Drinking places (bars) in California 3,025 establishments · 33,508 employees · 2024
Firms (CA)
3,025
Employment
33,508
Avg Annual Pay
$30,213
State Rank
#3 of 51
How California compares to national
Metric
California
National
California vs. U.S.
Establishments
3,025
42,911
7.0% of U.S. total
Avg annual pay
$30,213
$26,603
+$3,610 (+13.6%)
Location quotient
0.46
1.00
54% less dense than national
Avg firm size (employees)
11.1
9.5
—
Year-over-year firm growth
+3.2%
—
—
Reading this
An establishment is a single physical location where business is conducted. A firm with multiple locations counts as multiple establishments. "Avg pay" is wages and salaries per employee, including bonuses and tips — for proprietorships, the owner's take is largely outside this number. The location quotient (LQ) of 0.46 means drinking places (bars) are 54% under-represented in California's business mix relative to the U.S. average.
Source. BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages — 2024 annual averages, private-ownership only, NAICS 722410. Establishment counts include any firm with at least one paid employee covered by state unemployment insurance.
SMB Density · firm counts, employment, and wages by industry × state · data from BLS QCEW 2024 annual (private ownership, state-level; mostly 6-digit NAICS, 3 specialty-trade industries at 5-digit aggregation) · data.json