Industry & Market Data
Best States for Home Service Businesses (2026)
We ranked all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. by the number of home service businesses, combining U.S. Census employer and nonemployer data across 6 core trades. There are about 2,403,671 home service businesses nationwide, and 83% are solo operators. Florida leads on both total count and per-capita density.
By Ihor Lavrenenko · Founder, Smarfle CRM
Published June 24, 2026 · Data current as of 2023-2024
Key findings
- The U.S. has roughly 2,403,671 home service businesses across 6 core trades: 403,523 with employees and 2,000,148 solo operators.
- 83% are solo / owner-operator businesses, so the market is dominated by very small operators, exactly the segment a lightweight CRM serves.
- Florida has the most home service businesses (292,517), followed by Texas and California.
- By density, Florida leads with 125.2 businesses per 10,000 residents, ahead of Georgia and Mississippi.
- Sun Belt and Southeast states cluster at the top of the density ranking, tracking population growth and year-round outdoor-service demand.
Home service businesses by state
All 50 states plus D.C., ranked by total home service businesses (employer firms plus solo operators). Sort any column.
| 1 | Florida | 292,517 | 36,129 | 256,388 | 125.2 |
| 2 | Texas | 268,262 | 26,419 | 241,843 | 85.7 |
| 3 | California | 239,217 | 40,912 | 198,305 | 60.7 |
| 4 | Georgia | 114,404 | 11,744 | 102,660 | 102.3 |
| 5 | New York | 109,408 | 24,832 | 84,576 | 55.1 |
| 6 | North Carolina | 87,602 | 14,510 | 73,092 | 79.3 |
| 7 | Illinois | 77,692 | 15,004 | 62,688 | 61.1 |
| 8 | Ohio | 69,214 | 11,748 | 57,466 | 58.2 |
| 9 | Pennsylvania | 69,147 | 15,154 | 53,993 | 52.9 |
| 10 | Michigan | 65,636 | 10,618 | 55,018 | 64.7 |
| 11 | Tennessee | 62,808 | 6,922 | 55,886 | 86.9 |
| 12 | Virginia | 56,480 | 10,437 | 46,043 | 64.1 |
| 13 | New Jersey | 53,899 | 13,476 | 40,423 | 56.7 |
| 14 | Arizona | 45,872 | 8,170 | 37,702 | 60.5 |
| 15 | Alabama | 45,159 | 5,163 | 39,996 | 87.6 |
| 16 | South Carolina | 45,063 | 6,216 | 38,847 | 82.2 |
| 17 | Massachusetts | 44,890 | 12,358 | 32,532 | 62.9 |
| 18 | Louisiana | 44,199 | 4,659 | 39,540 | 96.1 |
| 19 | Colorado | 40,605 | 9,279 | 31,326 | 68.2 |
| 20 | Maryland | 40,181 | 7,255 | 32,926 | 64.2 |
| 21 | Indiana | 39,966 | 7,431 | 32,535 | 57.7 |
| 22 | Missouri | 39,575 | 7,010 | 32,565 | 63.4 |
| 23 | Washington | 34,161 | 10,178 | 23,983 | 42.9 |
| 24 | Kentucky | 31,470 | 4,319 | 27,151 | 68.6 |
| 25 | Oklahoma | 30,640 | 4,720 | 25,920 | 74.8 |
| 26 | Mississippi | 29,295 | 2,390 | 26,905 | 99.5 |
| 27 | Wisconsin | 28,825 | 7,461 | 21,364 | 48.4 |
| 28 | Minnesota | 27,153 | 7,360 | 19,793 | 46.9 |
| 29 | Arkansas | 25,226 | 3,341 | 21,885 | 81.7 |
| 30 | Connecticut | 23,601 | 5,501 | 18,100 | 64.2 |
| 31 | Nevada | 20,891 | 3,567 | 17,324 | 63.9 |
| 32 | Oregon | 20,611 | 5,751 | 14,860 | 48.2 |
| 33 | Utah | 19,671 | 5,413 | 14,258 | 56.1 |
| 34 | Iowa | 17,657 | 4,115 | 13,542 | 54.5 |
| 35 | Kansas | 17,649 | 3,608 | 14,041 | 59.4 |
| 36 | Idaho | 13,074 | 3,673 | 9,401 | 65.3 |
| 37 | Maine | 12,492 | 2,906 | 9,586 | 88.9 |
| 38 | Nebraska | 12,275 | 3,112 | 9,163 | 61.2 |
| 39 | New Mexico | 10,707 | 2,166 | 8,541 | 50.3 |
| 40 | New Hampshire | 10,193 | 2,934 | 7,259 | 72.3 |
| 41 | Hawaii | 9,985 | 1,594 | 8,391 | 69 |
| 42 | Montana | 8,368 | 2,551 | 5,817 | 73.6 |
| 43 | West Virginia | 8,040 | 1,362 | 6,678 | 45.4 |
| 44 | Rhode Island | 7,094 | 2,023 | 5,071 | 63.8 |
| 45 | Vermont | 6,342 | 1,391 | 4,951 | 97.8 |
| 46 | Delaware | 6,129 | 1,429 | 4,700 | 58.3 |
| 47 | South Dakota | 5,789 | 1,451 | 4,338 | 62.6 |
| 48 | North Dakota | 4,774 | 1,291 | 3,483 | 59.9 |
| 49 | Wyoming | 4,311 | 1,257 | 3,054 | 73.4 |
| 50 | Alaska | 3,647 | 1,013 | 2,634 | 49.3 |
| 51 | District of Columbia | 1,805 | 200 | 1,605 | 25.7 |
Top 15 states by total businesses
Highest density: businesses per 10,000 residents
Raw counts favor big states. Density (businesses per capita) shows where home services are most active relative to population, a better read on how saturated a market is.
What this means for operators
Big-population states (Florida, Texas, California) have the most home service businesses in absolute terms, but they are also the most competitive. The per-capita view is more useful for spotting opportunity: a high-density state has proven demand, while a lower-density state may be underserved.
The bigger structural takeaway is that 83% of these businesses are solo operators. Most of this market is one person with a truck and a phone, which is precisely who benefits most from software that books jobs, sends invoices, and chases reviews without adding overhead.
Methodology
Home-service businesses = the sum of employer establishments (County Business Patterns) and nonemployer firms (Nonemployer Statistics) across 6 NAICS industries: HVAC and plumbing (238220), electrical (238210), landscaping (561730), cleaning and janitorial (561720), pest control (561710), and carpet cleaning (561740). Density is businesses per 10,000 residents using 2023 ACS population.
Employer vs. nonemployer: County Business Patterns counts businesses with paid employees; Nonemployer Statistics counts owner-operator firms with none. We sum both so the total reflects the whole market, not just payroll businesses.
Caveats: Census combines some trades under one code (HVAC and plumbing share NAICS 238220), so those are reported together. Counts are establishments and firms, not companies, so a business with two locations counts twice. Figures cover the 50 states plus D.C.
Source
U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns (2023), Nonemployer Statistics (2023), and American Community Survey (2024).
Frequently asked questions
How many home service businesses are there in the U.S.?+
About 2,403,671 across the 6 core home-service industries we measured (HVAC and plumbing, electrical, landscaping, cleaning, pest control, and carpet cleaning). That breaks down into 403,523 businesses with employees and 2,000,148 solo / owner-operator firms.
Which state has the most home service businesses?+
Florida leads with 292,517 home service businesses, ahead of Texas (268,262) and California (239,217).
Which state has the highest home-service business density?+
Florida has the most home service businesses per capita: 125.2 per 10,000 residents. Density matters more than raw count if you want to gauge how active (and competitive) a market is relative to its population.
Are most home service businesses solo operators?+
Yes. 83% of home service businesses are nonemployer firms, meaning owner-operators with no paid employees. That is why we include both employer establishments and nonemployer firms; counting only payroll businesses would miss the majority of the market.
What counts as a home service business in this study?+
We use 6 U.S. Census NAICS industries: HVAC and plumbing (238220), electrical (238210), landscaping (561730), cleaning and janitorial (561720), pest control (561710), and carpet cleaning (561740). These cover the core trades that serve homeowners on a recurring or on-demand basis.
Where does this data come from?+
U.S. Census Bureau: County Business Patterns (2022) for employer establishments, Nonemployer Statistics (2022) for solo firms, and the American Community Survey (2023) for state population. See the methodology below.
Cite this study
Free to reference with a link back. Please credit Smarfle Research as the source.
Ihor Lavrenenko (2026). Best States for Home Service Businesses. Smarfle Research. https://www.smarfle.com/small-business-statistics/best-states-home-service-businesses
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