Data / Rankings / Nonemployer businesses: real estate, rental and leasing / US states

US states by nonemployer businesses: real estate, rental and leasing

California had the highest nonemployer businesses: real estate, rental and leasing of 51 states in 2019, at 342,061. Alaska had the lowest, at 5,608. The median was 37,624 and the figure for the United States was 2.94 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest342,061California
Lowest5,608Alaska
Median37,62451 states
United States2,942,243History

Map of states, 2019

Alabama: 34,548 countAlaska: 5,608 countArizona: 66,503 countArkansas: 20,481 countCalifornia: 342,061 countColorado: 68,879 countConnecticut: 37,927 countDelaware: 10,970 countDistrict of Columbia: 6,174 countFlorida: 301,944 countGeorgia: 86,856 countHawaii: 13,424 countIdaho: 19,080 countIllinois: 97,742 countIndiana: 46,854 countIowa: 25,740 countKansas: 22,863 countKentucky: 31,215 countLouisiana: 37,875 countMaine: 12,978 countMaryland: 53,320 countMassachusetts: 62,493 countMichigan: 82,817 countMinnesota: 46,061 countMississippi: 17,539 countMissouri: 50,240 countMontana: 13,962 countNebraska: 17,293 countNevada: 31,569 countNew Hampshire: 14,111 countNew Jersey: 108,709 countNew Mexico: 13,050 countNew York: 219,477 countNorth Carolina: 88,540 countNorth Dakota: 8,061 countOhio: 87,949 countOklahoma: 28,882 countOregon: 35,900 countPennsylvania: 97,722 countRhode Island: 10,434 countSouth Carolina: 43,748 countSouth Dakota: 9,478 countTennessee: 49,447 countTexas: 225,410 countUtah: 37,624 countVermont: 6,095 countVirginia: 71,187 countWashington: 60,378 countWest Virginia: 8,858 countWisconsin: 43,196 countWyoming: 8,971 count
  • Under 12K
  • 12K to 20K
  • 20K to 38K
  • 38K to 51K
  • 51K to 88K
  • 88K and over
count, 2019. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), real estate and rental and leasing (NAICS 53), all legal forms. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2019

California: 342,061 countCalifornia342,061Florida: 301,944 countFlorida301,944Texas: 225,410 countTexas225,410New York: 219,477 countNew York219,477New Jersey: 108,709 countNew Jersey108,709Illinois: 97,742 countIllinois97,742Pennsylvania: 97,722 countPennsylvania97,722North Carolina: 88,540 countNorth Carolina88,540Ohio: 87,949 countOhio87,949Georgia: 86,856 countGeorgia86,856Michigan: 82,817 countMichigan82,817Virginia: 71,187 countVirginia71,187Colorado: 68,879 countColorado68,879Arizona: 66,503 countArizona66,503Massachusetts: 62,493 countMassachusetts62,493Washington: 60,378 countWashington60,378Maryland: 53,320 countMaryland53,320Missouri: 50,240 countMissouri50,240Tennessee: 49,447 countTennessee49,447Indiana: 46,854 countIndiana46,854Minnesota: 46,061 countMinnesota46,061South Carolina: 43,748 countSouth Carolina43,748Wisconsin: 43,196 countWisconsin43,196Connecticut: 37,927 countConnecticut37,927Louisiana: 37,875 countLouisiana37,875Utah: 37,624 countUtah37,624Oregon: 35,900 countOregon35,900Alabama: 34,548 countAlabama34,548Nevada: 31,569 countNevada31,569Kentucky: 31,215 countKentucky31,215Oklahoma: 28,882 countOklahoma28,882Iowa: 25,740 countIowa25,740Kansas: 22,863 countKansas22,863Arkansas: 20,481 countArkansas20,481Idaho: 19,080 countIdaho19,080Mississippi: 17,539 countMississippi17,539Nebraska: 17,293 countNebraska17,293New Hampshire: 14,111 countNew Hampshire14,111Montana: 13,962 countMontana13,962Hawaii: 13,424 countHawaii13,424New Mexico: 13,050 countNew Mexico13,050Maine: 12,978 countMaine12,978Delaware: 10,970 countDelaware10,970Rhode Island: 10,434 countRhode Island10,434South Dakota: 9,478 countSouth Dakota9,478Wyoming: 8,971 countWyoming8,971West Virginia: 8,858 countWest Virginia8,858North Dakota: 8,061 countNorth Dakota8,061District of Columbia: 6,174 countDistrict of Columbia6,174Vermont: 6,095 countVermont6,095Alaska: 5,608 countAlaska5,608California: 342,061 countCalifornia342,061Florida: 301,944 countFlorida301,944Texas: 225,410 countTexas225,410New York: 219,477 countNew York219,477New Jersey: 108,709 countNew Jersey108,709Illinois: 97,742 countIllinois97,742Pennsylvania: 97,722 countPennsylvania97,722North Carolina: 88,540 countNorth Carolina88,540Ohio: 87,949 countOhio87,949Georgia: 86,856 countGeorgia86,856Michigan: 82,817 countMichigan82,817Virginia: 71,187 countVirginia71,187Colorado: 68,879 countColorado68,879Arizona: 66,503 countArizona66,503Massachusetts: 62,493 countMassachusetts62,493Washington: 60,378 countWashington60,378Maryland: 53,320 countMaryland53,320Missouri: 50,240 countMissouri50,240Tennessee: 49,447 countTennessee49,447Indiana: 46,854 countIndiana46,854Minnesota: 46,061 countMinnesota46,061South Carolina: 43,748 countSouth Carolina43,748Wisconsin: 43,196 countWisconsin43,196Connecticut: 37,927 countConnecticut37,927Louisiana: 37,875 countLouisiana37,875Utah: 37,624 countUtah37,624Oregon: 35,900 countOregon35,900Alabama: 34,548 countAlabama34,548Nevada: 31,569 countNevada31,569Kentucky: 31,215 countKentucky31,215Oklahoma: 28,882 countOklahoma28,882Iowa: 25,740 countIowa25,740Kansas: 22,863 countKansas22,863Arkansas: 20,481 countArkansas20,481Idaho: 19,080 countIdaho19,080Mississippi: 17,539 countMississippi17,539Nebraska: 17,293 countNebraska17,293New Hampshire: 14,111 countNew Hampshire14,111Montana: 13,962 countMontana13,962Hawaii: 13,424 countHawaii13,424New Mexico: 13,050 countNew Mexico13,050Maine: 12,978 countMaine12,978Delaware: 10,970 countDelaware10,970Rhode Island: 10,434 countRhode Island10,434South Dakota: 9,478 countSouth Dakota9,478Wyoming: 8,971 countWyoming8,971West Virginia: 8,858 countWest Virginia8,858North Dakota: 8,061 countNorth Dakota8,061District of Columbia: 6,174 countDistrict of Columbia6,174Vermont: 6,095 countVermont6,095Alaska: 5,608 countAlaska5,608
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), real estate and rental and leasing (NAICS 53), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2019
count		Change on 2018
1California342,061+0.6%
2Florida301,944+4.6%
3Texas225,410+5.4%
4New York219,477+1.7%
5New Jersey108,709+2.4%
6Illinois97,742+0.3%
7Pennsylvania97,722+1.7%
8North Carolina88,540+3.5%
9Ohio87,949+0.9%
10Georgia86,856+3.7%
11Michigan82,817+0.9%
12Virginia71,187+1.4%
13Colorado68,879+2.3%
14Arizona66,503+2.8%
15Massachusetts62,493+0.7%
16Washington60,378+1.2%
17Maryland53,320+2.2%
18Missouri50,240+1.4%
19Tennessee49,447+4.3%
20Indiana46,854+0.9%
21Minnesota46,061+0.5%
22South Carolina43,748+3.6%
23Wisconsin43,196+1.1%
24Connecticut37,927+0.9%
25Louisiana37,875+1.1%
26Utah37,624+3.3%
27Oregon35,900+0.7%
28Alabama34,548+3%
29Nevada31,569+1.3%
30Kentucky31,215+1.8%
31Oklahoma28,882+2%
32Iowa25,740+1.5%
33Kansas22,863+1.5%
34Arkansas20,481+3.2%
35Idaho19,080+5.8%
36Mississippi17,539+2.3%
37Nebraska17,293+3.3%
38New Hampshire14,111+2.3%
39Montana13,962+3.9%
40Hawaii13,424+2%
41New Mexico13,050+1.7%
42Maine12,978+3%
43Delaware10,970+4%
44Rhode Island10,434+1.8%
45South Dakota9,478+2.2%
46Wyoming8,971+4.3%
47West Virginia8,858-0.3%
48North Dakota8,061+1.5%
49District of Columbia6,174+4.2%
50Vermont6,095+2.6%
51Alaska5,608+3.8%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of businesses without paid employees in real estate and rental and leasing (NAICS 53), 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), real estate and rental and leasing (NAICS 53), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2019/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. (2026). Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), real estate and rental and leasing (NAICS 53), all legal forms (US states by nonemployer businesses: real estate, rental and leasing, 2019) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2019/historical-datasets/

MLA 9

Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), real estate and rental and leasing (NAICS 53), all legal forms, US states by nonemployer businesses: real estate, rental and leasing, 2019. U.S. Census Bureau, 8 Oct. 2026, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2019/historical-datasets/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-real-estate/us-states?period=2019. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), real estate and rental and leasing (NAICS 53), all legal forms. US states by nonemployer businesses: real estate, rental and leasing, 2019. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2019/historical-datasets/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-real-estate/us-states?period=2019.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), real estate and rental and leasing (NAICS 53), all legal forms, US states by nonemployer businesses: real estate, rental and leasing, 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2019/historical-datasets/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-real-estate/us-states?period=2019 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_nonemployer_2019,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), real estate and rental and leasing (NAICS 53), all legal forms: US states by nonemployer businesses: real estate, rental and leasing, 2019}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2019/historical-datasets/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-real-estate/us-states?period=2019. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), real estate and rental and leasing (NAICS 53), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2019/historical-datasets/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), real estate and rental and leasing (NAICS 53), all legal forms: US states by nonemployer businesses: real estate, rental and leasing, 2019
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/08
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2019/historical-datasets/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-real-estate/us-states?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-real-estate/us-states?period=2019.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), real estate and rental and leasing (NAICS 53), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2019/historical-datasets/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank US states by nonemployer businesses: real estate, rental and leasing using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"nonemployer_establishments_real_estate","level":"region","within":"United States","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=nonemployer_establishments_real_estate&level=region&within=United%20States&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which state has the highest nonemployer businesses: real estate, rental and leasing?

California, with 342,061 in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest nonemployer businesses: real estate, rental and leasing?

Alaska, with 5,608 in 2019.

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), real estate and rental and leasing (NAICS 53), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

US states: more rankings