Data / Rankings / Nonemployer businesses: retail trade / US states

US states by nonemployer businesses: retail trade

California had the highest nonemployer businesses: retail trade of 51 states in 2015, at 236,204. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 1,824. The median was 26,161 and the figure for the United States was 1.99 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest236,204California
Lowest1,824District of Columbia
Median26,16151 states
United States1,985,553History

Map of states, 2015

Alabama: 29,091 countAlaska: 4,289 countArizona: 38,820 countArkansas: 18,483 countCalifornia: 236,204 countColorado: 37,696 countConnecticut: 18,894 countDelaware: 5,396 countDistrict of Columbia: 1,824 countFlorida: 144,099 countGeorgia: 64,078 countHawaii: 10,059 countIdaho: 13,088 countIllinois: 69,541 countIndiana: 40,611 countIowa: 22,574 countKansas: 20,532 countKentucky: 27,728 countLouisiana: 26,161 countMaine: 9,158 countMaryland: 33,041 countMassachusetts: 29,703 countMichigan: 58,890 countMinnesota: 38,789 countMississippi: 17,517 countMissouri: 39,508 countMontana: 8,411 countNebraska: 13,875 countNevada: 18,228 countNew Hampshire: 8,519 countNew Jersey: 50,024 countNew Mexico: 11,074 countNew York: 118,643 countNorth Carolina: 60,547 countNorth Dakota: 5,921 countOhio: 67,883 countOklahoma: 25,978 countOregon: 24,583 countPennsylvania: 79,267 countRhode Island: 5,444 countSouth Carolina: 28,266 countSouth Dakota: 7,783 countTennessee: 43,623 countTexas: 186,296 countUtah: 23,708 countVermont: 4,210 countVirginia: 44,125 countWashington: 39,740 countWest Virginia: 10,272 countWisconsin: 38,638 countWyoming: 4,721 count
  • Under 8,000
  • 8,000 to 18K
  • 18K to 26K
  • 26K to 39K
  • 39K to 60K
  • 60K and over
count, 2015. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2015

California: 236,204 countCalifornia236,204Texas: 186,296 countTexas186,296Florida: 144,099 countFlorida144,099New York: 118,643 countNew York118,643Pennsylvania: 79,267 countPennsylvania79,267Illinois: 69,541 countIllinois69,541Ohio: 67,883 countOhio67,883Georgia: 64,078 countGeorgia64,078North Carolina: 60,547 countNorth Carolina60,547Michigan: 58,890 countMichigan58,890New Jersey: 50,024 countNew Jersey50,024Virginia: 44,125 countVirginia44,125Tennessee: 43,623 countTennessee43,623Indiana: 40,611 countIndiana40,611Washington: 39,740 countWashington39,740Missouri: 39,508 countMissouri39,508Arizona: 38,820 countArizona38,820Minnesota: 38,789 countMinnesota38,789Wisconsin: 38,638 countWisconsin38,638Colorado: 37,696 countColorado37,696Maryland: 33,041 countMaryland33,041Massachusetts: 29,703 countMassachusetts29,703Alabama: 29,091 countAlabama29,091South Carolina: 28,266 countSouth Carolina28,266Kentucky: 27,728 countKentucky27,728Louisiana: 26,161 countLouisiana26,161Oklahoma: 25,978 countOklahoma25,978Oregon: 24,583 countOregon24,583Utah: 23,708 countUtah23,708Iowa: 22,574 countIowa22,574Kansas: 20,532 countKansas20,532Connecticut: 18,894 countConnecticut18,894Arkansas: 18,483 countArkansas18,483Nevada: 18,228 countNevada18,228Mississippi: 17,517 countMississippi17,517Nebraska: 13,875 countNebraska13,875Idaho: 13,088 countIdaho13,088New Mexico: 11,074 countNew Mexico11,074West Virginia: 10,272 countWest Virginia10,272Hawaii: 10,059 countHawaii10,059Maine: 9,158 countMaine9,158New Hampshire: 8,519 countNew Hampshire8,519Montana: 8,411 countMontana8,411South Dakota: 7,783 countSouth Dakota7,783North Dakota: 5,921 countNorth Dakota5,921Rhode Island: 5,444 countRhode Island5,444Delaware: 5,396 countDelaware5,396Wyoming: 4,721 countWyoming4,721Alaska: 4,289 countAlaska4,289Vermont: 4,210 countVermont4,210District of Columbia: 1,824 countDistrict of Columbia1,824California: 236,204 countCalifornia236,204Texas: 186,296 countTexas186,296Florida: 144,099 countFlorida144,099New York: 118,643 countNew York118,643Pennsylvania: 79,267 countPennsylvania79,267Illinois: 69,541 countIllinois69,541Ohio: 67,883 countOhio67,883Georgia: 64,078 countGeorgia64,078North Carolina: 60,547 countNorth Carolina60,547Michigan: 58,890 countMichigan58,890New Jersey: 50,024 countNew Jersey50,024Virginia: 44,125 countVirginia44,125Tennessee: 43,623 countTennessee43,623Indiana: 40,611 countIndiana40,611Washington: 39,740 countWashington39,740Missouri: 39,508 countMissouri39,508Arizona: 38,820 countArizona38,820Minnesota: 38,789 countMinnesota38,789Wisconsin: 38,638 countWisconsin38,638Colorado: 37,696 countColorado37,696Maryland: 33,041 countMaryland33,041Massachusetts: 29,703 countMassachusetts29,703Alabama: 29,091 countAlabama29,091South Carolina: 28,266 countSouth Carolina28,266Kentucky: 27,728 countKentucky27,728Louisiana: 26,161 countLouisiana26,161Oklahoma: 25,978 countOklahoma25,978Oregon: 24,583 countOregon24,583Utah: 23,708 countUtah23,708Iowa: 22,574 countIowa22,574Kansas: 20,532 countKansas20,532Connecticut: 18,894 countConnecticut18,894Arkansas: 18,483 countArkansas18,483Nevada: 18,228 countNevada18,228Mississippi: 17,517 countMississippi17,517Nebraska: 13,875 countNebraska13,875Idaho: 13,088 countIdaho13,088New Mexico: 11,074 countNew Mexico11,074West Virginia: 10,272 countWest Virginia10,272Hawaii: 10,059 countHawaii10,059Maine: 9,158 countMaine9,158New Hampshire: 8,519 countNew Hampshire8,519Montana: 8,411 countMontana8,411South Dakota: 7,783 countSouth Dakota7,783North Dakota: 5,921 countNorth Dakota5,921Rhode Island: 5,444 countRhode Island5,444Delaware: 5,396 countDelaware5,396Wyoming: 4,721 countWyoming4,721Alaska: 4,289 countAlaska4,289Vermont: 4,210 countVermont4,210District of Columbia: 1,824 countDistrict of Columbia1,824
count. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2015
count		Change on 2014
1California236,204+0.6%
2Texas186,296+1.9%
3Florida144,099+2.5%
4New York118,643+0.4%
5Pennsylvania79,267+0.6%
6Illinois69,541+0.8%
7Ohio67,883-0.1%
8Georgia64,078+2.6%
9North Carolina60,547+2.6%
10Michigan58,890+1.2%
11New Jersey50,024+1.3%
12Virginia44,125+2.1%
13Tennessee43,623+1.3%
14Indiana40,611+2.6%
15Washington39,740+2%
16Missouri39,508+1.7%
17Arizona38,820+1.4%
18Minnesota38,789-0.1%
19Wisconsin38,638-0.3%
20Colorado37,696+1.9%
21Maryland33,041+0.1%
22Massachusetts29,703-0.9%
23Alabama29,091+2.4%
24South Carolina28,266+3%
25Kentucky27,728+1.3%
26Louisiana26,161+0.3%
27Oklahoma25,978+0.8%
28Oregon24,583+2.6%
29Utah23,708+3.6%
30Iowa22,574-0%
31Kansas20,532+2.3%
32Connecticut18,894+0.2%
33Arkansas18,483+2.3%
34Nevada18,228+4.4%
35Mississippi17,517+0.5%
36Nebraska13,875+2.8%
37Idaho13,088+2.8%
38New Mexico11,074-1%
39West Virginia10,272-0.7%
40Hawaii10,059-0.1%
41Maine9,158+0.3%
42New Hampshire8,519-0.1%
43Montana8,411-0.6%
44South Dakota7,783+1.1%
45North Dakota5,921-0.2%
46Rhode Island5,444-1.7%
47Delaware5,396+2.1%
48Wyoming4,721+5.7%
49Alaska4,289-2.9%
50Vermont4,210-2.4%
51District of Columbia1,824-2.3%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of businesses without paid employees in retail trade (NAICS 44-45), 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), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2015/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. (2017). Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms (US states by nonemployer businesses: retail trade, 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2015/historical-datasets/

MLA 9

Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms, US states by nonemployer businesses: retail trade, 2015. U.S. Census Bureau, 7 July 2017, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2015/historical-datasets/. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-retail-trade/us-states?period=2015. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2017. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms. US states by nonemployer businesses: retail trade, 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2015/historical-datasets/. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-retail-trade/us-states?period=2015.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2017) Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms, US states by nonemployer businesses: retail trade, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2015/historical-datasets/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-retail-trade/us-states?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_nonemployer_2015,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms: US states by nonemployer businesses: retail trade, 2015}},
  year = {2017},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2015/historical-datasets/},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-retail-trade/us-states?period=2015. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2015/historical-datasets/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms: US states by nonemployer businesses: retail trade, 2015
PY  - 2017
DA  - 2017/07/07
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2015/historical-datasets/
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-retail-trade/us-states?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-retail-trade/us-states?period=2015.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2015/historical-datasets/. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest nonemployer businesses: retail trade?

California, with 236,204 in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest nonemployer businesses: retail trade?

District of Columbia, with 1,824 in 2015.

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), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

US states: more rankings