Skip to content
Understand Idaho

Businesses in Idaho

58,100

Business establishments with paid employees in Idaho, 2023

+1.6% since 2022 (57,209); +17.9% since 2018 (49,267)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns. Data period 2023. Published March 6, 2025. Retrieved September 8, 2026.

What the number tells us

Business establishments with paid employees in Idaho: 58,100 in 2023. Number of business establishments with paid employees, all sectors combined, as of the reference week including March 12.

Among 51 states and the District of Columbia, Idaho ranked 36th highest in 2023. California was highest at 1,029,689 and Vermont lowest at 20,841.

Among 44 Idaho counties in 2023, Ada County was highest at 17,028 and Clark County lowest at 12.

The United States figure for 2023 was 8,361,342.

Historical data

Businesses in Idaho, 2017 to 2023Businesses in Idaho, 2017 to 2023. Idaho: 47,574 in 2017, 58,100 in 2023.020k40k60k201820202022IdahoCount

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns. Published March 6, 2025. Retrieved September 8, 2026.

Data table (7 rows)
PeriodIdaho (count)
201747,574
201849,267
201950,547
202051,957
202154,864
202257,209
202358,100

Establishments by industry sector

Number of business establishments with paid employees by 2-digit NAICS sector, as of the reference week including March 12.

Establishments by industry sector, 2023Establishments by industry sector, 2023. 20 bars, from Construction (9,895) to Industries not classified (55).Construction9,895Health care and social assistance6,739Retail trade6,268Professional, scientific, and technical services5,944Accommodation and food services4,597Other services (except public administration)4,229Real estate and rental and leasing3,755Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services3,273Finance and insurance3,162Wholesale trade2,296Manufacturing2,114Transportation and warehousing2,084Arts, entertainment, and recreation994Information877Educational services704Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting529Management of companies and enterprises245Utilities219Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction121Industries not classified55

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns. Data period 2023. Published March 6, 2025. Retrieved September 8, 2026.

Data table (20 rows)
Industry sector2023 (count)
Construction9,895
Health care and social assistance6,739
Retail trade6,268
Professional, scientific, and technical services5,944
Accommodation and food services4,597
Other services (except public administration)4,229
Real estate and rental and leasing3,755
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services3,273
Finance and insurance3,162
Wholesale trade2,296
Manufacturing2,114
Transportation and warehousing2,084
Arts, entertainment, and recreation994
Information877
Educational services704
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting529
Management of companies and enterprises245
Utilities219
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction121
Industries not classified55

By county

44 of 44 counties have a value for 2023. Idaho statewide on the same basis: 58,100.

Businesses in Idaho by county, 2023Businesses in Idaho by county, 2023. 44 bars, from Ada (17,028) to Clark (12).Ada17,028Kootenai6,221Canyon5,933Bonneville4,197Twin Falls3,026Bannock2,353Bonner1,833Blaine1,688Nez Perce1,213Madison1,113Latah1,046Bingham1,020Cassia773Valley747Jefferson739Teton658Jerome634Payette619Idaho521Gem510Minidoka491Elmore477Boundary439Fremont395Franklin372Gooding360Shoshone360Lemhi307Benewah275Owyhee262Clearwater246Washington222Boise200Caribou196Custer192Power177Bear Lake168Adams119Lewis109Lincoln106Oneida100Butte56Camas44Clark12

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns. Data period 2023. Published March 6, 2025. Retrieved September 8, 2026.

Data table (44 rows)
County2023
Ada County17,028
Kootenai County6,221
Canyon County5,933
Bonneville County4,197
Twin Falls County3,026
Bannock County2,353
Bonner County1,833
Blaine County1,688
Nez Perce County1,213
Madison County1,113
Latah County1,046
Bingham County1,020
Cassia County773
Valley County747
Jefferson County739
Teton County658
Jerome County634
Payette County619
Idaho County521
Gem County510
Minidoka County491
Elmore County477
Boundary County439
Fremont County395
Franklin County372
Gooding County360
Shoshone County360
Lemhi County307
Benewah County275
Owyhee County262
Clearwater County246
Washington County222
Boise County200
Caribou County196
Custer County192
Power County177
Bear Lake County168
Adams County119
Lewis County109
Lincoln County106
Oneida County100
Butte County56
Camas County44
Clark County12

Compared with other states

Idaho, its six neighboring states, the United States, and the three highest and lowest states in 2023. The table lists all 52.

Businesses in Idaho compared with other states, 2023Businesses in Idaho compared with other states, 2023. 13 bars, from United States (8,361,342) to Vermont (20,841).United States8,361,342California1,029,689Texas670,878Washington202,177Oregon122,451Utah95,494Nevada77,297Idaho58,100Montana42,566Wyoming23,865District of Columbia23,801Alaska22,178Vermont20,841

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns. Data period 2023. Published March 6, 2025. Retrieved September 8, 2026.

Data table (52 rows)
State2023
1. United States8,361,342
2. California1,029,689
3. Texas670,878
4. Florida645,575
5. New York541,313
6. Illinois322,415
7. Pennsylvania307,065
8. Georgia261,320
9. North Carolina258,169
10. Ohio255,049
11. New Jersey237,968
12. Michigan229,564
13. Virginia210,842
14. Washington202,177
15. Massachusetts183,767
16. Colorado182,486
17. Arizona162,845
18. Indiana155,692
19. Minnesota154,455
20. Missouri151,475
21. Tennessee150,129
22. Wisconsin144,774
23. Maryland142,967
24. South Carolina122,958
25. Oregon122,451
26. Louisiana108,561
27. Alabama105,720
28. Oklahoma96,402
29. Utah95,494
30. Kentucky94,402
31. Connecticut89,234
32. Iowa83,321
33. Nevada77,297
34. Kansas76,139
35. Arkansas70,452
36. Mississippi60,465
37. Idaho58,100
38. Nebraska56,503
39. New Mexico44,861
40. Maine43,345
41. Montana42,566
42. New Hampshire39,298
43. West Virginia35,839
44. Hawaii32,911
45. Delaware29,706
46. Rhode Island29,510
47. South Dakota29,106
48. North Dakota25,402
49. Wyoming23,865
50. District of Columbia23,801
51. Alaska22,178
52. Vermont20,841

Source

Organization
U.S. Census Bureau
Dataset
County Business Patterns
Geography
Nation, states, and Idaho's 44 counties; the sector breakdown is Idaho and the nation only
Time coverage
2017-2023
Update frequency
Annual
Published
March 6, 2025
Retrieved
September 8, 2026
Original file
https://api.census.gov/data/2023/cbp
Methodology
https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/technical-documentation/methodology.html
License
Public domain. U.S. federal government work.
Our copy
census-cbp, built by scripts/fetch-census-cbp.py

Caveats

  • An establishment is a single physical business location with paid employees; it excludes the self-employed with no employees, most government employment, railroad employment, and a handful of other industries CBP does not cover (agricultural production, private households).
  • Counts are as of the reference week including March 12 of the given year, not an annual average.
  • Employment (EMP) and payroll figures are deliberately not pulled into this dataset: Census perturbs CBP employment with noise infusion and withholds it for small cells to prevent identifying an individual employer, and this site already carries QCEW employment for that figure. Establishment counts (ESTAB) are not subject to that noise infusion or suppression in the years pulled here.
  • publisherUpdated is the Census Bureau's own 'modified' date for the 2023 vintage, the newest year in this dataset as of this pull, from https://api.census.gov/data/2023/cbp.json.
  • The sector breakdown (economy.establishments_by_sector) covers only the 2-digit NAICS sector level (Manufacturing, Retail trade and Transportation/warehousing are each published under CBP's own combined codes 31-33, 44-45 and 48-49); finer NAICS detail exists in the source but is not pulled here.

Data

Download the full dataset behind this page as CSV or JSON, or browse the data catalog. Cite this page as Understand Idaho, “Businesses in Idaho”, https://understandidaho.com/economy/businesses/, retrieved on the date you read it.