Where America's trucking businesses are: the top states for long-distance carriers
The U.S. has about 60,137 long-distance truckload trucking establishments (2023 Census). California leads with 7,792 — but Illinois (6,973) edges out Texas (6,318), a Chicago freight-hub effect.
There are roughly 60,137 long-distance truckload trucking establishments in the U.S. (NAICS 484121, 2023 Census County Business Patterns), and they cluster in a handful of states. California leads with 7,792, but the surprise is second place: Illinois has 6,973 — ahead of Texas's 6,318 — a reflection of Chicago's role as the country's rail-and-road freight hub. Florida follows with 3,866, then Pennsylvania 2,160, Michigan 2,058, Georgia 1,967, and North Carolina 1,952.
Why it matters for insurance: trucking is one of the toughest commercial-auto risks to price, and the states with the most carriers also tend to have the deepest markets — more insurers competing, more filed rate options, and more comparison leverage for an owner-operator. See how commercial-auto profitability varies by state on our market profitability pages.
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