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Mapped: Share of Self-Employed Workers by U.S. State
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Key Takeaways
- Just over 11% of U.S. households are self-employed as of 2024.
- Large agricultural sectors help push Montana and Vermont to the top of the national rankings, where 15.7% of households are self-employed.
Today, the vast majority of Americans work for an employer, a trend that has remained fairly constant for decades.
The other subset of the workforce, though small, play a critical part in business creation in their local economies. Overall, these self-employed workers cover entrepreneurs and farmers to freelancers and consultants.
This graphic shows self-employment rates in America, based on data from the Census Bureau.
Which States Have the Highest Share of Self-Employed Workers?
In 2024, 11.1% of U.S. households reported self-employment income, the latest data available from the Census Bureau:
| Rank | State or Entity | Share of HouseholdsWith Self-Employed Income | Number of Households |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montana | 15.7% | 73,763 |
| 2 | Vermont | 15.7% | 44,760 |
| 3 | Maine | 14.1% | 86,807 |
| 4 | South Dakota | 13.8% | 52,709 |
| 5 | California | 13.7% | 1,892,176 |
| 6 | North Dakota | 13.7% | 47,943 |
| 7 | Idaho | 13.7% | 102,715 |
| 8 | Utah | 13.1% | 155,471 |
| 9 | Colorado | 12.9% | 320,288 |
| 10 | Hawaii | 12.8% | 63,335 |
| 11 | Nebraska | 12.8% | 105,114 |
| 12 | Alaska | 12.7% | 34,859 |
| 13 | Wyoming | 12.5% | 32,122 |
| 14 | Oregon | 12.4% | 215,993 |
| 15 | Texas | 12.3% | 1,407,841 |
| 16 | Rhode Island | 12.1% | 54,203 |
| 17 | Tennessee | 11.7% | 343,481 |
| 18 | Minnesota | 11.6% | 274,963 |
| 19 | New Hampshire | 11.6% | 65,923 |
| 20 | Iowa | 11.5% | 154,831 |
| 21 | Oklahoma | 11.5% | 184,764 |
| 22 | Connecticut | 11.5% | 166,761 |
| 23 | Kansas | 11.4% | 137,179 |
| 24 | District of Columbia | 11.1% | 36,732 |
| 25 | Florida | 11.1% | 1,017,127 |
| 26 | Nevada | 11.1% | 137,634 |
| 27 | Massachusetts | 11.0% | 310,653 |
| 28 | Washington | 11.0% | 347,491 |
| 29 | Georgia | 10.9% | 461,315 |
| 30 | Arizona | 10.8% | 322,507 |
| 31 | Maryland | 10.8% | 258,697 |
| 32 | New York | 10.7% | 836,490 |
| 33 | Missouri | 10.7% | 273,309 |
| 34 | New Jersey | 10.6% | 374,657 |
| 35 | Puerto Rico | 10.5% | 129,941 |
| 36 | North Carolina | 10.4% | 466,357 |
| 37 | Arkansas | 10.3% | 128,299 |
| 38 | New Mexico | 10.2% | 87,526 |
| 39 | Louisiana | 10.1% | 186,097 |
| 40 | Virginia | 9.9% | 341,554 |
| 41 | South Carolina | 9.8% | 218,271 |
| 42 | Wisconsin | 9.6% | 242,216 |
| 43 | Mississippi | 9.5% | 112,059 |
| 44 | Michigan | 9.5% | 391,168 |
| 45 | Illinois | 9.5% | 482,589 |
| 46 | Ohio | 9.4% | 464,547 |
| 47 | Pennsylvania | 9.4% | 503,858 |
| 48 | Kentucky | 9.4% | 175,123 |
| 49 | Indiana | 9.4% | 260,389 |
| 50 | Delaware | 9.2% | 37,805 |
| 51 | Alabama | 8.9% | 183,767 |
| 52 | West Virginia | 6.5% | 48,249 |
| -- | United States (National) | 11.1% | 14,854,428 |
As the above table shows, Montana and Vermont have the highest concentration of households that work for themselves, at 15.7% of the total.
With 23,800 farms covering 57.4 million acres of farmland, the second-highest nationwide, Montana’s farming industry plays a significant role in driving self-employment rates. The same is true in Vermont, a state known for its dairy and maple syrup industries.
Ranking in fifth is California, with nearly 1.9 million households earning self-employment income, or 13.7% of all households. Around two-thirds of these workers either have an unincorporated business, do independent contracting, or gig work. The other third cover owners of incorporated businesses.
Texas, meanwhile, has over 1.4 million self-employed workers, the most after California. The state’s share also stands above the national average, at 12.3% of households.
By contrast, West Virginia has the smallest share across states, at 6.5%. Also standing near the bottom are Alabama (8.9%), Delaware (9.2%), and Ohio (9.4%).
Learn More on the Voronoi App
To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the average salary by state.