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 2019, at 244,491. District of Columbia had the lowest, at 1,930. The median was 27,302 and the figure for the United States was 2.1 million. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest244,491California
Lowest1,930District of Columbia
Median27,30251 states
United States2,100,019History

Map of states, 2019

Alabama: 30,243 countAlaska: 4,488 countArizona: 42,388 countArkansas: 19,087 countCalifornia: 244,491 countColorado: 38,763 countConnecticut: 19,273 countDelaware: 6,215 countDistrict of Columbia: 1,930 countFlorida: 167,087 countGeorgia: 70,960 countHawaii: 10,602 countIdaho: 14,854 countIllinois: 68,361 countIndiana: 40,059 countIowa: 22,729 countKansas: 20,270 countKentucky: 28,169 countLouisiana: 27,227 countMaine: 9,432 countMaryland: 33,624 countMassachusetts: 39,676 countMichigan: 60,725 countMinnesota: 38,792 countMississippi: 18,244 countMissouri: 40,238 countMontana: 9,052 countNebraska: 14,307 countNevada: 21,334 countNew Hampshire: 8,778 countNew Jersey: 51,966 countNew Mexico: 10,679 countNew York: 118,857 countNorth Carolina: 65,533 countNorth Dakota: 6,270 countOhio: 69,758 countOklahoma: 26,989 countOregon: 26,261 countPennsylvania: 78,906 countRhode Island: 5,452 countSouth Carolina: 31,850 countSouth Dakota: 8,328 countTennessee: 46,477 countTexas: 208,902 countUtah: 27,302 countVermont: 4,941 countVirginia: 45,784 countWashington: 41,193 countWest Virginia: 9,914 countWisconsin: 38,127 countWyoming: 5,132 count
  • Under 9,000
  • 9,000 to 19K
  • 19K to 27K
  • 27K to 40K
  • 40K to 64K
  • 64K and over
count, 2019. 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, 2019

California: 244,491 countCalifornia244,491Texas: 208,902 countTexas208,902Florida: 167,087 countFlorida167,087New York: 118,857 countNew York118,857Pennsylvania: 78,906 countPennsylvania78,906Georgia: 70,960 countGeorgia70,960Ohio: 69,758 countOhio69,758Illinois: 68,361 countIllinois68,361North Carolina: 65,533 countNorth Carolina65,533Michigan: 60,725 countMichigan60,725New Jersey: 51,966 countNew Jersey51,966Tennessee: 46,477 countTennessee46,477Virginia: 45,784 countVirginia45,784Arizona: 42,388 countArizona42,388Washington: 41,193 countWashington41,193Missouri: 40,238 countMissouri40,238Indiana: 40,059 countIndiana40,059Massachusetts: 39,676 countMassachusetts39,676Minnesota: 38,792 countMinnesota38,792Colorado: 38,763 countColorado38,763Wisconsin: 38,127 countWisconsin38,127Maryland: 33,624 countMaryland33,624South Carolina: 31,850 countSouth Carolina31,850Alabama: 30,243 countAlabama30,243Kentucky: 28,169 countKentucky28,169Utah: 27,302 countUtah27,302Louisiana: 27,227 countLouisiana27,227Oklahoma: 26,989 countOklahoma26,989Oregon: 26,261 countOregon26,261Iowa: 22,729 countIowa22,729Nevada: 21,334 countNevada21,334Kansas: 20,270 countKansas20,270Connecticut: 19,273 countConnecticut19,273Arkansas: 19,087 countArkansas19,087Mississippi: 18,244 countMississippi18,244Idaho: 14,854 countIdaho14,854Nebraska: 14,307 countNebraska14,307New Mexico: 10,679 countNew Mexico10,679Hawaii: 10,602 countHawaii10,602West Virginia: 9,914 countWest Virginia9,914Maine: 9,432 countMaine9,432Montana: 9,052 countMontana9,052New Hampshire: 8,778 countNew Hampshire8,778South Dakota: 8,328 countSouth Dakota8,328North Dakota: 6,270 countNorth Dakota6,270Delaware: 6,215 countDelaware6,215Rhode Island: 5,452 countRhode Island5,452Wyoming: 5,132 countWyoming5,132Vermont: 4,941 countVermont4,941Alaska: 4,488 countAlaska4,488District of Columbia: 1,930 countDistrict of Columbia1,930California: 244,491 countCalifornia244,491Texas: 208,902 countTexas208,902Florida: 167,087 countFlorida167,087New York: 118,857 countNew York118,857Pennsylvania: 78,906 countPennsylvania78,906Georgia: 70,960 countGeorgia70,960Ohio: 69,758 countOhio69,758Illinois: 68,361 countIllinois68,361North Carolina: 65,533 countNorth Carolina65,533Michigan: 60,725 countMichigan60,725New Jersey: 51,966 countNew Jersey51,966Tennessee: 46,477 countTennessee46,477Virginia: 45,784 countVirginia45,784Arizona: 42,388 countArizona42,388Washington: 41,193 countWashington41,193Missouri: 40,238 countMissouri40,238Indiana: 40,059 countIndiana40,059Massachusetts: 39,676 countMassachusetts39,676Minnesota: 38,792 countMinnesota38,792Colorado: 38,763 countColorado38,763Wisconsin: 38,127 countWisconsin38,127Maryland: 33,624 countMaryland33,624South Carolina: 31,850 countSouth Carolina31,850Alabama: 30,243 countAlabama30,243Kentucky: 28,169 countKentucky28,169Utah: 27,302 countUtah27,302Louisiana: 27,227 countLouisiana27,227Oklahoma: 26,989 countOklahoma26,989Oregon: 26,261 countOregon26,261Iowa: 22,729 countIowa22,729Nevada: 21,334 countNevada21,334Kansas: 20,270 countKansas20,270Connecticut: 19,273 countConnecticut19,273Arkansas: 19,087 countArkansas19,087Mississippi: 18,244 countMississippi18,244Idaho: 14,854 countIdaho14,854Nebraska: 14,307 countNebraska14,307New Mexico: 10,679 countNew Mexico10,679Hawaii: 10,602 countHawaii10,602West Virginia: 9,914 countWest Virginia9,914Maine: 9,432 countMaine9,432Montana: 9,052 countMontana9,052New Hampshire: 8,778 countNew Hampshire8,778South Dakota: 8,328 countSouth Dakota8,328North Dakota: 6,270 countNorth Dakota6,270Delaware: 6,215 countDelaware6,215Rhode Island: 5,452 countRhode Island5,452Wyoming: 5,132 countWyoming5,132Vermont: 4,941 countVermont4,941Alaska: 4,488 countAlaska4,488District of Columbia: 1,930 countDistrict of Columbia1,930
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

RankStates2019
count		Change on 2018
1California244,491-0.4%
2Texas208,902+3.4%
3Florida167,087+5.3%
4New York118,857-0.1%
5Pennsylvania78,906-3.6%
6Georgia70,960+2.9%
7Ohio69,758-1.8%
8Illinois68,361-2.7%
9North Carolina65,533+0.4%
10Michigan60,725-1.4%
11New Jersey51,966-0%
12Tennessee46,477-0.1%
13Virginia45,784-3.4%
14Arizona42,388+2.1%
15Washington41,193-2.2%
16Missouri40,238-2.5%
17Indiana40,059-3.6%
18Massachusetts39,676+0.6%
19Minnesota38,792-3.8%
20Colorado38,763-2.4%
21Wisconsin38,127-3.5%
22Maryland33,624-1.1%
23South Carolina31,850+0.7%
24Alabama30,243+0.1%
25Kentucky28,169-2.6%
26Utah27,302+1.1%
27Louisiana27,227-0.5%
28Oklahoma26,989-2.4%
29Oregon26,261-1.7%
30Iowa22,729-2.7%
31Nevada21,334+2.3%
32Kansas20,270-3.6%
33Connecticut19,273-2%
34Arkansas19,087-1.3%
35Mississippi18,244+1.9%
36Idaho14,854+2.1%
37Nebraska14,307-3.7%
38New Mexico10,679+1.5%
39Hawaii10,602+2.5%
40West Virginia9,914-5.7%
41Maine9,432-3%
42Montana9,0520%
43New Hampshire8,778-4%
44South Dakota8,328-2.1%
45North Dakota6,270-2.8%
46Delaware6,215+4.5%
47Rhode Island5,452-1.3%
48Wyoming5,132-0.4%
49Vermont4,941-3.1%
50Alaska4,488-7.5%
51District of Columbia1,930-5.1%

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/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), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms (US states by nonemployer businesses: retail trade, 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), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms, US states by nonemployer businesses: retail trade, 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-retail-trade/us-states?period=2019. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2026. Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms. US states by nonemployer businesses: retail trade, 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-retail-trade/us-states?period=2019.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2026) Nonemployer Statistics, state and US files: establishments (ESTAB), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms, US states by nonemployer businesses: retail trade, 2019 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/nonemployer-statistics/datasets/2019/historical-datasets/, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-retail-trade/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), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms: US states by nonemployer businesses: retail trade, 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-retail-trade/us-states?period=2019. 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/2019/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, 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-retail-trade/us-states?period=2019
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonemployer-businesses-retail-trade/us-states?period=2019.
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/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: retail trade using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"nonemployer_establishments_retail_trade","level":"region","within":"United States","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=nonemployer_establishments_retail_trade&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: retail trade?

California, with 244,491 in 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest nonemployer businesses: retail trade?

District of Columbia, with 1,930 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), retail trade (NAICS 44-45), all legal forms. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

US states: more rankings