Data / Rankings / Nonemployer businesses: construction / US states

US states by nonemployer businesses: construction

Texas had the highest nonemployer businesses: construction of 51 states in 2020, at 373,563. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 2,214. The median was 40,557 and the figure for the United States was 2.88 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest373,563Texas
Lowest2,214District of Columbia
Median40,55751 states
United States2,879,156History

Map of states, 2020

Alabama: 45,890 countAlaska: 4,474 countArizona: 49,863 countArkansas: 33,308 countCalifornia: 249,186 countColorado: 62,568 countConnecticut: 32,635 countDelaware: 7,179 countDistrict of Columbia: 2,214 countFlorida: 266,411 countGeorgia: 126,466 countHawaii: 8,765 countIdaho: 17,244 countIllinois: 95,642 countIndiana: 51,829 countIowa: 27,618 countKansas: 22,014 countKentucky: 42,359 countLouisiana: 43,531 countMaine: 18,040 countMaryland: 53,775 countMassachusetts: 59,357 countMichigan: 83,978 countMinnesota: 40,665 countMississippi: 31,086 countMissouri: 56,011 countMontana: 14,053 countNebraska: 16,674 countNevada: 14,569 countNew Hampshire: 16,086 countNew Jersey: 64,292 countNew Mexico: 12,608 countNew York: 140,399 countNorth Carolina: 106,406 countNorth Dakota: 5,567 countOhio: 96,372 countOklahoma: 40,942 countOregon: 22,887 countPennsylvania: 95,428 countRhode Island: 8,727 countSouth Carolina: 46,286 countSouth Dakota: 7,678 countTennessee: 73,769 countTexas: 373,563 countUtah: 21,203 countVermont: 8,623 countVirginia: 71,149 countWashington: 34,747 countWest Virginia: 9,148 countWisconsin: 40,557 countWyoming: 5,315 count
  • Under 9,000
  • 9,000 to 20K
  • 20K to 41K
  • 41K to 52K
  • 52K to 92K
  • 92K and over
count, 2020. 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, 2020

Texas: 373,563 countTexas373,563Florida: 266,411 countFlorida266,411California: 249,186 countCalifornia249,186New York: 140,399 countNew York140,399Georgia: 126,466 countGeorgia126,466North Carolina: 106,406 countNorth Carolina106,406Ohio: 96,372 countOhio96,372Illinois: 95,642 countIllinois95,642Pennsylvania: 95,428 countPennsylvania95,428Michigan: 83,978 countMichigan83,978Tennessee: 73,769 countTennessee73,769Virginia: 71,149 countVirginia71,149New Jersey: 64,292 countNew Jersey64,292Colorado: 62,568 countColorado62,568Massachusetts: 59,357 countMassachusetts59,357Missouri: 56,011 countMissouri56,011Maryland: 53,775 countMaryland53,775Indiana: 51,829 countIndiana51,829Arizona: 49,863 countArizona49,863South Carolina: 46,286 countSouth Carolina46,286Alabama: 45,890 countAlabama45,890Louisiana: 43,531 countLouisiana43,531Kentucky: 42,359 countKentucky42,359Oklahoma: 40,942 countOklahoma40,942Minnesota: 40,665 countMinnesota40,665Wisconsin: 40,557 countWisconsin40,557Washington: 34,747 countWashington34,747Arkansas: 33,308 countArkansas33,308Connecticut: 32,635 countConnecticut32,635Mississippi: 31,086 countMississippi31,086Iowa: 27,618 countIowa27,618Oregon: 22,887 countOregon22,887Kansas: 22,014 countKansas22,014Utah: 21,203 countUtah21,203Maine: 18,040 countMaine18,040Idaho: 17,244 countIdaho17,244Nebraska: 16,674 countNebraska16,674New Hampshire: 16,086 countNew Hampshire16,086Nevada: 14,569 countNevada14,569Montana: 14,053 countMontana14,053New Mexico: 12,608 countNew Mexico12,608West Virginia: 9,148 countWest Virginia9,148Hawaii: 8,765 countHawaii8,765Rhode Island: 8,727 countRhode Island8,727Vermont: 8,623 countVermont8,623South Dakota: 7,678 countSouth Dakota7,678Delaware: 7,179 countDelaware7,179North Dakota: 5,567 countNorth Dakota5,567Wyoming: 5,315 countWyoming5,315Alaska: 4,474 countAlaska4,474District of Columbia: 2,214 countDistrict of Columbia2,214Texas: 373,563 countTexas373,563Florida: 266,411 countFlorida266,411California: 249,186 countCalifornia249,186New York: 140,399 countNew York140,399Georgia: 126,466 countGeorgia126,466North Carolina: 106,406 countNorth Carolina106,406Ohio: 96,372 countOhio96,372Illinois: 95,642 countIllinois95,642Pennsylvania: 95,428 countPennsylvania95,428Michigan: 83,978 countMichigan83,978Tennessee: 73,769 countTennessee73,769Virginia: 71,149 countVirginia71,149New Jersey: 64,292 countNew Jersey64,292Colorado: 62,568 countColorado62,568Massachusetts: 59,357 countMassachusetts59,357Missouri: 56,011 countMissouri56,011Maryland: 53,775 countMaryland53,775Indiana: 51,829 countIndiana51,829Arizona: 49,863 countArizona49,863South Carolina: 46,286 countSouth Carolina46,286Alabama: 45,890 countAlabama45,890Louisiana: 43,531 countLouisiana43,531Kentucky: 42,359 countKentucky42,359Oklahoma: 40,942 countOklahoma40,942Minnesota: 40,665 countMinnesota40,665Wisconsin: 40,557 countWisconsin40,557Washington: 34,747 countWashington34,747Arkansas: 33,308 countArkansas33,308Connecticut: 32,635 countConnecticut32,635Mississippi: 31,086 countMississippi31,086Iowa: 27,618 countIowa27,618Oregon: 22,887 countOregon22,887Kansas: 22,014 countKansas22,014Utah: 21,203 countUtah21,203Maine: 18,040 countMaine18,040Idaho: 17,244 countIdaho17,244Nebraska: 16,674 countNebraska16,674New Hampshire: 16,086 countNew Hampshire16,086Nevada: 14,569 countNevada14,569Montana: 14,053 countMontana14,053New Mexico: 12,608 countNew Mexico12,608West Virginia: 9,148 countWest Virginia9,148Hawaii: 8,765 countHawaii8,765Rhode Island: 8,727 countRhode Island8,727Vermont: 8,623 countVermont8,623South Dakota: 7,678 countSouth Dakota7,678Delaware: 7,179 countDelaware7,179North Dakota: 5,567 countNorth Dakota5,567Wyoming: 5,315 countWyoming5,315Alaska: 4,474 countAlaska4,474District of Columbia: 2,214 countDistrict of Columbia2,214
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

RankStates2020
count		Change on 2019
1Texas373,563+6.7%
2Florida266,411+8.9%
3California249,186+0.9%
4New York140,399+1.1%
5Georgia126,466+9.9%
6North Carolina106,406+7.4%
7Ohio96,372+1.6%
8Illinois95,642+3.5%
9Pennsylvania95,428+0.3%
10Michigan83,978+1.8%
11Tennessee73,769+7.3%
12Virginia71,149+7.9%
13New Jersey64,292+5.1%
14Colorado62,568+2.9%
15Massachusetts59,357+2.2%
16Missouri56,011+6.2%
17Maryland53,775+8.9%
18Indiana51,829+3.4%
19Arizona49,863+6.3%
20South Carolina46,286+9.8%
21Alabama45,890+5.5%
22Louisiana43,531+4.1%
23Kentucky42,359+2.4%
24Oklahoma40,942+6.2%
25Minnesota40,665+1.4%
26Wisconsin40,557+2.2%
27Washington34,747+0.2%
28Arkansas33,308+5.8%
29Connecticut32,635+1.9%
30Mississippi31,086+3%
31Iowa27,618+3.6%
32Oregon22,887+0.1%
33Kansas22,014+2.9%
34Utah21,203+7%
35Maine18,040+2.5%
36Idaho17,244+4.1%
37Nebraska16,674+2.8%
38New Hampshire16,086+1.6%
39Nevada14,569+2.4%
40Montana14,053+3.8%
41New Mexico12,608+0.5%
42West Virginia9,148-0.5%
43Hawaii8,765-4.4%
44Rhode Island8,727-0.6%
45Vermont8,623-0.5%
46South Dakota7,678+0.4%
47Delaware7,179+7.2%
48North Dakota5,567-0.5%
49Wyoming5,315+4.2%
50Alaska4,474-0.6%
51District of Columbia2,214+4%

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/2020/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. (2023). Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms (US states by nonemployer businesses: construction, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2020/historical-datasets/

MLA 9

Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms, US states by nonemployer businesses: construction, 2020. U.S. Census Bureau, 17 Aug. 2023, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2020/historical-datasets/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-construction/us-states?period=2020. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2023. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms. US states by nonemployer businesses: construction, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2020/historical-datasets/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-construction/us-states?period=2020.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2023) Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), construction (NAICS 23), all legal forms, US states by nonemployer businesses: construction, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2020/historical-datasets/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-construction/us-states?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_nonemployer_2020,
  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, 2020}},
  year = {2023},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2020/historical-datasets/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-construction/us-states?period=2020. 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/2020/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, 2020
PY  - 2023
DA  - 2023/08/17
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2020/historical-datasets/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-construction/us-states?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-construction/us-states?period=2020.
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/2020/historical-datasets/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest nonemployer businesses: construction?

Texas, with 373,563 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest nonemployer businesses: construction?

District of Columbia, with 2,214 in 2020.

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