US cities by civilian labor force

New York, NY had the highest civilian labor force of 1688 cities in 2022, at 4.17 million. Paradise, CA had the lowest, at 2,000. The median was 23,529. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest4,166,275New York, NY
Lowest2,000Paradise, CA
Median23,5291688 cities

Top 40 cities, 2022

New York, NY: 4,166,275 personsNew York, NY4,166,275Los Angeles, CA: 2,045,617 personsLos Angeles, CA2,045,617Chicago, IL: 1,446,158 personsChicago, IL1,446,158Houston, TX: 1,162,238 personsHouston, TX1,162,238Phoenix, AZ: 881,473 personsPhoenix, AZ881,473Philadelphia, PA: 770,779 personsPhiladelphia, PA770,779San Diego, CA: 722,334 personsSan Diego, CA722,334San Antonio, TX: 712,563 personsSan Antonio, TX712,563Dallas, TX: 696,983 personsDallas, TX696,983Austin, TX: 616,034 personsAustin, TX616,034San Jose, CA: 528,198 personsSan Jose, CA528,198San Francisco, CA: 519,931 personsSan Francisco, CA519,931Charlotte, NC: 505,488 personsCharlotte, NC505,488Fort Worth, TX: 493,938 personsFort Worth, TX493,938Seattle, WA: 492,662 personsSeattle, WA492,662Columbus, OH: 492,033 personsColumbus, OH492,033Jacksonville, FL: 486,829 personsJacksonville, FL486,829Indianapolis, IN: 453,569 personsIndianapolis, IN453,569Denver, CO: 440,558 personsDenver, CO440,558Boston, MA: 387,325 personsBoston, MA387,325Portland, OR: 381,759 personsPortland, OR381,759Oklahoma City, OK: 357,111 personsOklahoma City, OK357,111Las Vegas, NV: 318,153 personsLas Vegas, NV318,153El Paso, TX: 310,789 personsEl Paso, TX310,789Memphis, TN: 289,544 personsMemphis, TN289,544Albuquerque, NM: 288,572 personsAlbuquerque, NM288,572Baltimore, MD: 276,599 personsBaltimore, MD276,599Atlanta, GA: 275,792 personsAtlanta, GA275,792Raleigh, NC: 275,019 personsRaleigh, NC275,019Kansas City, MO: 271,428 personsKansas City, MO271,428Milwaukee, WI: 268,594 personsMilwaukee, WI268,594Mesa, AZ: 266,916 personsMesa, AZ266,916Tucson, AZ: 265,121 personsTucson, AZ265,121Sacramento, CA: 258,868 personsSacramento, CA258,868Omaha, NE: 258,010 personsOmaha, NE258,010Colorado Springs, CO: 255,312 personsColorado Springs, CO255,312Detroit, MI: 252,424 personsDetroit, MI252,424Miami, FL: 250,183 personsMiami, FL250,183Minneapolis, MN: 248,099 personsMinneapolis, MN248,099Long Beach, CA: 243,992 personsLong Beach, CA243,992New York, NY: 4,166,275 personsNew York, NY4,166,275Los Angeles, CA: 2,045,617 personsLos Angeles, CA2,045,617Chicago, IL: 1,446,158 personsChicago, IL1,446,158Houston, TX: 1,162,238 personsHouston, TX1,162,238Phoenix, AZ: 881,473 personsPhoenix, AZ881,473Philadelphia, PA: 770,779 personsPhiladelphia, PA770,779San Diego, CA: 722,334 personsSan Diego, CA722,334San Antonio, TX: 712,563 personsSan Antonio, TX712,563Dallas, TX: 696,983 personsDallas, TX696,983Austin, TX: 616,034 personsAustin, TX616,034San Jose, CA: 528,198 personsSan Jose, CA528,198San Francisco, CA: 519,931 personsSan Francisco, CA519,931Charlotte, NC: 505,488 personsCharlotte, NC505,488Fort Worth, TX: 493,938 personsFort Worth, TX493,938Seattle, WA: 492,662 personsSeattle, WA492,662Columbus, OH: 492,033 personsColumbus, OH492,033Jacksonville, FL: 486,829 personsJacksonville, FL486,829Indianapolis, IN: 453,569 personsIndianapolis, IN453,569Denver, CO: 440,558 personsDenver, CO440,558Boston, MA: 387,325 personsBoston, MA387,325Portland, OR: 381,759 personsPortland, OR381,759Oklahoma City, OK: 357,111 personsOklahoma City, OK357,111Las Vegas, NV: 318,153 personsLas Vegas, NV318,153El Paso, TX: 310,789 personsEl Paso, TX310,789Memphis, TN: 289,544 personsMemphis, TN289,544Albuquerque, NM: 288,572 personsAlbuquerque, NM288,572Baltimore, MD: 276,599 personsBaltimore, MD276,599Atlanta, GA: 275,792 personsAtlanta, GA275,792Raleigh, NC: 275,019 personsRaleigh, NC275,019Kansas City, MO: 271,428 personsKansas City, MO271,428Milwaukee, WI: 268,594 personsMilwaukee, WI268,594Mesa, AZ: 266,916 personsMesa, AZ266,916Tucson, AZ: 265,121 personsTucson, AZ265,121Sacramento, CA: 258,868 personsSacramento, CA258,868Omaha, NE: 258,010 personsOmaha, NE258,010Colorado Springs, CO: 255,312 personsColorado Springs, CO255,312Detroit, MI: 252,424 personsDetroit, MI252,424Miami, FL: 250,183 personsMiami, FL250,183Minneapolis, MN: 248,099 personsMinneapolis, MN248,099Long Beach, CA: 243,992 personsLong Beach, CA243,992
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2022
persons
Change on 2021
1New York, NY4,166,275+0.7%
2Los Angeles, CA2,045,617+1.1%
3Chicago, IL1,446,158+2.2%
4Houston, TX1,162,238+1.4%
5Phoenix, AZ881,473+1.7%
6Philadelphia, PA770,779+0.4%
7San Diego, CA722,334+3.2%
8San Antonio, TX712,563+2.3%
9Dallas, TX696,983+1.9%
10Austin, TX616,034+4.6%
11San Jose, CA528,198+1.2%
12San Francisco, CA519,931+3.8%
13Charlotte, NC505,488+5%
14Fort Worth, TX493,938+3.3%
15Seattle, WA492,662+5.9%
16Columbus, OH492,033+0.2%
17Jacksonville, FL486,829+2.8%
18Indianapolis, IN453,569+0.6%
19Denver, CO440,558+1.4%
20Boston, MA387,325+1.1%
21Portland, OR381,759+0.5%
22Oklahoma City, OK357,111+2.4%
23Las Vegas, NV318,153+4.5%
24El Paso, TX310,789+1.2%
25Memphis, TN289,544-3.3%
26Albuquerque, NM288,572+0.9%
27Baltimore, MD276,599-1.5%
28Atlanta, GA275,792+1.6%
29Raleigh, NC275,019+5.2%
30Kansas City, MO271,428+0.4%
31Milwaukee, WI268,594-2%
32Mesa, AZ266,916+1.6%
33Tucson, AZ265,121+0.8%
34Sacramento, CA258,868+0.4%
35Omaha, NE258,010-0.2%
36Colorado Springs, CO255,312+1.3%
37Detroit, MI252,424-1.5%
38Miami, FL250,183+6.3%
39Minneapolis, MN248,099-0.5%
40Long Beach, CA243,992+0.4%
41Fresno, CA240,197+1.2%
42Oakland, CA233,956+1.2%
43Virginia Beach, VA229,377+1.4%
44Aurora, CO217,523+1.4%
45Arlington, TX211,755+1.5%
46Tampa, FL209,801+3%
47Wichita, KS200,804-0.3%
48Tulsa, OK200,792+0.2%
49Bakersfield, CA186,107+1.6%
50Orlando, FL181,810+5.8%
51New Orleans, LA178,218-0.8%
52Anaheim, CA174,856+0.6%
53Lexington, KY170,465+1.9%
54Jersey City, NJ167,341+5.9%
55St. Paul, MN164,994-0.2%
56Madison, WI164,744+1.5%
57Lincoln, NE164,165+1.2%
58Plano, TX163,052+2.4%
59Durham, NC162,352+5.5%
60Pittsburgh, PA160,955-0.6%
61Chandler, AZ160,948+1.6%
62Cleveland, OH160,763-0.4%
63Cincinnati, OH159,358+0.9%
64Riverside, CA159,316+3.1%
65Henderson, NV158,790+7.1%
66Irvine, CA158,615+5.4%
67Santa Ana, CA156,635+1.6%
68St. Louis, MO155,422-2.4%
69Gilbert, AZ154,003+4.2%
70Greensboro, NC148,954+3.1%
71St. Petersburg, FL147,682+3.5%
72Anchorage, AK147,5670%
73Corpus Christi, TX146,746-0.1%
74Reno, NV146,513+3%
75Stockton, CA141,911+0.4%
76Irving, TX139,989+1.5%
77Boise City, ID136,696+1.2%
78Newark, NJ134,771-0.8%
79Lubbock, TX134,411+1.8%
80North Las Vegas, NV133,795+7%
81Fort Wayne, IN133,434+1.7%
82Scottsdale, AZ133,183+1.3%
83Chula Vista, CA130,621+1.6%
84Garland, TX129,772+2.4%
85Salt Lake City, UT128,943+6.3%
86Richmond, VA126,563+2.1%
87Glendale, AZ125,916+1.4%
88Chesapeake, VA122,617+2.5%
89Buffalo, NY122,085-0.6%
90Toledo, OH121,016-1.9%
91Tacoma, WA120,163+4.1%
92Frisco, TX119,629+6.5%
93Santa Clarita, CA118,614+1.8%
94Winston-Salem, NC118,162+2.8%
95Fremont, CA117,893+2.1%
96Tempe, AZ117,056+3.6%
97Des Moines, IA115,677+0.3%
98Overland Park, KS115,342+1.8%
99Hialeah, FL115,106+3.6%
100Sioux Falls, SD114,259+1.7%
101Spokane, WA113,777-0.7%
102Huntsville, AL113,479+2.9%
103McKinney, TX113,009+4.3%
104Tallahassee, FL111,706+2.9%
105Yonkers, NY108,750+3.2%
106Laredo, TX108,008+1.1%
107Port St. Lucie, FL107,987+6.5%
108Grand Rapids, MI107,300+2.6%
109Baton Rouge, LA106,617-0.5%
110Norfolk, VA106,062-0%
111Worcester, MA105,994+0.7%
112Grand Prairie, TX104,888+3.4%
113Fontana, CA104,500+1.8%
114Huntington Beach, CA103,235+0.8%
115Cape Coral, FL103,118+6%
116Fort Lauderdale, FL101,249+2.6%
117Amarillo, TX100,445+0.6%
118Little Rock, AR100,323+1.8%
119San Bernardino, CA100,015+0.7%
120Cary, NC99,563+6.9%
121Knoxville, TN99,495+2.2%
122Vancouver, WA99,481+1.4%
123Fort Collins, CO99,382+0.7%
124Moreno Valley, CA99,085+0.4%
125Peoria, AZ98,696+2.6%
126Alexandria, VA98,114+2%
127Oxnard, CA98,009+0.6%
128Rochester, NY97,363-1.3%
129Modesto, CA97,211+0.7%
130Providence, RI96,901+0.1%
131Aurora, IL96,262+2.3%
132Glendale, CA96,047-0.7%
133Mobile, AL93,834-0.6%
134Murfreesboro, TN93,130+5.3%
135Birmingham, AL92,582-0.2%
136Chattanooga, TN92,576+1.9%
137Eugene, OR91,745+1.8%
138Lakewood, CO91,707+0.3%
139Santa Rosa, CA90,711+1%
140Ontario, CA90,664+2.4%
141Pembroke Pines, FL90,072+3.1%
142Akron, OH89,926-0.6%
143Rancho Cucamonga, CA89,198+1.3%
144Salem, OR88,053+2%
145Sunnyvale, CA87,849+2.8%
146Newport News, VA87,787+0.8%
147Montgomery, AL87,224-1.5%
148Oceanside, CA86,451+1.4%
149Bellevue, WA85,234+5%
150Hollywood, FL85,018+2.5%
151Springfield, MO84,958+0.8%
152Elk Grove, CA84,337+1%
153Charleston, SC84,125+3.3%
154Garden Grove, CA83,573-0%
155Denton, TX83,348+4.1%
156Columbus, GA83,217-2.3%
157Hayward, CA82,659+0.3%
158Carrollton, TX82,400+2%
159Brownsville, TX82,191+0.9%
160Corona, CA82,085+1.8%
161Salinas, CA82,070+2.2%
162Thornton, CO81,651+1.6%
163Olathe, KS81,162+2.4%
164Fayetteville, NC80,600+1.7%
165Stamford, CT80,594+5.1%
166Miramar, FL80,122+3.6%
167Naperville, IL79,972+5.2%
168Joliet, IL79,767+3.4%
169Shreveport, LA79,726-0.1%
170Lewisville, TX78,820+5%
171Fargo, ND78,452+2.3%
172Mesquite, TX78,021+1.2%
173Pasadena, CA77,151+0.9%
174Bridgeport, CT76,987+3.2%
175Roseville, CA76,573+3.7%
176Cedar Rapids, IA75,939+0.6%
177Santa Clara, CA75,817+3.4%
178Kansas City, KS74,589-0.6%
179Round Rock, TX73,793+6.3%
180Escondido, CA73,717+1.7%
181Clarksville, TN73,537+2.6%
182Savannah, GA73,534+0.3%
183Palmdale, CA73,444-0.9%
184Kent, WA73,228+2%
185West Valley City, UT73,058+1.1%
186Paterson, NJ72,870+0.1%
187Torrance, CA72,624+0.4%
188Pomona, CA72,493+0.4%
189Coral Springs, FL72,181+2.9%
190Gainesville, FL72,070+1.4%
191Orange, CA71,823+1.9%
192Arvada, CO71,536-0.1%
193Surprise, AZ71,482+4.4%
194Cambridge, MA71,014+1.8%
195Midland, TX70,889+5.5%
196New Haven, CT70,099+3.5%
197Meridian, ID70,059+5.2%
198Lancaster, CA69,907-1.2%
199Westminster, CO69,750+1.1%
200Fullerton, CA69,049+1.6%
201Columbia, MO68,550+1.5%
202McAllen, TX68,527+1.5%
203Waco, TX68,071+1.4%
204Richardson, TX67,915+2.5%
205Norman, OK67,763+2.2%
206Springfield, MA67,651-2%
207Warren, MI67,417-0.6%
208Manchester, NH66,998+0.7%
209Rochester, MN66,738-0.2%
210Visalia, CA66,615+3.6%
211West Jordan, UT66,558+3.1%
212Ann Arbor, MI66,511+4.5%
213Provo, UT66,486+0.7%
214Pasadena, TX66,471-0.3%
215Elizabeth, NJ66,424+0.7%
216Rockford, IL66,149-1.9%
217Simi Valley, CA66,121+1.5%
218Hampton, VA65,874+1.5%
219College Station, TX65,585+3.9%
220Sandy Springs, GA65,572+1.7%
221Columbia, SC65,270+2.8%
222Sterling Heights, MI65,129+0.1%
223West Palm Beach, FL64,703+5.1%
224Pearland, TX64,583+2.2%
225Costa Mesa, CA64,315+1%
226Jackson, MS64,114-2.9%
227Wilmington, NC63,984+5.7%
228Macon, GA63,964-2.1%
229Concord, CA63,816+0.8%
230Syracuse, NY63,086+0.6%
231Billings, MT62,760+3.6%
232Hillsboro, OR62,686+2.8%
233Killeen, TX62,641+0.2%
234Topeka, KS62,378+0.1%
235Lowell, MA62,369-0.1%
236Thousand Oaks, CA62,052+1.3%
237Berkeley, CA61,994+6%
238Boulder, CO61,894+3.4%
239San Mateo, CA61,379+4%
240Lafayette, LA61,338+0.9%
241Palm Bay, FL61,193+4.6%
242Renton, WA61,088+1.8%
243Daly City, CA61,035+2.1%
244Broken Arrow, OK60,528+2.2%
245Centennial, CO60,272+2.1%
246Allen, TX60,025+6.3%
247Clearwater, FL59,879+2.6%
248Vallejo, CA59,830-0.4%
249Davie, FL59,706+3.8%
250North Charleston, SC59,673+2.1%

Showing the top 250 of 1688. The Excel download has every row.

Other periods

About this ranking

Employed plus unemployed residents, annual average.

More on how it is measured
  • People aged 16 and over by place of residence, from the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  • Active-duty military personnel and people living in institutions are excluded.

United States cities only for now. Counts people where they live, not jobs: for wage and salary jobs by state use oews_employment. BLS estimates cities by splitting county estimates with Census Bureau employment and population data and unemployment insurance claims, so city figures are less precise than state ones. BLS publishes cities of 25,000 or more, and smaller cities in New England.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. 18 cities with data in other periods have no value for 2022 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average (US cities by civilian labor force, 2022) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average, US cities by civilian labor force, 2022. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/us-cities?period=2022. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. US cities by civilian labor force, 2022. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/us-cities?period=2022.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average, US cities by civilian labor force, 2022 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/us-cities?period=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_us_cities_by_civilian_2022,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average: US cities by civilian labor force, 2022}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/us-cities?period=2022. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average: US cities by civilian labor force, 2022
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/us-cities?period=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/civilian-labor-force/us-cities?period=2022.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU20-24. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank US cities by civilian labor force using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"civilian_labor_force","level":"municipality","within":"United States","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=civilian_labor_force&level=municipality&within=United%20States&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which city has the highest civilian labor force?

New York, NY, with 4.17 million in 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest civilian labor force?

Paradise, CA, with 2,000 in 2022.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: labor force (measure 06), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12. 18 cities have no value for 2022 and are not ranked.

Civilian labor force: other rankings

US cities: more rankings