The Factory Census, Q3 2026
FACTORYREGISTRY RESEARCH · SNAPSHOT JUL 2026 · press@factoryregistry.com
A quarterly count of manufacturing facilities in the United States, compiled from federal records. The figures below are fixed at the snapshot date and do not change after publication, so they can be cited.
Headline
State rankings
All 50 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Density uses Census population estimates for 2024.
| # | STATE | FACILITIES | PER 100K | SIGNAL | SIGNAL % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 49,634 | 125.87 | 12,608 | 25.4% |
| 2 | Texas | 15,567 | 49.75 | 8,383 | 53.9% |
| 3 | Illinois | 15,071 | 118.57 | 4,796 | 31.8% |
| 4 | Florida | 12,477 | 53.38 | 5,866 | 47.0% |
| 5 | Pennsylvania | 11,858 | 90.67 | 5,668 | 47.8% |
| 6 | Ohio | 10,797 | 90.86 | 5,962 | 55.2% |
| 7 | Michigan | 9,760 | 96.25 | 5,100 | 52.3% |
| 8 | North Carolina | 8,843 | 80.06 | 3,772 | 42.7% |
| 9 | Minnesota | 7,860 | 135.68 | 2,777 | 35.3% |
| 10 | New York | 7,825 | 39.39 | 4,506 | 57.6% |
| 11 | Wisconsin | 7,344 | 123.20 | 3,791 | 51.6% |
| 12 | Georgia | 6,998 | 62.59 | 3,463 | 49.5% |
| 13 | Massachusetts | 6,663 | 93.37 | 2,892 | 43.4% |
| 14 | Indiana | 6,444 | 93.06 | 3,249 | 50.4% |
| 15 | Washington | 6,149 | 77.27 | 2,372 | 38.6% |
| 16 | Tennessee | 5,976 | 82.68 | 2,393 | 40.0% |
| 17 | Virginia | 5,965 | 67.70 | 2,812 | 47.1% |
| 18 | Missouri | 5,484 | 87.81 | 2,175 | 39.7% |
| 19 | Colorado | 5,475 | 91.90 | 2,058 | 37.6% |
| 20 | Oregon | 5,321 | 124.54 | 1,609 | 30.2% |
| 21 | New Jersey | 5,294 | 55.72 | 2,715 | 51.3% |
| 22 | Alabama | 5,210 | 101.01 | 2,007 | 38.5% |
| 23 | Kentucky | 4,652 | 101.39 | 1,562 | 33.6% |
| 24 | South Carolina | 3,779 | 68.97 | 1,760 | 46.6% |
| 25 | Arizona | 3,614 | 47.66 | 2,074 | 57.4% |
| 26 | Kansas | 3,165 | 106.54 | 1,215 | 38.4% |
| 27 | Louisiana | 3,092 | 67.25 | 1,231 | 39.8% |
| 28 | Connecticut | 2,891 | 78.67 | 1,772 | 61.3% |
| 29 | Utah | 2,875 | 82.06 | 1,255 | 43.7% |
| 30 | Maryland | 2,811 | 44.88 | 1,809 | 64.4% |
| 31 | Oklahoma | 2,708 | 66.12 | 1,288 | 47.6% |
| 32 | Iowa | 2,703 | 83.39 | 1,368 | 50.6% |
| 33 | Mississippi | 2,427 | 82.47 | 872 | 35.9% |
| 34 | Arkansas | 2,351 | 76.12 | 920 | 39.1% |
| 35 | Nevada | 1,839 | 56.28 | 823 | 44.8% |
| 36 | Nebraska | 1,759 | 87.71 | 716 | 40.7% |
| 37 | West Virginia | 1,584 | 89.49 | 422 | 26.6% |
| 38 | Idaho | 1,534 | 76.64 | 783 | 51.0% |
| 39 | Puerto Rico | 1,378 | 43.02 | 526 | 38.2% |
| 40 | New Hampshire | 1,309 | 92.90 | 833 | 63.6% |
| 41 | New Mexico | 1,168 | 54.83 | 564 | 48.3% |
| 42 | Rhode Island | 1,152 | 103.57 | 454 | 39.4% |
| 43 | Maine | 1,049 | 74.66 | 449 | 42.8% |
| 44 | Montana | 928 | 81.60 | 453 | 48.8% |
| 45 | Vermont | 674 | 103.93 | 279 | 41.4% |
| 46 | South Dakota | 667 | 72.13 | 432 | 64.8% |
| 47 | Hawaii | 622 | 43.01 | 273 | 43.9% |
| 48 | Delaware | 617 | 58.65 | 282 | 45.7% |
| 49 | Wyoming | 607 | 103.30 | 175 | 28.8% |
| 50 | Alaska | 604 | 81.61 | 241 | 39.9% |
| 51 | North Dakota | 549 | 68.92 | 280 | 51.0% |
| 52 | District of Columbia | 170 | 24.21 | 125 | 73.5% |
Top 25 manufacturing counties
| # | COUNTY | STATE | FACILITIES | LEADING INDUSTRY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles | CA | 12,417 | Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing |
| 2 | Orange | CA | 5,291 | Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing |
| 3 | Cook | IL | 4,480 | Miscellaneous Manufacturing |
| 4 | Santa Clara | CA | 3,783 | Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing |
| 5 | San Diego | CA | 3,735 | Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing |
| 6 | Alameda | CA | 3,116 | Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing |
| 7 | Harris | TX | 2,886 | Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing |
| 8 | San Bernardino | CA | 2,593 | Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing |
| 9 | Maricopa | AZ | 2,374 | Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing |
| 10 | Riverside | CA | 1,868 | Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing |
| 11 | Middlesex | MA | 1,840 | Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing |
| 12 | Hennepin | MN | 1,779 | Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing |
| 13 | King | WA | 1,488 | Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing |
| 14 | Dallas | TX | 1,456 | Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing |
| 15 | Oakland | MI | 1,370 | Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing |
| 16 | DuPage | IL | 1,364 | Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing |
| 17 | Tarrant | TX | 1,207 | Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing |
| 18 | Miami-Dade | FL | 1,204 | Transportation Equipment Manufacturing |
| 19 | Ventura | CA | 1,158 | Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing |
| 20 | Salt Lake | UT | 1,140 | Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing |
| 21 | Wayne | MI | 1,139 | Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing |
| 22 | Cuyahoga | OH | 1,130 | Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing |
| 23 | Macomb | MI | 1,087 | Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing |
| 24 | San Mateo | CA | 1,065 | Chemical Manufacturing |
| 25 | San Joaquin | CA | 1,062 | Food Manufacturing |
Industry concentration
For each three-digit NAICS subsector: the three states holding the most facilities, and the number of states where that subsector is the largest by count.
| SUBSECTOR | FACILITIES | TOP THREE STATES | STATES LED |
|---|---|---|---|
| 332 Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing | 47,785 | CA 6,809 · TX 3,053 · PA 2,564 | 36 |
| 325 Chemical Manufacturing | 26,615 | CA 5,174 · TX 1,989 · IL 1,287 | 2 |
| 333 Machinery Manufacturing | 23,310 | CA 4,619 · MI 1,405 · TX 1,371 | — |
| 311 Food Manufacturing | 22,133 | CA 3,849 · IL 1,168 · TX 1,007 | 10 |
| 336 Transportation Equipment Manufacturing | 21,694 | CA 4,706 · MI 1,521 · FL 1,483 | 1 |
| 327 Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing | 20,222 | CA 2,958 · FL 1,561 · TX 1,431 | 1 |
| 339 Miscellaneous Manufacturing | 19,765 | IL 4,031 · CA 3,748 · TX 931 | 1 |
| 334 Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing | 19,700 | CA 5,870 · MA 1,102 · TX 1,079 | 3 |
| 326 Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing | 15,042 | CA 1,693 · OH 1,049 · TX 881 | — |
| 321 Wood Product Manufacturing | 14,025 | CA 1,603 · NC 726 · OR 711 | — |
| 337 Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing | 9,033 | CA 2,228 · NC 689 · FL 359 | — |
| 323 Printing and Related Support Activities | 9,008 | CA 1,834 · IL 576 · FL 450 | — |
| 331 Primary Metal Manufacturing | 8,902 | CA 898 · PA 801 · OH 694 | — |
| 324 Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing | 8,854 | CA 1,352 · TX 480 · IL 427 | 1 |
| 335 Electrical Equipment, Appliance & Component Manufacturing | 7,333 | CA 1,640 · TX 397 · FL 345 | — |
| 322 Paper Manufacturing | 6,139 | CA 752 · WI 385 · PA 365 | — |
| 312 Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing | 3,771 | CA 1,030 · OR 266 · FL 160 | 1 |
| 315 Apparel Manufacturing | 2,507 | CA 949 · TX 128 · NC 120 | — |
| 313 Textile Mills | 2,489 | CA 456 · NC 448 · SC 200 | — |
| 314 Textile Product Mills | 1,968 | CA 276 · GA 228 · FL 115 | — |
| 316 Leather and Allied Product Manufacturing | 658 | CA 189 · FL 40 · PA 38 | — |
Employment band distribution
| BAND | FACILITIES | SHARE |
|---|---|---|
| 1-19 employees | 7,456 | 2.7% |
| 20-99 employees | 29,519 | 10.6% |
| 100-499 employees | 17,840 | 6.4% |
| 500+ employees | 2,977 | 1.1% |
| Not reported by any source | 219,708 | 79.2% |
Most listings carry no employment band. Federal facility records report employment inconsistently, and no band is inferred where none was published.
Coverage against the establishment benchmark
This is the honest measure of how complete the registry is. Listed facilities are compared with establishment counts from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages for NAICS 31-33.
The benchmark is a floor, not a ceiling. QCEW counts establishments covered by unemployment insurance; it excludes most sole proprietors and some contract operations, so the true number of manufacturing sites is higher than the benchmark and coverage below is therefore an overstatement, not an understatement.
Six states exceed 100%. That is not an error and it is not a claim of completeness: it means the registry lists more sites than QCEW counts establishments, which happens where an industry is dominated by operations too small for unemployment-insurance coverage. It is also the first place a duplicate-listing problem would appear, so those states are the ones worth auditing.
| STATE | LISTED | QCEW ESTABLISHMENTS | COVERAGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| VI | 79 | 46 | 171.7% |
| California | 49,634 | 44,839 | 110.7% |
| West Virginia | 1,584 | 1,438 | 110.2% |
| District of Columbia | 170 | 160 | 106.3% |
| Wyoming | 607 | 576 | 105.4% |
| Mississippi | 2,427 | 2,364 | 102.7% |
| Massachusetts | 6,663 | 6,842 | 97.4% |
| Colorado | 5,475 | 5,908 | 92.7% |
| Alaska | 604 | 655 | 92.2% |
| Kansas | 3,165 | 3,435 | 92.1% |
| Minnesota | 7,860 | 8,551 | 91.9% |
| Nebraska | 1,759 | 1,929 | 91.2% |
| Nevada | 1,839 | 2,168 | 84.8% |
| Rhode Island | 1,152 | 1,360 | 84.7% |
| Wisconsin | 7,344 | 8,922 | 82.3% |
| Pennsylvania | 11,858 | 14,583 | 81.3% |
| Arkansas | 2,351 | 2,967 | 79.2% |
| Illinois | 15,071 | 19,324 | 78.0% |
| North Carolina | 8,843 | 11,479 | 77.0% |
| Delaware | 617 | 807 | 76.5% |
| Washington | 6,149 | 8,040 | 76.5% |
| New Mexico | 1,168 | 1,567 | 74.5% |
| Oregon | 5,321 | 7,212 | 73.8% |
| Alabama | 5,210 | 7,074 | 73.6% |
| Indiana | 6,444 | 9,432 | 68.3% |
| Louisiana | 3,092 | 4,577 | 67.6% |
| Virginia | 5,965 | 8,978 | 66.4% |
| Ohio | 10,797 | 16,301 | 66.2% |
| Kentucky | 4,652 | 7,147 | 65.1% |
| Oklahoma | 2,708 | 4,158 | 65.1% |
| Missouri | 5,484 | 8,427 | 65.1% |
| Puerto Rico | 1,378 | 2,132 | 64.6% |
| South Dakota | 667 | 1,041 | 64.1% |
| New Hampshire | 1,309 | 2,044 | 64.0% |
| Iowa | 2,703 | 4,243 | 63.7% |
| Connecticut | 2,891 | 4,539 | 63.7% |
| Vermont | 674 | 1,079 | 62.5% |
| North Dakota | 549 | 878 | 62.5% |
| Tennessee | 5,976 | 9,652 | 61.9% |
| Arizona | 3,614 | 5,872 | 61.5% |
| Maryland | 2,811 | 4,978 | 56.5% |
| Maine | 1,049 | 1,862 | 56.3% |
| New Jersey | 5,294 | 9,809 | 54.0% |
| Hawaii | 622 | 1,165 | 53.4% |
| Georgia | 6,998 | 13,487 | 51.9% |
| Texas | 15,567 | 30,069 | 51.8% |
| Utah | 2,875 | 5,757 | 49.9% |
| Michigan | 9,760 | 19,737 | 49.5% |
| Montana | 928 | 1,878 | 49.4% |
| Florida | 12,477 | 26,842 | 46.5% |
| New York | 7,825 | 17,217 | 45.4% |
| South Carolina | 3,779 | 9,340 | 40.5% |
| Idaho | 1,534 | 3,945 | 38.9% |
Methodology
Sources
Facility records are compiled from the Environmental Protection Agency Facility Registry Service, Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspection records, SAM.gov entity registrations, and Census Bureau geography. Establishment benchmarks are from the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, 2024. Population estimates are Census Bureau vintage 2024.
Recent operating signal
A facility has a recent operating signal when at least one source shows it operating within the last 24 months. The status definitions are:
- Active. Operating signal within 12 months from two or more independent sources.
- Likely active. Operating signal within 24 months, or from a single source.
- Unverified. Present in a source dataset, with no recent operating signal.
Facilities marked unverified are still listed. They appear in a federal source but nothing recent corroborates that they are running, and the census reports them separately rather than dropping them.
County presence
A state counts as having full county presence when every one of its counties holds at least one listed facility. This measures presence, not completeness.
Refresh cadence
Quarterly. Each edition is snapshotted on publication and does not change afterwards. Corrections are published as a new edition rather than by editing an old one. This edition was snapshotted JUL 2026.
Cite as
FactoryRegistry Research, The Factory Census, Q3 2026 — factoryregistry.com/census/2026-q3
Questions about this edition: press@factoryregistry.com