How many people are employed in Utah?

According to Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 data, Utah has 1,512,504 employees across 93,754 business establishments in 787 tracked industries.

What are the largest industries in Utah?

The largest industries in Utah by employment are Limited-Service Restaurants (59,380), Full-Service Restaurants (41,107), and Software Publishers (31,018).

What is the average payroll in Utah?

Average payroll per employee varies widely by industry in Utah. The highest-paying tracked industry is Petroleum Refineries at $162,179/yr. All data is from Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023.

How many businesses operate in Utah?

Utah has 93,754 business establishments across 787 industries tracked by the Census Bureau County Business Patterns program. Each establishment represents a single physical location or operating unit.

State overview · UT · Census CBP 2023

Utah Industry Benchmarks

Name: Utah Industry Employment and Payroll Benchmarks
Creator: PlainBizBench
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Employment, establishments, and payroll for 787 industries in Utah. Drill into any industry for a Utah-specific view, then cross-reference the national page for margins.

Compiled by PlainBizBench

1.5M
Workers: 94K
Establishments: 787
Industries tracked

Data updated August 2026

The verdict · Utah

Utah employs 1,512,504 workers across 787 tracked industries, led by Limited-Service Restaurants (59,380 workers).

No single sector dominates Utah (lead 13%; top-three 36%). Margins stay on national industry pages.

Utah sector employment mix

Share of private-sector employment by NAICS-2 sector (Census CBP 2023). Tile area = workers.

Utah private employment by sector · Census CBP 2023

Utah spreads employment across sectors: the largest, Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services, is only 13% of 1,512,504 private-sector workers (about the 43rd percentile of states by employment). No single NAICS-2 block dominates the private labor market here.

UT breadth ledger · HHI 0.086
Sector	Workers	Share
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services (56)	195,297	13%
Retail Trade (44)	178,708	12%
Health Care and Social Assistance (62)	176,253	12%
Top-three cumulative 36% - no single NAICS-2 block dominates.

Profit margins are national (IRS SOI); open any industry row below, then the matching national industry page for profitability.

Census CBP firm roll

County Business Patterns UT DISTRIBUTED · CBP

#29/51 · 1,512,504 workers · 93,754 firms

EMP 1,512,504
EST 93,754
RANK #29/51
PCT 43rd pct
LEAD Administrative and S…
SHARE 13% lead
BAND distributed
DENS 16.1 /firm
BOOK 787 NAICS
PHOTO Connecticut

Nearest employment-scale peer: Connecticut (1,527,746 workers)

According to Census County Business Patterns 2023, Utah ranks #29 of 51 states and territories by total private-sector employment (level-2 sector totals, the same non-double-counted aggregate shown above). Margins stay on national industry pages (IRS SOI). Read with this state → · Lead 6-digit industry →

Census CBP level-2 private employment among this state and nearest nationwide peers

Top Industries by Employment

Industry	Employment	Establishments	Annual Payroll	Avg Payroll/Emp
Limited-Service Restaurants NAICS 722513	59,380	2,801	$1.1B	$19,104/yr
Full-Service Restaurants NAICS 722511	41,107	1,799	$1.0B	$24,500/yr
Software Publishers NAICS 511210	31,018	418	$4.5B	$145,141/yr
Corporate, Subsidiary, and Regional Managing Offices NAICS 551114	25,478	367	$3.2B	$126,971/yr
Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores NAICS 445110	25,097	411	$728.4M	$29,022/yr
Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists) NAICS 621111	23,386	2,096	$2.4B	$103,700/yr
Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels NAICS 721110	20,939	636	$664.4M	$31,732/yr
Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors NAICS 238210	17,748	1,136	$1.2B	$66,406/yr
General Warehousing and Storage NAICS 493110	15,658	192	$808.2M	$51,617/yr
Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors NAICS 238220	15,616	1,443	$1.1B	$67,958/yr
Offices of Dentists NAICS 621210	15,047	1,789	$637.7M	$42,383/yr
Commercial Banking NAICS 522110	14,785	598	$1.5B	$103,019/yr
Couriers and Express Delivery Services NAICS 492110	13,018	131	N/A	N/A
Custom Computer Programming Services NAICS 541511	12,491	942	$1.1B	$90,802/yr
Elementary and Secondary Schools NAICS 611110	11,985	196	$456.4M	$38,080/yr
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars NAICS 722515	11,721	865	$192.0M	$16,378/yr
Telemarketing Bureaus and Other Contact Centers NAICS 561422	11,373	60	$373.8M	$32,868/yr
Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation NAICS 481111	11,076	20	$1.0B	$94,023/yr
New Car Dealers NAICS 441110	11,054	204	$813.0M	$73,550/yr
Janitorial Services NAICS 561720	10,912	1,032	$333.8M	$30,591/yr

Breadth peers near Utah's private employment

Nearest other states by Census CBP level-2 private employment (1,512,504 in Utah), excluding UT.

Connecticut 1,527,746 Oregon 1,635,645 Louisiana 1,658,849 Oklahoma 1,358,788 Kentucky 1,674,114 Iowa 1,306,260 Nevada 1,298,196 Alabama 1,727,530

Disclaimer: Utah (UT) figures on this page are Census CBP employment and payroll counts for informational registry use only, not financial, tax, or business advice. Consult a qualified accountant for decisions about Utah businesses.

Source: Census Bureau County Business Patterns (CBP) 2023 · UT

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from official public datasets for Utah (UT). See our methodology.

Verify with U.S. Census Bureau → · Verify with IRS SOI →