%
9Illinois97,562+3%
10Michigan86,129+1.4%
11Tennessee75,084+1.2%
12Virginia70,484+2.6%
13New Jersey66,542+3.5%
14Colorado64,360+2%
15Massachusetts61,885+2.7%
16Missouri56,991+2.6%
17Arizona55,359+5.2%
18Indiana52,973+1.5%
19Maryland52,567+3%
20South Carolina49,760+7.2%
21Alabama45,263+1.6%
22Louisiana43,740+1.7%
23Kentucky43,702+0.3%
24Minnesota42,011+0.7%
25Wisconsin41,445+0.3%
26Oklahoma40,931+0.9%
27Washington38,891+3.3%
28Arkansas32,986+0.5%
29Connecticut32,464+0.8%
30Mississippi31,855+1.6%
31Iowa27,0500%
32Utah25,171+5.8%
33Oregon24,187+2.5%
34Kansas22,697+2.5%
35Idaho19,091+3.2%
36Maine18,781+1.5%
37Nebraska17,140+2.9%
38Nevada16,545+5.1%
39New Hampshire16,014+0.5%
40Montana15,155+0.1%
41New Mexico13,153+2.7%
42West Virginia9,398-0.5%
43Hawaii9,310+2.7%
44Vermont9,075+1%
45Rhode Island8,650-0.8%
46South Dakota8,026+0.1%
47Delaware7,204-0.5%
48Wyoming5,633+2.4%
49North Dakota5,594-0.1%
50Alaska4,654+1.5%
51District of Columbia2,123+0.6%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of businesses without paid employees in construction (NAICS 23), 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), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2024/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. (2026). Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms (US states by nonemployer businesses: construction, 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2024/historical-datasets/

MLA 9

Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms, US states by nonemployer businesses: construction, 2024. U.S. Census Bureau, 29 Sept. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2024/historical-datasets/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-construction/us-states. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms. US states by nonemployer businesses: construction, 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2024/historical-datasets/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-construction/us-states.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms, US states by nonemployer businesses: construction, 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2024/historical-datasets/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-construction/us-states (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_nonemployer_2024,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms: US states by nonemployer businesses: construction, 2024}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2024/historical-datasets/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-construction/us-states. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2024/historical-datasets/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms: US states by nonemployer businesses: construction, 2024
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/29
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2024/historical-datasets/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-construction/us-states
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-construction/us-states.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2024/historical-datasets/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest nonemployer businesses: construction?

Texas, with 402,604 in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest nonemployer businesses: construction?

District of Columbia, with 2,123 in 2024.

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), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

US states: more rankings