Where Service Businesses Stay Solo: Nonemployer Share by State

Original research · Census NES + CBP 2023 (matched year) · Published September 16, 2026

Nonemployer share is not a national constant. Within the same industry, the share of establishments without paid employees swings by as much as 40 percentage points across states for plumbing/HVAC and 35 points for landscaping. Cleaning stays nonemployer-heavy almost everywhere (U.S. 94.2%), while plumbing/HVAC is only 61.6% nationally and drops below 40% in Montana. This is a payroll-status map — not a “best state” score.

We combine 2023 Nonemployer Statistics with 2023 County Business Patterns for cleaning (janitorial), landscaping, plumbing/HVAC, child day care, and beauty salons. Share = NES establishments ÷ (NES + CBP employer establishments). For the national industry comparison that uses 2022 Economic Census firm counts and revenue shares, see service businesses without employees.

Key findings

  • Geography matters inside the same NAICS. Plumbing/HVAC nonemployer establishment share runs from 37.8% in Montana to 77.8% in District of Columbia (40.0 pp). Landscaping spans 35.1 pp (Rhode Island 59.0% → Mississippi 94.1%).
  • Cleaning is high almost everywhere. The U.S. share is 94.2%, and the state range is a narrower 11.1 pp (Alaska 86.0% to Mississippi 97.1%). High share still does not mean most industry revenue is nonemployer — see our cleaning business revenue study.
  • Daycare and salons sit in between. Daycare U.S. share 86.7% (Nevada high at 93.0%; New Hampshire low at 68.8%). Beauty salons U.S. 90.9% with a 20.5 pp state spread.
  • Mississippi shows up often at the high end (top-5 high-share lists for four of five industries here). Several Mountain and Northeast states appear more often among relatively employer-heavy peers. That is a pattern in this selection, not a development ranking.
  • HVAC cannot be isolated. Census publishes plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning together as NAICS 238220 / NES 23822. Do not read the series as HVAC-only.

How to read “nonemployer.” It means no paid employees under the Census definition. It does not prove one owner, one worker, home-based operation, full-time hours, or profit. Establishments are not unique companies. CBP counts are employer locations with payroll.

U.S. shares and state ranges

Every industry below has a nonemployer majority nationally, but the width of the state distribution differs. Spread = highest state share − lowest state share among 50 states + D.C.

U.S. nonemployer establishment share and state range by industry, 2023
Industry NES / CBP NAICS Nonemployer estabs Employer estabs (CBP) U.S. share State spread Highest state Lowest state
Janitorial services 56172 / 561720 1,095,927 67,799 94.2% 11.1 pp Mississippi (97.1%) Alaska (86.0%)
Beauty salons 812112 / 812112 838,264 84,176 90.9% 20.5 pp Mississippi (97.8%) New Jersey (77.3%)
Child day care services 62441 / 624410 533,596 82,162 86.7% 24.2 pp Nevada (93.0%) New Hampshire (68.8%)
Landscaping services 56173 / 561730 516,572 117,969 81.4% 35.1 pp Mississippi (94.1%) Rhode Island (59.0%)
Plumbing, heating & air-conditioning contractors 23822 / 238220 178,663 111,207 61.6% 40.0 pp District of Columbia (77.8%) Montana (37.8%)

Charts

Horizontal bar chart of U.S. nonemployer establishment shares in 2023 for cleaning, beauty salons, daycare, landscaping, and plumbing/HVAC.
U.S. baseline: NES establishments divided by NES plus CBP employer establishments, 2023.
Range plot showing minimum and maximum state nonemployer shares for five service industries, with U.S. share marked.
State min–max ranges with U.S. share as the white marker. Plumbing/HVAC and landscaping show the widest spreads.
Two panel bar charts of states with the highest nonemployer shares for landscaping and plumbing/HVAC in 2023.
Highest-share states for the two industries with the largest geographic swings.
Two panel bar charts of states with the lowest nonemployer shares for plumbing/HVAC and cleaning in 2023.
Relatively employer-heavy states for plumbing/HVAC (left) and cleaning (right). Cleaning’s “low” states remain above 85%.
Heatmap of nonemployer establishment shares across selected states and five service industries for 2023.
Selected states for illustration — including repeatedly high-share and lower-share examples plus large markets. Full data are in the table and CSV.

State × industry table

Filter by industry and search by state. State names link to the matching industry startup guide on this site. Ranks are within that industry across 51 jurisdictions (1 = highest nonemployer share).

Showing 255 rows.

Nonemployer share of establishments by state and industry, 2023 (NES + CBP)
State Industry Nonemployer estabs (NES) Employer estabs (CBP) Combined Nonemployer share Rank in industry Mean NES receipts
Mississippi Cleaning 12,709 382 13,091 97.1% 1 14,877
Texas Cleaning 128,126 3,858 131,984 97.1% 2 18,613
Louisiana Cleaning 19,154 655 19,809 96.7% 3 16,368
Alabama Cleaning 19,663 726 20,389 96.4% 4 17,208
Georgia Cleaning 53,596 2,013 55,609 96.4% 5 21,575
Florida Cleaning 166,471 6,675 173,146 96.1% 6 20,849
Tennessee Cleaning 28,465 1,182 29,647 96.0% 7 20,467
Arkansas Cleaning 10,534 471 11,005 95.7% 8 16,574
Kentucky Cleaning 14,010 659 14,669 95.5% 9 16,430
Oklahoma Cleaning 12,902 606 13,508 95.5% 10 17,951
South Carolina Cleaning 19,488 1,094 20,582 94.7% 11 21,895
Michigan Cleaning 29,357 1,712 31,069 94.5% 12 18,124
West Virginia Cleaning 3,300 194 3,494 94.5% 13 13,581
North Carolina Cleaning 37,629 2,277 39,906 94.3% 14 20,794
California Cleaning 111,227 6,956 118,183 94.1% 15 23,465
Arizona Cleaning 20,374 1,312 21,686 94.0% 16 24,890
Ohio Cleaning 30,247 1,960 32,207 93.9% 17 19,405
New Mexico Cleaning 4,666 312 4,978 93.7% 18 18,273
Nevada Cleaning 11,530 803 12,333 93.5% 19 20,208
Illinois Cleaning 35,837 2,520 38,357 93.4% 20 20,031
Indiana Cleaning 16,523 1,217 17,740 93.1% 21 17,962
New York Cleaning 50,876 3,762 54,638 93.1% 22 17,612
Missouri Cleaning 16,072 1,194 17,266 93.1% 23 18,727
Connecticut Cleaning 8,407 663 9,070 92.7% 24 23,812
Maryland Cleaning 17,753 1,436 19,189 92.5% 25 24,650
Hawaii Cleaning 4,473 365 4,838 92.5% 26 32,216
New Jersey Cleaning 24,205 2,068 26,273 92.1% 27 22,582
Virginia Cleaning 24,083 2,136 26,219 91.8% 28 22,834
Colorado Cleaning 17,628 1,571 19,199 91.8% 29 26,738
Pennsylvania Cleaning 27,383 2,456 29,839 91.8% 30 20,096
Kansas Cleaning 7,045 642 7,687 91.7% 31 19,106
Vermont Cleaning 2,281 214 2,495 91.4% 32 21,880
Maine Cleaning 4,408 426 4,834 91.2% 33 18,824
Iowa Cleaning 6,655 647 7,302 91.1% 34 18,004
Rhode Island Cleaning 2,826 286 3,112 90.8% 35 22,344
Massachusetts Cleaning 16,439 1,757 18,196 90.3% 36 34,034
Nebraska Cleaning 4,707 519 5,226 90.1% 37 17,992
District of Columbia Cleaning 1,038 115 1,153 90.0% 38 19,140
South Dakota Cleaning 2,398 270 2,668 89.9% 39 15,901
Delaware Cleaning 2,358 279 2,637 89.4% 40 23,854
New Hampshire Cleaning 3,137 373 3,510 89.4% 41 26,273
Wisconsin Cleaning 10,235 1,267 11,502 89.0% 42 21,508
North Dakota Cleaning 1,975 250 2,225 88.8% 43 17,267
Minnesota Cleaning 10,783 1,391 12,174 88.6% 44 21,783
Idaho Cleaning 5,104 659 5,763 88.6% 45 18,128
Utah Cleaning 7,671 1,032 8,703 88.1% 46 26,287
Wyoming Cleaning 1,850 257 2,107 87.8% 47 16,463
Oregon Cleaning 8,758 1,248 10,006 87.5% 48 22,139
Montana Cleaning 3,477 509 3,986 87.2% 49 19,925
Washington Cleaning 14,511 2,166 16,677 87.0% 50 26,570
Alaska Cleaning 1,583 257 1,840 86.0% 51 21,414
Nevada Daycare 5,333 400 5,733 93.0% 1 15,231
Iowa Daycare 8,692 895 9,587 90.7% 2 24,422
Arizona Daycare 9,216 965 10,181 90.5% 3 16,912
California Daycare 89,457 9,670 99,127 90.2% 4 25,368
Kansas Daycare 5,392 583 5,975 90.2% 5 27,028
Illinois Daycare 27,456 3,138 30,594 89.7% 6 21,053
Mississippi Daycare 6,931 808 7,739 89.6% 7 13,732
Louisiana Daycare 8,839 1,040 9,879 89.5% 8 14,528
Tennessee Daycare 10,418 1,242 11,660 89.3% 9 15,589
Texas Daycare 50,317 6,242 56,559 89.0% 10 14,484
Georgia Daycare 19,628 2,449 22,077 88.9% 11 14,816
South Dakota Daycare 2,019 280 2,299 87.8% 12 32,575
Michigan Daycare 14,763 2,090 16,853 87.6% 13 20,549
Maryland Daycare 10,599 1,505 12,104 87.6% 14 25,068
Florida Daycare 32,708 4,651 37,359 87.5% 15 16,977
Connecticut Daycare 6,560 948 7,508 87.4% 16 21,703
South Carolina Daycare 7,106 1,042 8,148 87.2% 17 14,705
Minnesota Daycare 9,845 1,473 11,318 87.0% 18 35,371
New York Daycare 43,004 6,702 49,706 86.5% 19 21,458
Virginia Daycare 12,661 1,977 14,638 86.5% 20 19,882
Nebraska Daycare 4,657 739 5,396 86.3% 21 24,021
Indiana Daycare 8,843 1,435 10,278 86.0% 22 20,570
Alabama Daycare 6,045 988 7,033 86.0% 23 15,974
Ohio Daycare 16,640 2,813 19,453 85.5% 24 17,909
Missouri Daycare 8,419 1,463 9,882 85.2% 25 19,007
Colorado Daycare 7,061 1,239 8,300 85.1% 26 22,299
Alaska Daycare 983 173 1,156 85.0% 27 25,773
Rhode Island Daycare 1,561 279 1,840 84.8% 28 21,549
Arkansas Daycare 4,008 728 4,736 84.6% 29 14,967
New Jersey Daycare 13,510 2,466 15,976 84.6% 30 17,925
North Dakota Daycare 1,978 374 2,352 84.1% 31 29,392
Oklahoma Daycare 5,514 1,055 6,569 83.9% 32 24,270
Kentucky Daycare 4,767 925 5,692 83.8% 33 14,872
Utah Daycare 3,801 745 4,546 83.6% 34 20,825
West Virginia Daycare 1,965 407 2,372 82.8% 35 18,950
North Carolina Daycare 11,894 2,612 14,506 82.0% 36 15,924
Wisconsin Daycare 7,029 1,588 8,617 81.6% 37 24,708
New Mexico Daycare 1,706 449 2,155 79.2% 38 16,829
Idaho Daycare 1,817 504 2,321 78.3% 39 21,194
Massachusetts Daycare 8,307 2,309 10,616 78.2% 40 39,453
Oregon Daycare 5,379 1,517 6,896 78.0% 41 22,879
Vermont Daycare 955 272 1,227 77.8% 42 34,221
District of Columbia Daycare 991 303 1,294 76.6% 43 17,601
Washington Daycare 7,641 2,386 10,027 76.2% 44 42,672
Wyoming Daycare 725 245 970 74.7% 45 23,410
Montana Daycare 1,442 488 1,930 74.7% 46 22,985
Pennsylvania Daycare 10,895 3,823 14,718 74.0% 47 16,644
Hawaii Daycare 759 267 1,026 74.0% 48 25,526
Delaware Daycare 838 349 1,187 70.6% 49 24,947
Maine Daycare 1,537 674 2,211 69.5% 50 27,494
New Hampshire Daycare 985 447 1,432 68.8% 51 19,804
District of Columbia Plumbing/HVAC 130 37 167 77.8% 1 40,685
Mississippi Plumbing/HVAC 2,193 709 2,902 75.6% 2 71,499
Texas Plumbing/HVAC 26,039 8,966 35,005 74.4% 3 75,509
Tennessee Plumbing/HVAC 4,944 1,899 6,843 72.2% 4 92,574
Georgia Plumbing/HVAC 8,030 3,101 11,131 72.1% 5 79,172
Florida Plumbing/HVAC 18,387 9,353 27,740 66.3% 6 58,271
Alabama Plumbing/HVAC 3,142 1,647 4,789 65.6% 7 80,909
Arkansas Plumbing/HVAC 2,182 1,145 3,327 65.6% 8 80,286
Kentucky Plumbing/HVAC 2,571 1,379 3,950 65.1% 9 82,559
South Carolina Plumbing/HVAC 3,131 1,685 4,816 65.0% 10 80,973
Maryland Plumbing/HVAC 3,562 1,986 5,548 64.2% 11 70,561
Louisiana Plumbing/HVAC 2,826 1,623 4,449 63.5% 12 77,494
Ohio Plumbing/HVAC 5,024 2,970 7,994 62.9% 13 75,481
Missouri Plumbing/HVAC 3,116 1,915 5,031 61.9% 14 77,157
Vermont Plumbing/HVAC 488 303 791 61.7% 15 109,033
Oklahoma Plumbing/HVAC 2,559 1,592 4,151 61.6% 16 82,397
Michigan Plumbing/HVAC 4,248 2,661 6,909 61.5% 17 72,400
Virginia Plumbing/HVAC 4,364 2,765 7,129 61.2% 18 77,375
Arizona Plumbing/HVAC 3,899 2,567 6,466 60.3% 19 81,686
Maine Plumbing/HVAC 1,157 781 1,938 59.7% 20 98,184
Pennsylvania Plumbing/HVAC 6,128 4,154 10,282 59.6% 21 90,077
Connecticut Plumbing/HVAC 1,895 1,318 3,213 59.0% 22 104,433
Illinois Plumbing/HVAC 5,849 4,070 9,919 59.0% 23 76,967
California Plumbing/HVAC 16,432 11,686 28,118 58.4% 24 84,031
West Virginia Plumbing/HVAC 570 406 976 58.4% 25 71,521
North Carolina Plumbing/HVAC 5,528 3,973 9,501 58.2% 26 67,911
Indiana Plumbing/HVAC 2,675 2,008 4,683 57.1% 27 70,400
New Hampshire Plumbing/HVAC 1,015 776 1,791 56.7% 28 119,479
Massachusetts Plumbing/HVAC 3,980 3,069 7,049 56.5% 29 102,610
Nevada Plumbing/HVAC 1,176 909 2,085 56.4% 30 59,770
Colorado Plumbing/HVAC 3,387 2,620 6,007 56.4% 31 90,212
New Jersey Plumbing/HVAC 4,453 3,454 7,907 56.3% 32 93,844
New Mexico Plumbing/HVAC 886 691 1,577 56.2% 33 69,249
New York Plumbing/HVAC 8,900 7,061 15,961 55.8% 34 67,499
Kansas Plumbing/HVAC 1,294 1,028 2,322 55.7% 35 83,692
Delaware Plumbing/HVAC 422 344 766 55.1% 36 87,528
Hawaii Plumbing/HVAC 489 403 892 54.8% 37 90,200
Iowa Plumbing/HVAC 1,134 1,108 2,242 50.6% 38 74,857
South Dakota Plumbing/HVAC 400 401 801 49.9% 39 84,840
Rhode Island Plumbing/HVAC 483 494 977 49.4% 40 71,921
Wisconsin Plumbing/HVAC 1,844 1,944 3,788 48.7% 41 102,516
Nebraska Plumbing/HVAC 774 837 1,611 48.0% 42 71,575
Minnesota Plumbing/HVAC 1,675 1,816 3,491 48.0% 43 88,485
Utah Plumbing/HVAC 1,258 1,443 2,701 46.6% 44 81,041
Idaho Plumbing/HVAC 741 904 1,645 45.0% 45 86,993
Wyoming Plumbing/HVAC 243 315 558 43.5% 46 81,486
Alaska Plumbing/HVAC 188 264 452 41.6% 47 85,447
North Dakota Plumbing/HVAC 232 336 568 40.9% 48 92,297
Oregon Plumbing/HVAC 820 1,337 2,157 38.0% 49 100,850
Washington Plumbing/HVAC 1,367 2,242 3,609 37.9% 50 93,855
Montana Plumbing/HVAC 433 712 1,145 37.8% 51 102,559
Mississippi Landscaping 9,622 601 10,223 94.1% 1 22,200
Louisiana Landscaping 14,385 979 15,364 93.6% 2 20,670
Texas Landscaping 58,350 5,568 63,918 91.3% 3 32,735
Alabama Landscaping 13,887 1,359 15,246 91.1% 4 27,862
District of Columbia Landscaping 224 22 246 91.1% 5 19,321
Georgia Landscaping 30,984 3,242 34,226 90.5% 6 33,604
Arkansas Landscaping 6,999 753 7,752 90.3% 7 28,070
Tennessee Landscaping 17,175 1,991 19,166 89.6% 8 33,167
Oklahoma Landscaping 8,000 1,022 9,022 88.7% 9 33,628
Hawaii Landscaping 2,680 378 3,058 87.6% 10 37,876
Kentucky Landscaping 7,730 1,130 8,860 87.2% 11 30,898
South Carolina Landscaping 12,616 1,910 14,526 86.8% 12 33,643
California Landscaping 50,137 9,393 59,530 84.2% 13 38,821
North Carolina Landscaping 23,252 4,361 27,613 84.2% 14 35,867
West Virginia Landscaping 2,124 402 2,526 84.1% 15 24,557
Arizona Landscaping 9,204 1,817 11,021 83.5% 16 51,474
Missouri Landscaping 10,216 2,199 12,415 82.3% 17 30,926
New Mexico Landscaping 1,848 405 2,253 82.0% 18 29,606
Florida Landscaping 48,313 10,670 58,983 81.9% 19 38,391
Kansas Landscaping 4,330 991 5,321 81.4% 20 30,346
Michigan Landscaping 16,569 3,797 20,366 81.4% 21 32,003
Virginia Landscaping 13,142 3,096 16,238 80.9% 22 35,559
Indiana Landscaping 10,228 2,463 12,691 80.6% 23 32,927
Ohio Landscaping 16,744 4,228 20,972 79.8% 24 34,462
Maryland Landscaping 7,575 2,052 9,627 78.7% 25 43,419
Iowa Landscaping 4,207 1,242 5,449 77.2% 26 29,840
Nevada Landscaping 2,784 834 3,618 77.0% 27 42,474
North Dakota Landscaping 905 285 1,190 76.0% 28 30,015
Vermont Landscaping 1,630 521 2,151 75.8% 29 41,948
Delaware Landscaping 1,418 456 1,874 75.7% 30 44,441
Maine Landscaping 2,918 964 3,882 75.2% 31 38,519
Alaska Landscaping 648 215 863 75.1% 32 33,465
Illinois Landscaping 14,574 5,034 19,608 74.3% 33 30,900
South Dakota Landscaping 1,074 376 1,450 74.1% 34 27,303
Nebraska Landscaping 2,655 939 3,594 73.9% 35 31,864
Colorado Landscaping 6,886 2,446 9,332 73.8% 36 50,905
Wisconsin Landscaping 6,847 2,490 9,337 73.3% 37 38,560
Pennsylvania Landscaping 13,370 5,179 18,549 72.1% 38 42,251
Connecticut Landscaping 5,329 2,170 7,499 71.1% 39 56,729
Minnesota Landscaping 5,658 2,397 8,055 70.2% 40 39,155
Oregon Landscaping 4,263 1,893 6,156 69.2% 41 41,271
Utah Landscaping 3,169 1,471 4,640 68.3% 42 45,397
Idaho Landscaping 2,378 1,166 3,544 67.1% 43 39,693
Washington Landscaping 6,183 3,194 9,377 65.9% 44 39,161
Wyoming Landscaping 654 339 993 65.9% 45 33,101
New Hampshire Landscaping 1,970 1,027 2,997 65.7% 46 51,861
Montana Landscaping 1,319 694 2,013 65.5% 47 38,595
New York Landscaping 14,270 7,725 21,995 64.9% 48 41,519
Massachusetts Landscaping 7,146 4,555 11,701 61.1% 49 58,896
New Jersey Landscaping 6,838 4,734 11,572 59.1% 50 53,539
Rhode Island Landscaping 1,145 794 1,939 59.0% 51 40,755
Mississippi Beauty salons 13,275 302 13,577 97.8% 1 20,506
Louisiana Beauty salons 20,330 699 21,029 96.7% 2 21,518
Tennessee Beauty salons 24,783 1,062 25,845 95.9% 3 27,690
Alabama Beauty salons 16,590 740 17,330 95.7% 4 23,720
Arkansas Beauty salons 9,160 453 9,613 95.3% 5 25,699
Georgia Beauty salons 48,205 2,563 50,768 95.0% 6 23,865
South Carolina Beauty salons 17,355 1,052 18,407 94.3% 7 27,439
Michigan Beauty salons 34,695 2,170 36,865 94.1% 8 24,993
Nevada Beauty salons 10,026 656 10,682 93.9% 9 32,106
Oklahoma Beauty salons 10,246 675 10,921 93.8% 10 27,804
Kentucky Beauty salons 10,139 680 10,819 93.7% 11 29,581
Texas Beauty salons 84,397 5,740 90,137 93.6% 12 29,725
North Carolina Beauty salons 30,670 2,226 32,896 93.2% 13 29,330
Montana Beauty salons 2,851 224 3,075 92.7% 14 36,333
Missouri Beauty salons 15,267 1,236 16,503 92.5% 15 29,535
Idaho Beauty salons 4,926 403 5,329 92.4% 16 32,391
Indiana Beauty salons 17,419 1,438 18,857 92.4% 17 27,303
West Virginia Beauty salons 3,188 277 3,465 92.0% 18 28,920
South Dakota Beauty salons 1,806 160 1,966 91.9% 19 39,838
Wyoming Beauty salons 1,395 127 1,522 91.7% 20 33,521
Illinois Beauty salons 36,168 3,346 39,514 91.5% 21 26,616
District of Columbia Beauty salons 1,653 154 1,807 91.5% 22 24,035
Oregon Beauty salons 8,400 800 9,200 91.3% 23 39,779
California Beauty salons 91,170 8,733 99,903 91.3% 24 36,412
Ohio Beauty salons 28,273 2,718 30,991 91.2% 25 29,553
Florida Beauty salons 73,746 7,534 81,280 90.7% 26 30,524
Maine Beauty salons 2,833 293 3,126 90.6% 27 36,391
Maryland Beauty salons 13,785 1,481 15,266 90.3% 28 29,932
Kansas Beauty salons 6,005 654 6,659 90.2% 29 34,107
Utah Beauty salons 8,668 959 9,627 90.0% 30 28,697
New Mexico Beauty salons 3,106 362 3,468 89.6% 31 29,540
Arizona Beauty salons 14,156 1,711 15,867 89.2% 32 37,620
Iowa Beauty salons 6,537 796 7,333 89.1% 33 32,501
Vermont Beauty salons 1,112 144 1,256 88.5% 34 40,588
Wisconsin Beauty salons 12,199 1,592 13,791 88.5% 35 34,331
Nebraska Beauty salons 4,222 596 4,818 87.6% 36 35,955
Hawaii Beauty salons 2,282 335 2,617 87.2% 37 42,686
New Hampshire Beauty salons 2,744 403 3,147 87.2% 38 46,373
Rhode Island Beauty salons 2,536 387 2,923 86.8% 39 36,568
Virginia Beauty salons 17,043 2,602 19,645 86.8% 40 30,188
Alaska Beauty salons 922 143 1,065 86.6% 41 51,104
Minnesota Beauty salons 9,669 1,521 11,190 86.4% 42 39,885
Connecticut Beauty salons 6,598 1,049 7,647 86.3% 43 37,223
Washington Beauty salons 12,584 2,168 14,752 85.3% 44 43,669
Delaware Beauty salons 1,597 277 1,874 85.2% 45 31,932
North Dakota Beauty salons 1,377 240 1,617 85.2% 46 41,248
Colorado Beauty salons 11,528 2,029 13,557 85.0% 47 40,543
New York Beauty salons 39,620 7,124 46,744 84.8% 48 28,247
Massachusetts Beauty salons 10,853 2,569 13,422 80.9% 49 40,788
Pennsylvania Beauty salons 17,464 4,846 22,310 78.3% 50 27,732
New Jersey Beauty salons 12,691 3,727 16,418 77.3% 51 30,097

Mean NES receipts = total nonemployer receipts ÷ nonemployer establishments (gross receipts, not profit). CBP has payroll, not receipts — no industry receipts-share column is invented here.

Industry guides and insurance context

Use the state links in the table for licensing and startup steps. National hubs and insurance money pages for coverage planning (separate from this payroll-status map):

Download, methods, and limitations

Download the full state×industry CSV ·
U.S. chart ·
Range chart ·
Top-share chart ·
Low-share chart ·
Selected-states heatmap

For QCEW private average annual pay and employees per establishment by state (2024), see employer pay and typical location size by state.

Sources & year. U.S. Census Bureau 2023 Nonemployer Statistics and 2023 County Business Patterns, retrieved via Census Data API on September 16, 2026. Both labeled 2023 — no silent year mix. NES uses NAICS 2022; CBP uses NAICS 2017 codes that align for these industries.

Codes. Cleaning NES 56172 / CBP 561720; landscaping 56173 / 561730; plumbing/HVAC 23822 / 238220; daycare 62441 / 624410; beauty salons 812112 / 812112. NES does not publish the 6-digit form for the first four at this vintage; 5-digit national totals match the intended 6-digit scope.

Share formula. Nonemployer establishment share = NES NESTAB ÷ (NES NESTAB + CBP ESTAB). CBP establishments are employer locations with paid employees. We do not compute a receipts share of industry because CBP lacks receipts; mean NES receipts are shown separately.

Limits. Establishments ≠ unique companies. Nonemployer ≠ solo full-time operator. Receipts ≠ profit. Disclosure flags are not zeros (none blocked these state cells). Territories in CBP pulls are excluded from the 51-jurisdiction ranks. Plumbing/HVAC is a combined category. Daycare figures are not licensed capacity. This page is independent research for planning context — not legal, tax, or insurance advice.

Public references: NES program; CBP program; 2023 NES API; 2023 CBP API. Archived responses retained with this study (credentials not published).

Cite this study: StartBusinessByState.com, “Where Service Businesses Stay Solo: Nonemployer Share by State.” Published September 16, 2026. Calculations from U.S. Census Bureau 2023 Nonemployer Statistics and 2023 County Business Patterns. When quoting a share, name the industry, state, data year, and that the denominator combines NES and CBP employer establishments.

FAQ

Is a higher nonemployer share a better state to start in?

No. It only describes how common establishments without paid employees already are. Demand, licensing, wages, insurance, and competition are separate questions — use the linked state guides.

Why do these percentages differ from the national “without employees” page?

That companion study uses 2022 NES with 2022 Economic Census firm counts (and revenue). This page uses 2023 NES with 2023 CBP establishment counts. Different year and different employer denominator.

Does nonemployer mean one person working alone?

No. It means no paid employees in the Census sense. Partners, unpaid family workers, and contractors can still be involved.


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