Data / Rankings / Nonemployer businesses: construction / US states

US states by nonemployer businesses: construction

Texas had the highest nonemployer businesses: construction of 51 states in 2015, at 275,176. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 2,022. The median was 36,015 and the figure for the United States was 2.43 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest275,176Texas
Lowest2,022District of Columbia
Median36,01551 states
United States2,430,014History

Map of states, 2015

Alabama: 39,882 countAlaska: 4,441 countArizona: 37,395 countArkansas: 27,853 countCalifornia: 222,031 countColorado: 53,643 countConnecticut: 31,343 countDelaware: 5,973 countDistrict of Columbia: 2,022 countFlorida: 177,000 countGeorgia: 94,950 countHawaii: 7,815 countIdaho: 13,882 countIllinois: 91,574 countIndiana: 47,370 countIowa: 25,900 countKansas: 20,440 countKentucky: 38,466 countLouisiana: 36,772 countMaine: 17,343 countMaryland: 41,705 countMassachusetts: 56,726 countMichigan: 77,236 countMinnesota: 39,913 countMississippi: 27,864 countMissouri: 50,550 countMontana: 12,196 countNebraska: 15,364 countNevada: 10,851 countNew Hampshire: 16,588 countNew Jersey: 54,731 countNew Mexico: 11,064 countNew York: 129,906 countNorth Carolina: 85,812 countNorth Dakota: 5,662 countOhio: 90,186 countOklahoma: 36,228 countOregon: 20,896 countPennsylvania: 92,934 countRhode Island: 8,562 countSouth Carolina: 36,015 countSouth Dakota: 7,402 countTennessee: 61,536 countTexas: 275,176 countUtah: 17,039 countVermont: 9,048 countVirginia: 59,612 countWashington: 30,896 countWest Virginia: 9,078 countWisconsin: 38,461 countWyoming: 4,682 count
  • Under 9,000
  • 9,000 to 17K
  • 17K to 36K
  • 36K to 44K
  • 44K to 83K
  • 83K and over
count, 2015. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2015

Texas: 275,176 countTexas275,176California: 222,031 countCalifornia222,031Florida: 177,000 countFlorida177,000New York: 129,906 countNew York129,906Georgia: 94,950 countGeorgia94,950Pennsylvania: 92,934 countPennsylvania92,934Illinois: 91,574 countIllinois91,574Ohio: 90,186 countOhio90,186North Carolina: 85,812 countNorth Carolina85,812Michigan: 77,236 countMichigan77,236Tennessee: 61,536 countTennessee61,536Virginia: 59,612 countVirginia59,612Massachusetts: 56,726 countMassachusetts56,726New Jersey: 54,731 countNew Jersey54,731Colorado: 53,643 countColorado53,643Missouri: 50,550 countMissouri50,550Indiana: 47,370 countIndiana47,370Maryland: 41,705 countMaryland41,705Minnesota: 39,913 countMinnesota39,913Alabama: 39,882 countAlabama39,882Kentucky: 38,466 countKentucky38,466Wisconsin: 38,461 countWisconsin38,461Arizona: 37,395 countArizona37,395Louisiana: 36,772 countLouisiana36,772Oklahoma: 36,228 countOklahoma36,228South Carolina: 36,015 countSouth Carolina36,015Connecticut: 31,343 countConnecticut31,343Washington: 30,896 countWashington30,896Mississippi: 27,864 countMississippi27,864Arkansas: 27,853 countArkansas27,853Iowa: 25,900 countIowa25,900Oregon: 20,896 countOregon20,896Kansas: 20,440 countKansas20,440Maine: 17,343 countMaine17,343Utah: 17,039 countUtah17,039New Hampshire: 16,588 countNew Hampshire16,588Nebraska: 15,364 countNebraska15,364Idaho: 13,882 countIdaho13,882Montana: 12,196 countMontana12,196New Mexico: 11,064 countNew Mexico11,064Nevada: 10,851 countNevada10,851West Virginia: 9,078 countWest Virginia9,078Vermont: 9,048 countVermont9,048Rhode Island: 8,562 countRhode Island8,562Hawaii: 7,815 countHawaii7,815South Dakota: 7,402 countSouth Dakota7,402Delaware: 5,973 countDelaware5,973North Dakota: 5,662 countNorth Dakota5,662Wyoming: 4,682 countWyoming4,682Alaska: 4,441 countAlaska4,441District of Columbia: 2,022 countDistrict of Columbia2,022Texas: 275,176 countTexas275,176California: 222,031 countCalifornia222,031Florida: 177,000 countFlorida177,000New York: 129,906 countNew York129,906Georgia: 94,950 countGeorgia94,950Pennsylvania: 92,934 countPennsylvania92,934Illinois: 91,574 countIllinois91,574Ohio: 90,186 countOhio90,186North Carolina: 85,812 countNorth Carolina85,812Michigan: 77,236 countMichigan77,236Tennessee: 61,536 countTennessee61,536Virginia: 59,612 countVirginia59,612Massachusetts: 56,726 countMassachusetts56,726New Jersey: 54,731 countNew Jersey54,731Colorado: 53,643 countColorado53,643Missouri: 50,550 countMissouri50,550Indiana: 47,370 countIndiana47,370Maryland: 41,705 countMaryland41,705Minnesota: 39,913 countMinnesota39,913Alabama: 39,882 countAlabama39,882Kentucky: 38,466 countKentucky38,466Wisconsin: 38,461 countWisconsin38,461Arizona: 37,395 countArizona37,395Louisiana: 36,772 countLouisiana36,772Oklahoma: 36,228 countOklahoma36,228South Carolina: 36,015 countSouth Carolina36,015Connecticut: 31,343 countConnecticut31,343Washington: 30,896 countWashington30,896Mississippi: 27,864 countMississippi27,864Arkansas: 27,853 countArkansas27,853Iowa: 25,900 countIowa25,900Oregon: 20,896 countOregon20,896Kansas: 20,440 countKansas20,440Maine: 17,343 countMaine17,343Utah: 17,039 countUtah17,039New Hampshire: 16,588 countNew Hampshire16,588Nebraska: 15,364 countNebraska15,364Idaho: 13,882 countIdaho13,882Montana: 12,196 countMontana12,196New Mexico: 11,064 countNew Mexico11,064Nevada: 10,851 countNevada10,851West Virginia: 9,078 countWest Virginia9,078Vermont: 9,048 countVermont9,048Rhode Island: 8,562 countRhode Island8,562Hawaii: 7,815 countHawaii7,815South Dakota: 7,402 countSouth Dakota7,402Delaware: 5,973 countDelaware5,973North Dakota: 5,662 countNorth Dakota5,662Wyoming: 4,682 countWyoming4,682Alaska: 4,441 countAlaska4,441District of Columbia: 2,022 countDistrict of Columbia2,022
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

RankStates2015
count		Change on 2014
1Texas275,176+0.7%
2California222,031-1.4%
3Florida177,000+3.6%
4New York129,906-2.6%
5Georgia94,950-0.6%
6Pennsylvania92,934-0.1%
7Illinois91,574-1.8%
8Ohio90,186-0.5%
9North Carolina85,812-0.9%
10Michigan77,236+0.6%
11Tennessee61,536-1.7%
12Virginia59,612-1.6%
13Massachusetts56,726-1.3%
14New Jersey54,731-1.6%
15Colorado53,643+1.1%
16Missouri50,550-0.7%
17Indiana47,370-0.6%
18Maryland41,705-11.8%
19Minnesota39,913-1.7%
20Alabama39,882-1.2%
21Kentucky38,4660%
22Wisconsin38,461-0.2%
23Arizona37,395+3.2%
24Louisiana36,772-2.6%
25Oklahoma36,228-0%
26South Carolina36,015+0.8%
27Connecticut31,343-2.7%
28Washington30,896+0.5%
29Mississippi27,864+0.5%
30Arkansas27,853-1.3%
31Iowa25,900-1.4%
32Oregon20,896+1.5%
33Kansas20,440-0.1%
34Maine17,343+0.6%
35Utah17,039+1%
36New Hampshire16,588+0.1%
37Nebraska15,364-1%
38Idaho13,882+2.6%
39Montana12,196+2.7%
40New Mexico11,064-1.6%
41Nevada10,851-1.7%
42West Virginia9,078+0.3%
43Vermont9,048-1.7%
44Rhode Island8,562+1.5%
45Hawaii7,815+3.6%
46South Dakota7,402-0.2%
47Delaware5,973+0.3%
48North Dakota5,662-3.8%
49Wyoming4,682+0.2%
50Alaska4,441-3.9%
51District of Columbia2,022-2.3%

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/2015/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. (2017). Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms (US states by nonemployer businesses: construction, 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2015/historical-datasets/

MLA 9

Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms, US states by nonemployer businesses: construction, 2015. U.S. Census Bureau, 7 July 2017, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2015/historical-datasets/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-construction/us-states?period=2015. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2017. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms. US states by nonemployer businesses: construction, 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2015/historical-datasets/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-construction/us-states?period=2015.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2017) Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms, US states by nonemployer businesses: construction, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2015/historical-datasets/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-construction/us-states?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_nonemployer_2015,
  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, 2015}},
  year = {2017},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2015/historical-datasets/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-construction/us-states?period=2015. 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/2015/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, 2015
PY  - 2017
DA  - 2017/07/07
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2015/historical-datasets/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-construction/us-states?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-construction/us-states?period=2015.
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/2015/historical-datasets/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest nonemployer businesses: construction?

Texas, with 275,176 in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest nonemployer businesses: construction?

District of Columbia, with 2,022 in 2015.

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