US states by nonemployer businesses: information
California had the highest nonemployer businesses: information of 51 states in 2021, at 68,897. North Dakota had the lowest, at 461. The median was 4,292 and the figure for the United States was 387,598. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.
Map of states, 2021
- Under 1,400
- 1,400 to 2,000
- 2,000 to 4,300
- 4,300 to 7,200
- 7,200 to 10K
- 10K and over
All states, 2021
Full ranking
| Rank | States | 2021 | Change on 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 68,897 | +14.1% |
| 2 | New York | 33,367 | +14.8% |
| 3 | Texas | 31,279 | +18% |
| 4 | Florida | 29,947 | +10.5% |
| 5 | Georgia | 15,151 | +18.7% |
| 6 | Illinois | 12,686 | +17.2% |
| 7 | Pennsylvania | 11,707 | +15.2% |
| 8 | New Jersey | 11,327 | +10.6% |
| 9 | North Carolina | 10,259 | +15.9% |
| 10 | Ohio | 9,886 | +16.5% |
| 11 | Virginia | 9,357 | +17.9% |
| 12 | Tennessee | 9,319 | +19.7% |
| 13 | Michigan | 9,081 | +17.8% |
| 14 | Washington | 8,755 | +23.3% |
| 15 | Colorado | 8,505 | +15.5% |
| 16 | Massachusetts | 8,466 | +18.1% |
| 17 | Maryland | 7,496 | +15.6% |
| 18 | Arizona | 7,123 | +17.6% |
| 19 | Minnesota | 5,701 | +16.9% |
| 20 | Oregon | 5,646 | +18.6% |
| 21 | Indiana | 5,158 | +21.7% |
| 22 | Missouri | 5,122 | +16.5% |
| 23 | Utah | 4,846 | +18.5% |
| 24 | Wisconsin | 4,485 | +19% |
| 25 | Nevada | 4,406 | +15.8% |
| 26 | Connecticut | 4,292 | +15.2% |
| 27 | South Carolina | 4,213 | +15.8% |
| 28 | Louisiana | 3,654 | +16.4% |
| 29 | Alabama | 3,392 | +16.9% |
| 30 | Oklahoma | 3,131 | +12.5% |
| 31 | Kentucky | 3,108 | +12.4% |
| 32 | Kansas | 2,316 | +16.6% |
| 33 | Iowa | 2,288 | +14.7% |
| 34 | Arkansas | 2,014 | +16.7% |
| 35 | Idaho | 1,863 | +17.8% |
| 36 | New Mexico | 1,808 | +14.6% |
| 37 | Mississippi | 1,786 | +18% |
| 38 | Delaware | 1,563 | +19.7% |
| 39 | New Hampshire | 1,515 | +17% |
| 40 | Maine | 1,496 | +18.5% |
| 41 | District of Columbia | 1,471 | +10.8% |
| 42 | Nebraska | 1,413 | +16.2% |
| 43 | Hawaii | 1,391 | +24.2% |
| 44 | Montana | 1,196 | +14.6% |
| 45 | Rhode Island | 1,090 | +15.8% |
| 46 | West Virginia | 985 | +19% |
| 47 | Vermont | 955 | +17.2% |
| 48 | Wyoming | 896 | +14.1% |
| 49 | South Dakota | 726 | +17.5% |
| 50 | Alaska | 603 | +24.3% |
| 51 | North Dakota | 461 | +14.7% |
Other periods
About this ranking
Number of businesses without paid employees in information (publishing, media, telecommunications and data processing) (NAICS 51), 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), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2021/historical-datasets/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.Citation styles
APA 7
U.S. Census Bureau. (2024). Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms (US states by nonemployer businesses: information, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2021/historical-datasets/
MLA 9
Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms, US states by nonemployer businesses: information, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau, 14 Mar. 2024, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2021/historical-datasets/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-information/us-states?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.
Chicago (author-date)
U.S. Census Bureau. 2024. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms. US states by nonemployer businesses: information, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2021/historical-datasets/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-information/us-states?period=2021.
Harvard
U.S. Census Bureau (2024) Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms, US states by nonemployer businesses: information, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2021/historical-datasets/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-information/us-states?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_nonemployer_2021,
author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
title = {{Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms: US states by nonemployer businesses: information, 2021}},
year = {2024},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2021/historical-datasets/},
urldate = {2026-10-12},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-information/us-states?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2021/historical-datasets/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY - DATA
AU - U.S. Census Bureau
TI - Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms: US states by nonemployer businesses: information, 2021
PY - 2024
DA - 2024/03/14
PB - U.S. Census Bureau
DB - Invokely
UR - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2021/historical-datasets/
L2 - https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-information/us-states?period=2021
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-information/us-states?period=2021.
N1 - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2021/historical-datasets/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER -
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Rank US states by nonemployer businesses: information using official data, and cite the source.
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Which state has the highest nonemployer businesses: information?
California, with 68,897 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Which state has the lowest nonemployer businesses: information?
North Dakota, with 461 in 2021.
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), information (NAICS 51), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.