Data / Rankings / Nonemployer businesses: professional, scientific and technical services / US states

US states by nonemployer businesses: professional, scientific and technical services

California had the highest nonemployer businesses: professional, scientific and technical services of 51 states in 2021, at 559,592. North Dakota had the lowest, at 5,590. The median was 46,312 and the figure for the United States was 3.83 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest559,592California
Lowest5,590North Dakota
Median46,31251 states
United States3,831,558History

Map of states, 2021

Alabama: 38,281 countAlaska: 7,045 countArizona: 78,628 countArkansas: 21,313 countCalifornia: 559,592 countColorado: 96,335 countConnecticut: 48,228 countDelaware: 11,883 countDistrict of Columbia: 17,532 countFlorida: 324,317 countGeorgia: 130,186 countHawaii: 16,047 countIdaho: 20,676 countIllinois: 132,883 countIndiana: 50,650 countIowa: 21,878 countKansas: 26,174 countKentucky: 31,797 countLouisiana: 43,465 countMaine: 15,736 countMaryland: 84,060 countMassachusetts: 104,803 countMichigan: 92,986 countMinnesota: 62,025 countMississippi: 20,383 countMissouri: 50,951 countMontana: 13,366 countNebraska: 14,990 countNevada: 38,202 countNew Hampshire: 18,588 countNew Jersey: 125,222 countNew Mexico: 17,505 countNew York: 275,569 countNorth Carolina: 106,747 countNorth Dakota: 5,590 countOhio: 104,900 countOklahoma: 33,523 countOregon: 52,334 countPennsylvania: 125,720 countRhode Island: 12,936 countSouth Carolina: 49,309 countSouth Dakota: 7,470 countTennessee: 68,878 countTexas: 337,094 countUtah: 46,312 countVermont: 9,995 countVirginia: 104,419 countWashington: 89,054 countWest Virginia: 9,785 countWisconsin: 47,984 countWyoming: 8,212 count
  • Under 14K
  • 14K to 21K
  • 21K to 46K
  • 46K to 72K
  • 72K to 110K
  • 110K and over
count, 2021. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), all legal forms. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2021

California: 559,592 countCalifornia559,592Texas: 337,094 countTexas337,094Florida: 324,317 countFlorida324,317New York: 275,569 countNew York275,569Illinois: 132,883 countIllinois132,883Georgia: 130,186 countGeorgia130,186Pennsylvania: 125,720 countPennsylvania125,720New Jersey: 125,222 countNew Jersey125,222North Carolina: 106,747 countNorth Carolina106,747Ohio: 104,900 countOhio104,900Massachusetts: 104,803 countMassachusetts104,803Virginia: 104,419 countVirginia104,419Colorado: 96,335 countColorado96,335Michigan: 92,986 countMichigan92,986Washington: 89,054 countWashington89,054Maryland: 84,060 countMaryland84,060Arizona: 78,628 countArizona78,628Tennessee: 68,878 countTennessee68,878Minnesota: 62,025 countMinnesota62,025Oregon: 52,334 countOregon52,334Missouri: 50,951 countMissouri50,951Indiana: 50,650 countIndiana50,650South Carolina: 49,309 countSouth Carolina49,309Connecticut: 48,228 countConnecticut48,228Wisconsin: 47,984 countWisconsin47,984Utah: 46,312 countUtah46,312Louisiana: 43,465 countLouisiana43,465Alabama: 38,281 countAlabama38,281Nevada: 38,202 countNevada38,202Oklahoma: 33,523 countOklahoma33,523Kentucky: 31,797 countKentucky31,797Kansas: 26,174 countKansas26,174Iowa: 21,878 countIowa21,878Arkansas: 21,313 countArkansas21,313Idaho: 20,676 countIdaho20,676Mississippi: 20,383 countMississippi20,383New Hampshire: 18,588 countNew Hampshire18,588District of Columbia: 17,532 countDistrict of Columbia17,532New Mexico: 17,505 countNew Mexico17,505Hawaii: 16,047 countHawaii16,047Maine: 15,736 countMaine15,736Nebraska: 14,990 countNebraska14,990Montana: 13,366 countMontana13,366Rhode Island: 12,936 countRhode Island12,936Delaware: 11,883 countDelaware11,883Vermont: 9,995 countVermont9,995West Virginia: 9,785 countWest Virginia9,785Wyoming: 8,212 countWyoming8,212South Dakota: 7,470 countSouth Dakota7,470Alaska: 7,045 countAlaska7,045North Dakota: 5,590 countNorth Dakota5,590California: 559,592 countCalifornia559,592Texas: 337,094 countTexas337,094Florida: 324,317 countFlorida324,317New York: 275,569 countNew York275,569Illinois: 132,883 countIllinois132,883Georgia: 130,186 countGeorgia130,186Pennsylvania: 125,720 countPennsylvania125,720New Jersey: 125,222 countNew Jersey125,222North Carolina: 106,747 countNorth Carolina106,747Ohio: 104,900 countOhio104,900Massachusetts: 104,803 countMassachusetts104,803Virginia: 104,419 countVirginia104,419Colorado: 96,335 countColorado96,335Michigan: 92,986 countMichigan92,986Washington: 89,054 countWashington89,054Maryland: 84,060 countMaryland84,060Arizona: 78,628 countArizona78,628Tennessee: 68,878 countTennessee68,878Minnesota: 62,025 countMinnesota62,025Oregon: 52,334 countOregon52,334Missouri: 50,951 countMissouri50,951Indiana: 50,650 countIndiana50,650South Carolina: 49,309 countSouth Carolina49,309Connecticut: 48,228 countConnecticut48,228Wisconsin: 47,984 countWisconsin47,984Utah: 46,312 countUtah46,312Louisiana: 43,465 countLouisiana43,465Alabama: 38,281 countAlabama38,281Nevada: 38,202 countNevada38,202Oklahoma: 33,523 countOklahoma33,523Kentucky: 31,797 countKentucky31,797Kansas: 26,174 countKansas26,174Iowa: 21,878 countIowa21,878Arkansas: 21,313 countArkansas21,313Idaho: 20,676 countIdaho20,676Mississippi: 20,383 countMississippi20,383New Hampshire: 18,588 countNew Hampshire18,588District of Columbia: 17,532 countDistrict of Columbia17,532New Mexico: 17,505 countNew Mexico17,505Hawaii: 16,047 countHawaii16,047Maine: 15,736 countMaine15,736Nebraska: 14,990 countNebraska14,990Montana: 13,366 countMontana13,366Rhode Island: 12,936 countRhode Island12,936Delaware: 11,883 countDelaware11,883Vermont: 9,995 countVermont9,995West Virginia: 9,785 countWest Virginia9,785Wyoming: 8,212 countWyoming8,212South Dakota: 7,470 countSouth Dakota7,470Alaska: 7,045 countAlaska7,045North Dakota: 5,590 countNorth Dakota5,590
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2021
count		Change on 2020
1California559,592+1.2%
2Texas337,094+4.9%
3Florida324,317+2.5%
4New York275,569+3.4%
5Illinois132,883+4%
6Georgia130,186+6.8%
7Pennsylvania125,720+4.6%
8New Jersey125,222+3.6%
9North Carolina106,747+5.5%
10Ohio104,900+5.1%
11Massachusetts104,803+4.4%
12Virginia104,419+5.3%
13Colorado96,335+4.4%
14Michigan92,986+3.9%
15Washington89,054+3.7%
16Maryland84,060+5%
17Arizona78,628+4%
18Tennessee68,878+5.6%
19Minnesota62,025+3.6%
20Oregon52,334+2.3%
21Missouri50,951+4.8%
22Indiana50,650+5%
23South Carolina49,309+5.1%
24Connecticut48,228+3.3%
25Wisconsin47,984+5.6%
26Utah46,312+5.6%
27Louisiana43,465+4.2%
28Alabama38,281+5.1%
29Nevada38,202+4.1%
30Oklahoma33,523+3.4%
31Kentucky31,797+4.2%
32Kansas26,174+4.7%
33Iowa21,878+3.5%
34Arkansas21,313+4.5%
35Idaho20,676+4.6%
36Mississippi20,383+3.2%
37New Hampshire18,588+4.8%
38District of Columbia17,532+6%
39New Mexico17,505+4%
40Hawaii16,047+2.6%
41Maine15,736+4.7%
42Nebraska14,990+3.5%
43Montana13,366+4.1%
44Rhode Island12,936+3.3%
45Delaware11,883+6.1%
46Vermont9,995+4.7%
47West Virginia9,785+4.7%
48Wyoming8,212+7.8%
49South Dakota7,470+6.4%
50Alaska7,045+3.7%
51North Dakota5,590+5.6%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of businesses without paid employees in professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), 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), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2021/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. (2024). Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), all legal forms (US states by nonemployer businesses: professional, scientific and technical services, 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), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), all legal forms, US states by nonemployer businesses: professional, scientific and technical services, 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-professional-services/us-states?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2024. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), all legal forms. US states by nonemployer businesses: professional, scientific and technical services, 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-professional-services/us-states?period=2021.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2024) Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), all legal forms, US states by nonemployer businesses: professional, scientific and technical services, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2021/historical-datasets/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-professional-services/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), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), all legal forms: US states by nonemployer businesses: professional, scientific and technical services, 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-professional-services/us-states?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), 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), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), all legal forms: US states by nonemployer businesses: professional, scientific and technical services, 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-professional-services/us-states?period=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-professional-services/us-states?period=2021.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2021/historical-datasets/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest nonemployer businesses: professional, scientific and technical services?

California, with 559,592 in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest nonemployer businesses: professional, scientific and technical services?

North Dakota, with 5,590 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), professional, scientific, and technical services (NAICS 54), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

US states: more rankings