Influence

A French Company in Every U.S. State

There is not a single American state without a French business within its borders. From New York to Alaska, companies such as Airbus, Michelin, Bel, Louis Vuitton, Safran, Saint-Gobain, and Sodexo are creating jobs and contributing to the U.S. economy.
The Airbus assembly plant in Mobile, Alabama. © Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

In its most recent annual report, the department of economic affairs at the embassy of France in Washington D.C. offers a detailed review of the footprint of French companies in the United States:

– Some 4,800 French companies employed 678,000 people in the United States in 2017. This makes France the third biggest foreign employer in America after the U.K. and Japan.

– The equivalent of 139 billion dollars of products and services were traded between France and the United States in 2017, marking a 16% increase compared with the previous year.

– New York State and New Jersey are the two leading importers of French products in the U.S.A., while California and Texas are the two biggest exporters of products to France with the energy sector high on the list.

– In 2017, Kentucky imported 2.7 billion dollars of French products – mainly automobile construction parts – while Ohio imported 1.68 billion dollars of French products.

– French groups Air Liquide, the global gas provider for the industrial, research, and medical sectors, and Sodexo, which supplies more than 10,000 institutional catering services in the United States, are both present in all 50 U.S. states. Insurer Axa is established in 32 states, the automobile parts manufacturer Michelin has branches in 8 states, and the agri-food company Bel is found in 4 states.

– In 2017, France was the leading foreign creator of jobs in New Jersey and Oklahoma, while French businesses created 72,700 jobs in California.


Number of jobs created by French companies in the United States:

1. California: 72,700
2. Texas: 58,700
3. New York: 53,000
4. New Jersey: 46,200
5. Illinois: 34,300
6. Florida: 29,000
7. Indiana: 28,600
8. Massachusetts: 28,200
9. Pennsylvania: 27,000
10. South Carolina: 20,900
11. Georgia: 19,100
12. Ohio: 18,800
13. Michigan: 18,700
14. Tennessee: 17,700
15. Virginia: 16,500
16. North Carolina: 15,000
17. Missouri: 10,000
18. Oklahoma: 9,500
19. Arizona: 9,400
20. Maryland: 9,400
21. Kentucky: 9,300
22. Washington: 9,100
23. Alabama: 8,000
24. Wisconsin: 7,800
25. Connecticut: 7,700
26. Louisiana: 7,600
27. Colorado: 7,500
28. Minnesota: 7,400
29. Hawaii: 6,500
30. Arkansas: 6,100
31. Nevada: 5,900
32. Utah: 5,300
33. Iowa: 4,600
34. Rhode Island: 4,300
35. Mississippi: 4,200
36. New Hampshire: 3,900
37. Oregon: 3,800
38. Kansas: 3,600
39. Nebraska: 3,500
40. New Mexico: 2,600
41. Idaho: 2,400
42. Delaware: 1,800
43. West Virginia: 1,600
44. South Dakota: 1,400
45. Vermont: 1,400
46. District of Columbia: 1,200
47. Maine: 1,000
48. Montana: 800
49. North Dakota: 600
50. Alaska: 500
51. Wyoming: 500