Data / Rankings / Covered employment (QCEW) / US states

US states by covered employment (QCEW)

California had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 51 states in 2014, at 15,809,082 jobs. Wyoming had the lowest, at 284,394 jobs. The median was 1,807,068 jobs and the figure for the United States was 136,613,609 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest15,809,082California
Lowest284,394Wyoming
Median1,807,06851 states
United States136,613,609History

Map of states, 2014

Alabama: 1,863,561 jobsAlaska: 330,105 jobsArizona: 2,539,253 jobsArkansas: 1,157,630 jobsCalifornia: 15,809,082 jobsColorado: 2,417,735 jobsConnecticut: 1,653,573 jobsDelaware: 423,598 jobsDistrict of Columbia: 729,349 jobsFlorida: 7,755,371 jobsGeorgia: 4,032,488 jobsHawaii: 626,146 jobsIdaho: 646,305 jobsIllinois: 5,762,156 jobsIndiana: 2,890,758 jobsIowa: 1,515,822 jobsKansas: 1,357,090 jobsKentucky: 1,807,068 jobsLouisiana: 1,923,745 jobsMaine: 590,377 jobsMaryland: 2,552,623 jobsMassachusetts: 3,360,035 jobsMichigan: 4,090,009 jobsMinnesota: 2,730,301 jobsMississippi: 1,102,603 jobsMissouri: 2,667,996 jobsMontana: 440,198 jobsNebraska: 946,110 jobsNevada: 1,202,475 jobsNew Hampshire: 626,566 jobsNew Jersey: 3,841,854 jobsNew Mexico: 798,912 jobsNew York: 8,846,774 jobsNorth Carolina: 4,057,439 jobsNorth Dakota: 444,652 jobsOhio: 5,183,462 jobsOklahoma: 1,582,712 jobsOregon: 1,725,906 jobsPennsylvania: 5,644,443 jobsRhode Island: 463,303 jobsSouth Carolina: 1,895,420 jobsSouth Dakota: 410,929 jobsTennessee: 2,750,032 jobsTexas: 11,379,184 jobsUtah: 1,291,859 jobsVermont: 304,472 jobsVirginia: 3,654,831 jobsWashington: 3,043,562 jobsWest Virginia: 700,846 jobsWisconsin: 2,758,496 jobsWyoming: 284,394 jobs
  • Under 600K
  • 600K to 1.1M
  • 1.1M to 1.8M
  • 1.8M to 2.7M
  • 2.7M to 4M
  • 4M and over
jobs, 2014. Source: BLS, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2014

California: 15,809,082 jobsCalifornia15,809,082Texas: 11,379,184 jobsTexas11,379,184New York: 8,846,774 jobsNew York8,846,774Florida: 7,755,371 jobsFlorida7,755,371Illinois: 5,762,156 jobsIllinois5,762,156Pennsylvania: 5,644,443 jobsPennsylvania5,644,443Ohio: 5,183,462 jobsOhio5,183,462Michigan: 4,090,009 jobsMichigan4,090,009North Carolina: 4,057,439 jobsNorth Carolina4,057,439Georgia: 4,032,488 jobsGeorgia4,032,488New Jersey: 3,841,854 jobsNew Jersey3,841,854Virginia: 3,654,831 jobsVirginia3,654,831Massachusetts: 3,360,035 jobsMassachusetts3,360,035Washington: 3,043,562 jobsWashington3,043,562Indiana: 2,890,758 jobsIndiana2,890,758Wisconsin: 2,758,496 jobsWisconsin2,758,496Tennessee: 2,750,032 jobsTennessee2,750,032Minnesota: 2,730,301 jobsMinnesota2,730,301Missouri: 2,667,996 jobsMissouri2,667,996Maryland: 2,552,623 jobsMaryland2,552,623Arizona: 2,539,253 jobsArizona2,539,253Colorado: 2,417,735 jobsColorado2,417,735Louisiana: 1,923,745 jobsLouisiana1,923,745South Carolina: 1,895,420 jobsSouth Carolina1,895,420Alabama: 1,863,561 jobsAlabama1,863,561Kentucky: 1,807,068 jobsKentucky1,807,068Oregon: 1,725,906 jobsOregon1,725,906Connecticut: 1,653,573 jobsConnecticut1,653,573Oklahoma: 1,582,712 jobsOklahoma1,582,712Iowa: 1,515,822 jobsIowa1,515,822Kansas: 1,357,090 jobsKansas1,357,090Utah: 1,291,859 jobsUtah1,291,859Nevada: 1,202,475 jobsNevada1,202,475Arkansas: 1,157,630 jobsArkansas1,157,630Mississippi: 1,102,603 jobsMississippi1,102,603Nebraska: 946,110 jobsNebraska946,110New Mexico: 798,912 jobsNew Mexico798,912District of Columbia: 729,349 jobsDistrict of Columbia729,349West Virginia: 700,846 jobsWest Virginia700,846Idaho: 646,305 jobsIdaho646,305New Hampshire: 626,566 jobsNew Hampshire626,566Hawaii: 626,146 jobsHawaii626,146Maine: 590,377 jobsMaine590,377Rhode Island: 463,303 jobsRhode Island463,303North Dakota: 444,652 jobsNorth Dakota444,652Montana: 440,198 jobsMontana440,198Delaware: 423,598 jobsDelaware423,598South Dakota: 410,929 jobsSouth Dakota410,929Alaska: 330,105 jobsAlaska330,105Vermont: 304,472 jobsVermont304,472Wyoming: 284,394 jobsWyoming284,394California: 15,809,082 jobsCalifornia15,809,082Texas: 11,379,184 jobsTexas11,379,184New York: 8,846,774 jobsNew York8,846,774Florida: 7,755,371 jobsFlorida7,755,371Illinois: 5,762,156 jobsIllinois5,762,156Pennsylvania: 5,644,443 jobsPennsylvania5,644,443Ohio: 5,183,462 jobsOhio5,183,462Michigan: 4,090,009 jobsMichigan4,090,009North Carolina: 4,057,439 jobsNorth Carolina4,057,439Georgia: 4,032,488 jobsGeorgia4,032,488New Jersey: 3,841,854 jobsNew Jersey3,841,854Virginia: 3,654,831 jobsVirginia3,654,831Massachusetts: 3,360,035 jobsMassachusetts3,360,035Washington: 3,043,562 jobsWashington3,043,562Indiana: 2,890,758 jobsIndiana2,890,758Wisconsin: 2,758,496 jobsWisconsin2,758,496Tennessee: 2,750,032 jobsTennessee2,750,032Minnesota: 2,730,301 jobsMinnesota2,730,301Missouri: 2,667,996 jobsMissouri2,667,996Maryland: 2,552,623 jobsMaryland2,552,623Arizona: 2,539,253 jobsArizona2,539,253Colorado: 2,417,735 jobsColorado2,417,735Louisiana: 1,923,745 jobsLouisiana1,923,745South Carolina: 1,895,420 jobsSouth Carolina1,895,420Alabama: 1,863,561 jobsAlabama1,863,561Kentucky: 1,807,068 jobsKentucky1,807,068Oregon: 1,725,906 jobsOregon1,725,906Connecticut: 1,653,573 jobsConnecticut1,653,573Oklahoma: 1,582,712 jobsOklahoma1,582,712Iowa: 1,515,822 jobsIowa1,515,822Kansas: 1,357,090 jobsKansas1,357,090Utah: 1,291,859 jobsUtah1,291,859Nevada: 1,202,475 jobsNevada1,202,475Arkansas: 1,157,630 jobsArkansas1,157,630Mississippi: 1,102,603 jobsMississippi1,102,603Nebraska: 946,110 jobsNebraska946,110New Mexico: 798,912 jobsNew Mexico798,912District of Columbia: 729,349 jobsDistrict of Columbia729,349West Virginia: 700,846 jobsWest Virginia700,846Idaho: 646,305 jobsIdaho646,305New Hampshire: 626,566 jobsNew Hampshire626,566Hawaii: 626,146 jobsHawaii626,146Maine: 590,377 jobsMaine590,377Rhode Island: 463,303 jobsRhode Island463,303North Dakota: 444,652 jobsNorth Dakota444,652Montana: 440,198 jobsMontana440,198Delaware: 423,598 jobsDelaware423,598South Dakota: 410,929 jobsSouth Dakota410,929Alaska: 330,105 jobsAlaska330,105Vermont: 304,472 jobsVermont304,472Wyoming: 284,394 jobsWyoming284,394
jobs. Source: BLS, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2014
jobs		Change on 2013
1California15,809,082+2.8%
2Texas11,379,184+3.1%
3New York8,846,774+1.9%
4Florida7,755,371+3.2%
5Illinois5,762,156+1.3%
6Pennsylvania5,644,443+0.9%
7Ohio5,183,462+1.4%
8Michigan4,090,009+1.8%
9North Carolina4,057,439+2.1%
10Georgia4,032,488+2.9%
11New Jersey3,841,854+0.8%
12Virginia3,654,831+0.4%
13Massachusetts3,360,035+2%
14Washington3,043,562+2.8%
15Indiana2,890,758+1.5%
16Wisconsin2,758,496+1.3%
17Tennessee2,750,032+2.1%
18Minnesota2,730,301+1.4%
19Missouri2,667,996+1.2%
20Maryland2,552,623+0.8%
21Arizona2,539,253+2.1%
22Colorado2,417,735+3.5%
23Louisiana1,923,745+1.6%
24South Carolina1,895,420+2.6%
25Alabama1,863,561+1%
26Kentucky1,807,068+1.5%
27Oregon1,725,906+2.8%
28Connecticut1,653,573+0.8%
29Oklahoma1,582,712+1.4%
30Iowa1,515,822+1.3%
31Kansas1,357,090+1.5%
32Utah1,291,859+3%
33Nevada1,202,475+3.7%
34Arkansas1,157,630+1%
35Mississippi1,102,603+0.8%
36Nebraska946,110+1.4%
37New Mexico798,912+0.9%
38District of Columbia729,349+0.7%
39West Virginia700,846-0.4%
40Idaho646,305+2.5%
41New Hampshire626,566+1.3%
42Hawaii626,146+1.3%
43Maine590,377+0.7%
44Rhode Island463,303+1.6%
45North Dakota444,652+4.1%
46Montana440,198+0.8%
47Delaware423,598+2.4%
48South Dakota410,929+1.6%
49Alaska330,105+0.4%
50Vermont304,472+1%
51Wyoming284,394+1.7%

Other periods

About this ranking

Average number of jobs covered by unemployment insurance during the year, all industries, private and government, from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Counted where the job is located, from the reports employers file each quarter; monthly employment counts the jobs in the pay period that includes the 12th.

Counts jobs, not people: someone with two jobs counts twice. Covers about 95 percent of US wage and salary jobs. Excludes the self-employed, most agricultural workers on small farms, the armed forces, elected officials in most states, most railroad employees, some domestic workers and most student workers at schools. A count of employer reports, not a survey estimate like oews_employment.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the states are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv. 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). Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties (US states by covered employment (QCEW), 2014) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv

MLA 9

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties, US states by covered employment (QCEW), 2014. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/us-states?period=2014. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. US states by covered employment (QCEW), 2014. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/us-states?period=2014.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties, US states by covered employment (QCEW), 2014 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/us-states?period=2014 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_us_states_by_covered_2014,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties: US states by covered employment (QCEW), 2014}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/us-states?period=2014. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties: US states by covered employment (QCEW), 2014
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/us-states?period=2014
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/us-states?period=2014.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2014/a/industry/10.csv. 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 states by covered employment (QCEW) using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"covered_employment","level":"region","within":"United States","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=covered_employment&level=region&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 state has the highest covered employment (QCEW)?

California, with 15,809,082 jobs in 2014, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Wyoming, with 284,394 jobs in 2014.

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, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW): annual average employment, total covered, all industries (NAICS 10), nation, states and counties. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Covered employment (QCEW): other rankings

US states: more rankings