The most valuable company in every state and DC
Daniel Coughlin
11 August 2020
The highest-worth public firms across America
The total value of America's publicly-listed companies amounts to a jaw-dropping $35.50 trillion (£27.89tn). Some states are jam-packed with mega-valuable firms, such as California and New York, while others, including Alaska and Wyoming, have just a few. Based on the company's value at the time of writing, which is the total value of its outstanding shares, click or scroll through to see the highest-worth corporation in each US state and DC.
Alabama: Vulcan Materials, valued at $17.22 billion (£13.2bn)
America's leading producer of construction essentials such as crushed stone, gravel, and sand, Vulcan Materials is based in Birmingham, Alabama but boasts facilities in 20 states and DC. Dating back to 1909, the firm weathered the Great Depression and prospered during World War II, when it played an important role in the war effort supplying aggregates and concrete for the Manhattan Project. The company went public in 1957 and has since gone from strength to strength.
Alaska: First National Bank Alaska, valued at $597.2 million (£456.6m)
Super-valuable businesses are thin on the ground in the Last Frontier given its geographical isolation from the Lower 48. In fact, the most valuable public company in the state, First National Bank Alaska, is worth a relatively paltry $597.2 million (£456.6m). Founded in 1922, the Anchorage-based bank has 31 locations across the state.
Arizona: Republic Services, valued at $28.8 billion (£22bn)
Headquartered in sunny Phoenix, trash hauler Republic Services is Arizona's most valuable firm. Established in 1996, the company, which is strongly committed to sustainability, has grown rapidly to become one of the largest waste management and recycling businesses in the country and now operates in 40 states, as well as Puerto Rico. The business was valued at $28.8 billion (£22bn) on 10 August.
Arkansas: Walmart, valued at $368 billion (£282bn)
Arkansas is home to retail behemoth Walmart, which is the world's largest company by revenue with an annual turnover reaching nearly $524 billion (£415bn) in the 2020 financial year. The firm's late founder Sam Walton opened the first store in the city of Rogers on 2 July 1962 and the rest is history. These days the company, which is based in Bentonville, has over 11,300 locations in 27 countries and serves more than 270 million customers per week.
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California: Apple, valued at $1.9 trillion (£1.45tn)
California is awash with exceedingly valuable businesses, from Alphabet and Facebook to Disney and Tesla, but the most valuable of them all is Apple. In August 2018 the Cupertino-based tech giant, which was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne in Jobs' childhood home back in 1976, became the first public firm on the planet to hit a trillion-dollar valuation, and it remains the most valuable public company globally.
Colorado: Newmont Corporation, valued at $55.3 billion (£42.3bn)
Newmont is the world's number one gold mining company and a leading producer of copper, silver, zinc, and lead. While gold mining has been big business in Colorado since 1858, the Greenwood Village-headquartered firm was incorporated some time later in 1921. It owns and operates mines in a number of countries around the globe from Argentina to Australia.
Connecticut: Cigna, valued at $65.6 billion (£50.2bn)
Health insurance titan Cigna is Connecticut's most valuable firm. Its origins date way back to 1792 but the company as we know it today was formed in 1982 as a result of the merger between Connecticut General Life Insurance Company (CG) and INA Corporation. At the current time the corporation, which counts more than 70,000 employees, has more than 180 million customer and patient relationships in over 30 countries and jurisdictions.
Delaware: DuPont, valued at $40.9 billion (£31.3bn)
In the diminutive state of Delaware one major company rules the roost: DuPont. The storied chemicals conglomerate, which was established in 1802, invented Lycra, Teflon, and neoprene, and following its merger with Dow in 2017 is now the world's largest chemicals business in terms of sales.
DC: Danaher, valued at $145.7 billion (£111.5bn)
DC is of course brimming with federal government agencies but has more than its fair share of valuable public companies too. Top of the list is Danaher, a conglomerate with interests in life sciences, diagnostics, and more. Known by that moniker since 1983, the company was named after a creek in Montana where the founders, brothers Mitchell and Steven Rales, came up with the idea for the business while on a fishing trip.
Florida: NextEra Energy, valued at $140.9 billion (£107.8bn)
Fittingly, the most valuable firm in the Sunshine State happens to be the world's largest producer of solar energy. NextEra Energy is also the planet's top wind power producer. Based in Juno Beach, the renewables juggernaut, which began life in 1925 as the Florida Power & Light Company, is one of America's largest infrastructure capital investors to boot.
Georgia: Home Depot, valued at $292.15 billion (£223.5bn)
Conceived in 1978 at a Los Angeles coffee shop, Home Depot opened its first two stores in Atlanta the following year and is still based in the Georgia state capital. These days the company is the largest home improvement retailer in the world and counts more than 2,200 stores across North America.
Hawaii: Hawaiian Electric Industries, valued at $3.95 billion (£3bn)
The parent for the Aloha State’s three largest public utilities, Hawaiian Electric Industries has provided power to the islands' homes and businesses for more than 125 years and currently serves 95% of the population. The company, which is headquartered in Honolulu, also owns American Savings Bank, Hawaii's third largest financial institution.
Idaho: Micron Technology, valued at $54.16 billion (£41.4bn)
Renowned the world over for its flash memory products and solid-state drives, Micron Technology is Idaho's most valuable company by a long shot. Based in Boise, the company was founded in 1978 as a four-person semiconductor design consultancy. Fast-forward to 2020 and it now has 39,000 employees working out of 39 locations spanning North America, Asia, and Europe.
Illinois: AbbVie, valued at $163.98 billion (£125.4bn)
The COVID-19 pandemic has knocked Boeing off the top spot in Illinois. Unsurprisingly, the ailing aerospace company has been eclipsed by a biopharmaceutical firm, AbbVie, which has seen its stock market value surge during the crisis for obvious reasons. Founded in 2013 as a spin-off of Abbott Laboratories, the Chicago-based company is working to develop an antibody treatment for the virus.
Indiana: Eli Lilly and Company, valued at $146.27 billion (£111.9bn)
Staying with pharmaceutical companies, Eli Lilly was founded in 1876 by its namesake and has developed a multitude of game-changing medications over its long history, including the first mass-produced polio vaccine and antidepressant drug: Prozac. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the firm is also working on an antibody treatment for COVID-19.
Iowa: Principal Financial Group, valued at $12.16 billion (£9.3bn)
Principal Financial Group is Iowa's most valuable company. Established in 1879 as an insurance business, the Des Moines-based firm specializes in investment management these days and operates across North and South America, Asia, Europe, and Australasia, serving a total of 33 million clients.
Kansas: Euronet Worldwide, valued at $5.25 billion (£4bn)
Defunct telecoms titan Sprint was the most valuable Kansas-based public firm before its takeover by T-Mobile USA in April, and now that Pizza Hut and Wendy's franchisee NPC International has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, largely due to COVID-19, the Sunflower State's most valuable public company is electronic payments business Euronet Worldwide.
Kentucky: Humana, valued at $55.29 billion (£42.3bn)
Healthcare and medical insurance business Humana is Kentucky's most valuable corporation. The Louisville-based company started out in 1961 as a nursing home firm called Extendicare and rebranded as Humana in 1974 following its move into hospitals. It now counts a total of 46,000 employees and 16.7 million members across the US.
Louisiana: Entergy, valued at $20.95 billion (£16bn)
Headquartered in New Orleans, this integrated energy business was founded in 1913 as the Arkansas Power Company and following a series of mergers and acquisitions was reborn in 1989 as Entergy. The firm owns and operates plants that pump out 30,000 megawatts of electricity and serves 2.9 million customers in Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas.
Maine: IDEXX Laboratories, valued at $32.47 billion (£24.8bn)
IDEXX Laboratories was established in Portland back in 1983 as a six-person company specializing in detecting disease in livestock. Now a global leader in veterinary diagnostics, software, and water microbiology testing, the firm has thousands of employees and locations in all six inhabited continents.
Maryland: Lockheed Martin, valued at $107.79 billion (£82.5bn)
Maryland's most valuable business, Lockheed Martin traces its history back to 1912 when the firm's precursor was founded by aviation pioneer Glenn L Martin. The company really came into its own during World War II and the Cold War as a supplier of military aircraft, missile technology, space systems, and weaponry, and remains the world's leading defense contractor and arms manufacturer.
Massachusetts: Thermo Fisher Scientific, valued at $163.9 billion (£125.4bn)
One of the planet's premier medical technology companies, Thermo Fisher Scientific was formed in 1986 following the merger of Massachusetts' firm Thermo Electron and the UK's Fisher Scientific. The Waltham-based corporation produces everything from microscopes to mass spectrometers, and has recently developed a COVID-19 rapid testing kit.
Michigan: General Motors, valued at $38.2 billion (£29.2bn)
Michigan became the center of America's auto industry in the early 20th century and the big names are still based in the state. Needless to say, Michigan's most valuable company is a vehicle manufacturer. General Motors, which has its headquarters in Detroit, holds the number one spot with a stock market value of $38.2 billion (£29.2bn) as of 10 August.
Minnesota: UnitedHealth Group, valued at $301.285 billion (£230.5bn)
Along with several other states in our round-up, Minnesota's most valuable company specializes in healthcare and medical insurance. Based in Minnetonka, UnitedHealth Group was created in 1977, went public in 1984, and now boasts 325,000 employees serving millions of people worldwide.
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Mississippi: Sanderson Farms, valued at $2.5 billion (£1.9bn)
Given farming is the leading industry in the Magnolia State, it stands to reason the most valuable Mississippi-based firm is an agricultural company. From its humble beginnings in 1947 as a small-scale feed and seed business, Sanderson Farms, which operates out of the city of Laurel, has expanded to become the nation's third biggest poultry producer, processing 13.6 million chickens per week.
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Missouri: Emerson Electric, valued at $39.66 billion (£30.3bn)
Emerson Electric was founded in St Louis in 1890 as a manufacturer of electric motors and fans, and its pioneering ceiling fans helped make high-rise buildings livable. Nowadays the company produces a vast array of products from generators to compressors used in AC units and refrigerators, which are sold in numerous countries around the world.
Montana: Glacier Bancorp, valued at $3.5 billion (£2.7bn)
Glacier Bancorp is the parent company of a number of regional banks that operate in eight states in the west of the country. The Kalispell-based corporation, which came into being in 1990, now has 192 offices in total. Its best-known brand is Glacier Bank, which started out in 1955 with a staff of just two and currently has a workforce numbering 350.
Nebraska: Berkshire Hathaway, valued at $509.12 billion (£389.6bn)
Nebraska's most valuable company hands-down, Berkshire Hathaway needs no introduction. Investment guru Warren Buffett gained control of the venerable firm in 1965 and has gone on to transform the struggling Omaha-based entity into a ridiculously successful conglomerate with interests in real estate, insurance, food and beverage, consumer products, and a whole lot more besides.
Nevada: Las Vegas Sands, valued at $33.76 billion (£25.8bn)
Nevada is the center of operations for some of the world's most valuable gambling resort firms. Standing head and shoulders above the competition is Las Vegas Sands. Headed by 87-year-old entrepreneur Sheldon Adelson, the Paradise-based corporation started out in the late 1980s with the purchase of the Sands Hotel and Casino, which was razed to make way for The Venetian. Today, the company has a bulging portfolio of properties including The Palazzo and Singapore's Marina Bay Sands.
New Hampshire: White Mountains Insurance Group, valued at $2.86 billion (£2.2bn)
White Mountains Insurance Group was born out of property and casualty insurer the Fireman's Fund, which was sold to Allianz in 1991. Formed from the holding company and residual assets of the fund, the group, which has its headquarters in Hanover but is domiciled in Bermuda, owns a number of insurance and financial services firms including NSM Insurance and Kudu Investment Management.
New Jersey: Johnson & Johnson, valued at $391.2 billion (£299.3bn)
Founded by the three Johnson brothers in 1886, Johnson & Johnson has during its illustrious history pioneered first aid kits, feminine hygiene products, and mass-produced dental floss, as well as adhesive bandages, the first non-aspirin pain-relieving drug, and disposable contact lenses. Now the world's largest and most diverse medical device and diagnostics company, the New Brunswick-based firm encompasses more than 260 subsidiaries operating in 60 countries.
New Mexico: PNM Resources, valued at $3.53 billion (£2.7bn)
Incorporated in 1917 as the Albuquerque Gas and Electric Company, energy holding company PNM Resources is New Mexico's most valuable business. Headquartered in the Land of Enchantment's biggest city, the firm provides electricity to 790,000 homes in New Mexico and Texas via its regulated subsidiaries PNM and TNMP.
New York: Mastercard, valued at $328.36 billion (£251bn)
New York has an abundance of extremely valuable companies, from Wall Street stalwarts such as JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup to insurance giants including MetLife, but the most valuable is payments colossus Mastercard. Originating in 1966, when it was known as the Interbank Card Association, today the firm has an incredible 926 million cards in circulation around the world but is currently moving away from traditional credit cards into digital payments.
North Carolina: Bank of America, valued at $226.2 billion (£173bn)
Rather ironically, Bank of America started out in 1904 in pre-earthquake San Francisco as a financial institution called Bank of Italy, though the oldest parts of the company date back 240 years. Highlights of its long history include the launch of the first consumer credit card in 1958. Today, the Charlotte-based firm has 66 million customers and counts 4,300 branches throughout the US.
North Dakota: MDU Resources, valued at $4.68 billion (£3.6bn)
The most valuable company in the Peace Garden State is MDU Resources, a conglomerate with interests in utilities, natural gas pipelines, construction services, and building materials. Established in 1924 as a small electric utility serving farming communities on the border of North Dakota and Montana, the Bismarck-based group has a peak workforce of 13,000 and operates in 44 states.
Ohio: Procter & Gamble, valued at $332 billion (£254bn)
A litany of high-value firms are headquartered in Ohio including retailers Macy's and Kroger and tire giant Goodyear, though these companies are worth considerably less than the state's number one Procter & Gamble. Founded in 1837 by English chandler William Procter and Irish soap maker James Gamble, the Cincinnati-based consumer goods corporation owns iconic brands that are famous the world over including Ariel, Gillette, Pampers, and Tampax.
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Oklahoma: Williams, valued at $25.3 billion (£19.4bn)
Oklahoma's most valuable company was set up in 1908 by brothers Miller and David Williams as a construction firm and began building pipelines not long after. These days the business, which has operated out of Tulsa since 1918, handles 30% of the natural gas extracted in the US, but also has interests in petroleum and electricity generation.
Oregon: Nike, valued at $158.89 billion (£121.6bn)
Originally called Blue Ribbon Sports, Nike was founded in 1964 by University of Oregon track-and-field coach Bill Bowerman and his ex-student Phil Knight, who is currently the firm's chairman emeritus. Before co-founding the Beaverton-based business Knight sold running shoes from the trunk of his car. Today, Nike, which is named after the Greek goddess of victory, is the world's number one sneaker and sports apparel company.
Pennsylvania: Comcast, valued at $195.56 billion (£149.6bn)
Headquartered in the eponymous Philadelphia tower, which is the tallest building in the state, Comcast is Pennsylvania's most valuable firm. The business started out in 1963 as a small cable system in Tupelo, Mississippi and moved to Philly in 1969. Now a huge telecoms conglomerate, Comcast is one of the country's leading providers of cable TV, entertainment, and communications products and services.
Rhode Island: CVS Health, valued at $85 billion (£65bn)
Little Rhody may be America's tiniest state but it punches well above its weight when it comes to valuable firms. The state's number one is healthcare and medical insurance group CVS Health. Established in 1963, the Woonsocket-headquartered company owns retail chain CVS Pharmacy, pharmacy benefits manager CVS Caremark, and health insurance provider Aetna, along with myriad other brands.
South Carolina: Sonoco, valued at $5.3 billion (£4.1bn)
Founded in 1889 in the South Carolina city of Hartsville as the Southern Novelty Company, Sonoco is a veritable packaging leviathan. The firm, which is much-admired for its strong commitment to sustainability, is the world's leading supplier of composite cans and boasts 300 operations in 36 countries.
South Dakota: Black Hills Corporation, valued at $3.7 billion (£2.8bn)
South Dakota's most valuable business originated during the Black Hills Gold Rush of the 1870s, predating the formation of the state by more than a decade. These days the Rapid City-headquartered company generates electricity and coal, and supplies power to customers in eight states.
Tennessee: Dollar General, valued at $49.16 billion (£37.6bn)
Discount retailer Dollar General has superseded FedEx to become the most valuable Tennessee company. One of America's big three dollar-store chains, the Goodlettsville-based budget store operator has grown from a single wholesale outlet that opened in 1955 to become the nation's largest small-box retailer.
Texas: AT&T, valued at $213.89 billion (£163.7bn)
The Lone Star State is big on valuable companies but the long-standing top dog, ExxonMobil, has been relegated to second place due to tanking commodity prices. AT&T is now the Texan firm worth the most. Tracing its roots back to a company founded in 1876 by the Scottish-born inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell, AT&T is the world's largest telecoms company by revenue and a leading provider of cellphone services.
Utah: Extra Space Storage, valued at $13.39 billion (£10.2bn)
Utah's most valuable firm, Extra Space Storage owns and/or operates more than 1,400 self-storage facilities in 35 states, DC, and Puerto Rico. As is the case with many of the companies included in our round-up, the Salt Lake City-based business started small with just one warehouse in Billings, Montana, which opened in 1977.
Vermont: Casella Waste Systems, valued at $2.738 billion (£2.1bn)
Arizona isn't the only state in which a waste management company is the most valuable business. Vermont's highest-worth firm is also concerned with processing the stuff we throw out. Established in 1975 with just one pick-up truck, Casella Waste Systems, which is headquartered in Rutland, has developed a massive infrastructure of recycling and collection locations across the northeast of the country.
Virginia: Altria Group, valued at $78.37 billion (£59.9bn)
Virginia has long been synonymous with tobacco cultivation and, as might be expected, the most valuable firm in the state is among the world's biggest producers and marketers of cigarettes and related products. Based in Henrico County, the controversial Altria Group, which was formed in 1985, is the parent of brands including Marlboro, but also owns Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, one of the America's premier wine producers.
Washington: Microsoft, valued at $1.61 trillion (£1.23tn)
Washington is home to not just one but two companies valued in excess of a trillion dollars: Amazon, which is worth $1.59 trillion (£1.22tn), and tech giant Microsoft, which pips it to the post. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in an Albuquerque garage, the tech giant has brought the world everything from the Windows operating system to Office, Xbox, and Azure cloud services.
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West Virginia: United Bankshares, valued at $3.7 billion (£2.8bn)
West Virginia's most valuable firm dates all the way back to St Patrick's Day 1839 when its precursor, the Northwestern Bank of Virginia, opened a branch in Parkersburg. The parent of United Bank, United Bankshares, which is based in Charleston, went public in 1987 and now counts 211 banking offices and 19 loan origination offices in seven states and DC.
Wisconsin: Fiserv, valued at $69.58 billion (£53.2bn)
Financial technology company Fiserv is America's largest independent processor of checks and one of the nation's three leading data processing companies. Founded in 1984, the Brookfield-headquartered business now supplies software solutions to thousands of financial institutions and millions of businesses around the world.
Wyoming: Crazy Woman Creek Bancorp, valued at $11.4 million (£9m)
America's least populous state has a dearth of public companies. The former most valuable firm, Cloud Peak Energy, recently emerged from bankruptcy and is now worth a pittance. The only other publicly-listed Wyoming-based company we have identified is the colorfully-named Crazy Woman Creek Bancorp, the parent of the Buffalo Federal Savings Bank. But it is worth 150,000 times less than Apple, the most valuable business in our round-up.
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