Data / Rankings / Nonemployer businesses: construction / US states

US states by nonemployer businesses: construction

Texas had the highest nonemployer businesses: construction of 51 states in 2017, at 302,019. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 1,927. The median was 36,555 and the figure for the United States was 2.49 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest302,019Texas
Lowest1,927District of Columbia
Median36,55551 states
United States2,494,089History

Map of states, 2017

Alabama: 39,917 countAlaska: 4,421 countArizona: 38,885 countArkansas: 28,792 countCalifornia: 220,968 countColorado: 56,032 countConnecticut: 30,906 countDelaware: 6,124 countDistrict of Columbia: 1,927 countFlorida: 197,517 countGeorgia: 99,471 countHawaii: 8,052 countIdaho: 14,480 countIllinois: 90,338 countIndiana: 47,462 countIowa: 25,843 countKansas: 20,633 countKentucky: 39,085 countLouisiana: 38,955 countMaine: 17,428 countMaryland: 42,109 countMassachusetts: 56,050 countMichigan: 77,158 countMinnesota: 38,992 countMississippi: 28,436 countMissouri: 50,946 countMontana: 12,548 countNebraska: 15,472 countNevada: 11,135 countNew Hampshire: 16,063 countNew Jersey: 55,354 countNew Mexico: 11,000 countNew York: 130,065 countNorth Carolina: 87,757 countNorth Dakota: 5,446 countOhio: 89,566 countOklahoma: 36,555 countOregon: 21,566 countPennsylvania: 92,321 countRhode Island: 8,365 countSouth Carolina: 37,394 countSouth Dakota: 7,407 countTennessee: 62,724 countTexas: 302,019 countUtah: 17,578 countVermont: 8,649 countVirginia: 59,962 countWashington: 32,028 countWest Virginia: 8,991 countWisconsin: 38,342 countWyoming: 4,855 count
  • Under 9,000
  • 9,000 to 18K
  • 18K to 37K
  • 37K to 44K
  • 44K to 84K
  • 84K and over
count, 2017. 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, 2017

Texas: 302,019 countTexas302,019California: 220,968 countCalifornia220,968Florida: 197,517 countFlorida197,517New York: 130,065 countNew York130,065Georgia: 99,471 countGeorgia99,471Pennsylvania: 92,321 countPennsylvania92,321Illinois: 90,338 countIllinois90,338Ohio: 89,566 countOhio89,566North Carolina: 87,757 countNorth Carolina87,757Michigan: 77,158 countMichigan77,158Tennessee: 62,724 countTennessee62,724Virginia: 59,962 countVirginia59,962Massachusetts: 56,050 countMassachusetts56,050Colorado: 56,032 countColorado56,032New Jersey: 55,354 countNew Jersey55,354Missouri: 50,946 countMissouri50,946Indiana: 47,462 countIndiana47,462Maryland: 42,109 countMaryland42,109Alabama: 39,917 countAlabama39,917Kentucky: 39,085 countKentucky39,085Minnesota: 38,992 countMinnesota38,992Louisiana: 38,955 countLouisiana38,955Arizona: 38,885 countArizona38,885Wisconsin: 38,342 countWisconsin38,342South Carolina: 37,394 countSouth Carolina37,394Oklahoma: 36,555 countOklahoma36,555Washington: 32,028 countWashington32,028Connecticut: 30,906 countConnecticut30,906Arkansas: 28,792 countArkansas28,792Mississippi: 28,436 countMississippi28,436Iowa: 25,843 countIowa25,843Oregon: 21,566 countOregon21,566Kansas: 20,633 countKansas20,633Utah: 17,578 countUtah17,578Maine: 17,428 countMaine17,428New Hampshire: 16,063 countNew Hampshire16,063Nebraska: 15,472 countNebraska15,472Idaho: 14,480 countIdaho14,480Montana: 12,548 countMontana12,548Nevada: 11,135 countNevada11,135New Mexico: 11,000 countNew Mexico11,000West Virginia: 8,991 countWest Virginia8,991Vermont: 8,649 countVermont8,649Rhode Island: 8,365 countRhode Island8,365Hawaii: 8,052 countHawaii8,052South Dakota: 7,407 countSouth Dakota7,407Delaware: 6,124 countDelaware6,124North Dakota: 5,446 countNorth Dakota5,446Wyoming: 4,855 countWyoming4,855Alaska: 4,421 countAlaska4,421District of Columbia: 1,927 countDistrict of Columbia1,927Texas: 302,019 countTexas302,019California: 220,968 countCalifornia220,968Florida: 197,517 countFlorida197,517New York: 130,065 countNew York130,065Georgia: 99,471 countGeorgia99,471Pennsylvania: 92,321 countPennsylvania92,321Illinois: 90,338 countIllinois90,338Ohio: 89,566 countOhio89,566North Carolina: 87,757 countNorth Carolina87,757Michigan: 77,158 countMichigan77,158Tennessee: 62,724 countTennessee62,724Virginia: 59,962 countVirginia59,962Massachusetts: 56,050 countMassachusetts56,050Colorado: 56,032 countColorado56,032New Jersey: 55,354 countNew Jersey55,354Missouri: 50,946 countMissouri50,946Indiana: 47,462 countIndiana47,462Maryland: 42,109 countMaryland42,109Alabama: 39,917 countAlabama39,917Kentucky: 39,085 countKentucky39,085Minnesota: 38,992 countMinnesota38,992Louisiana: 38,955 countLouisiana38,955Arizona: 38,885 countArizona38,885Wisconsin: 38,342 countWisconsin38,342South Carolina: 37,394 countSouth Carolina37,394Oklahoma: 36,555 countOklahoma36,555Washington: 32,028 countWashington32,028Connecticut: 30,906 countConnecticut30,906Arkansas: 28,792 countArkansas28,792Mississippi: 28,436 countMississippi28,436Iowa: 25,843 countIowa25,843Oregon: 21,566 countOregon21,566Kansas: 20,633 countKansas20,633Utah: 17,578 countUtah17,578Maine: 17,428 countMaine17,428New Hampshire: 16,063 countNew Hampshire16,063Nebraska: 15,472 countNebraska15,472Idaho: 14,480 countIdaho14,480Montana: 12,548 countMontana12,548Nevada: 11,135 countNevada11,135New Mexico: 11,000 countNew Mexico11,000West Virginia: 8,991 countWest Virginia8,991Vermont: 8,649 countVermont8,649Rhode Island: 8,365 countRhode Island8,365Hawaii: 8,052 countHawaii8,052South Dakota: 7,407 countSouth Dakota7,407Delaware: 6,124 countDelaware6,124North Dakota: 5,446 countNorth Dakota5,446Wyoming: 4,855 countWyoming4,855Alaska: 4,421 countAlaska4,421District of Columbia: 1,927 countDistrict of Columbia1,927
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

RankStates2017
count		Change on 2016
1Texas302,019+4.8%
2California220,968-0.4%
3Florida197,517+9%
4New York130,065-0.4%
5Georgia99,471+2.5%
6Pennsylvania92,321-1%
7Illinois90,338-1.9%
8Ohio89,566-0.5%
9North Carolina87,7570%
10Michigan77,158-0.5%
11Tennessee62,724-0.1%
12Virginia59,962-1.1%
13Massachusetts56,050-1.3%
14Colorado56,032+0.9%
15New Jersey55,354+0.4%
16Missouri50,946+0.1%
17Indiana47,462-1%
18Maryland42,109-1.1%
19Alabama39,917-0.8%
20Kentucky39,085+0.5%
21Minnesota38,992-1.7%
22Louisiana38,955+0.8%
23Arizona38,885-0.3%
24Wisconsin38,342-0.4%
25South Carolina37,394+0.2%
26Oklahoma36,555-0.5%
27Washington32,028-0.7%
28Connecticut30,906-0.9%
29Arkansas28,792+0.5%
30Mississippi28,4360%
31Iowa25,843-1.3%
32Oregon21,566+0.4%
33Kansas20,633-0.1%
34Utah17,578+0.7%
35Maine17,428+0.4%
36New Hampshire16,063-1.9%
37Nebraska15,472-0.6%
38Idaho14,480+0.4%
39Montana12,548+0.4%
40Nevada11,135-2.1%
41New Mexico11,000-1.5%
42West Virginia8,991-3.3%
43Vermont8,649-3.5%
44Rhode Island8,365-0.1%
45Hawaii8,052+2.4%
46South Dakota7,407-0.9%
47Delaware6,124+0.1%
48North Dakota5,446-3.2%
49Wyoming4,855-0.9%
50Alaska4,421-2.7%
51District of Columbia1,927-4.6%

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/2017/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. (2019). Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms (US states by nonemployer businesses: construction, 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2017/historical-datasets/

MLA 9

Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms, US states by nonemployer businesses: construction, 2017. U.S. Census Bureau, 27 June 2019, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2017/historical-datasets/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-construction/us-states?period=2017. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2019. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms. US states by nonemployer businesses: construction, 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2017/historical-datasets/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-construction/us-states?period=2017.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2019) Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms, US states by nonemployer businesses: construction, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2017/historical-datasets/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-construction/us-states?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_nonemployer_2017,
  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, 2017}},
  year = {2019},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2017/historical-datasets/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-construction/us-states?period=2017. 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/2017/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, 2017
PY  - 2019
DA  - 2019/06/27
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2017/historical-datasets/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-construction/us-states?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-construction/us-states?period=2017.
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/2017/historical-datasets/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest nonemployer businesses: construction?

Texas, with 302,019 in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest nonemployer businesses: construction?

District of Columbia, with 1,927 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, Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

US states: more rankings