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

US states by covered employment (QCEW)

California had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 51 states in 2015, at 16,295,204 jobs. Wyoming had the lowest, at 282,667 jobs. The median was 1,835,550 jobs and the figure for the United States was 139,491,699 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest16,295,204California
Lowest282,667Wyoming
Median1,835,55051 states
United States139,491,699History

Map of states, 2015

Alabama: 1,890,340 jobsAlaska: 331,681 jobsArizona: 2,609,770 jobsArkansas: 1,177,884 jobsCalifornia: 16,295,204 jobsColorado: 2,494,450 jobsConnecticut: 1,662,825 jobsDelaware: 433,748 jobsDistrict of Columbia: 743,596 jobsFlorida: 8,039,635 jobsGeorgia: 4,151,011 jobsHawaii: 637,854 jobsIdaho: 664,792 jobsIllinois: 5,848,451 jobsIndiana: 2,941,991 jobsIowa: 1,530,234 jobsKansas: 1,367,329 jobsKentucky: 1,835,550 jobsLouisiana: 1,930,688 jobsMaine: 595,889 jobsMaryland: 2,591,189 jobsMassachusetts: 3,428,020 jobsMichigan: 4,161,641 jobsMinnesota: 2,776,684 jobsMississippi: 1,114,379 jobsMissouri: 2,715,579 jobsMontana: 448,688 jobsNebraska: 959,176 jobsNevada: 1,244,635 jobsNew Hampshire: 636,806 jobsNew Jersey: 3,889,975 jobsNew Mexico: 806,762 jobsNew York: 9,014,385 jobsNorth Carolina: 4,161,654 jobsNorth Dakota: 437,072 jobsOhio: 5,257,971 jobsOklahoma: 1,594,011 jobsOregon: 1,787,398 jobsPennsylvania: 5,691,613 jobsRhode Island: 469,981 jobsSouth Carolina: 1,949,881 jobsSouth Dakota: 416,020 jobsTennessee: 2,820,198 jobsTexas: 11,655,919 jobsUtah: 1,340,591 jobsVermont: 307,058 jobsVirginia: 3,735,713 jobsWashington: 3,122,749 jobsWest Virginia: 696,195 jobsWisconsin: 2,794,170 jobsWyoming: 282,667 jobs
  • Under 600K
  • 600K to 1.2M
  • 1.2M to 1.8M
  • 1.8M to 2.8M
  • 2.8M to 4.2M
  • 4.2M and over
jobs, 2015. 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, 2015

California: 16,295,204 jobsCalifornia16,295,204Texas: 11,655,919 jobsTexas11,655,919New York: 9,014,385 jobsNew York9,014,385Florida: 8,039,635 jobsFlorida8,039,635Illinois: 5,848,451 jobsIllinois5,848,451Pennsylvania: 5,691,613 jobsPennsylvania5,691,613Ohio: 5,257,971 jobsOhio5,257,971North Carolina: 4,161,654 jobsNorth Carolina4,161,654Michigan: 4,161,641 jobsMichigan4,161,641Georgia: 4,151,011 jobsGeorgia4,151,011New Jersey: 3,889,975 jobsNew Jersey3,889,975Virginia: 3,735,713 jobsVirginia3,735,713Massachusetts: 3,428,020 jobsMassachusetts3,428,020Washington: 3,122,749 jobsWashington3,122,749Indiana: 2,941,991 jobsIndiana2,941,991Tennessee: 2,820,198 jobsTennessee2,820,198Wisconsin: 2,794,170 jobsWisconsin2,794,170Minnesota: 2,776,684 jobsMinnesota2,776,684Missouri: 2,715,579 jobsMissouri2,715,579Arizona: 2,609,770 jobsArizona2,609,770Maryland: 2,591,189 jobsMaryland2,591,189Colorado: 2,494,450 jobsColorado2,494,450South Carolina: 1,949,881 jobsSouth Carolina1,949,881Louisiana: 1,930,688 jobsLouisiana1,930,688Alabama: 1,890,340 jobsAlabama1,890,340Kentucky: 1,835,550 jobsKentucky1,835,550Oregon: 1,787,398 jobsOregon1,787,398Connecticut: 1,662,825 jobsConnecticut1,662,825Oklahoma: 1,594,011 jobsOklahoma1,594,011Iowa: 1,530,234 jobsIowa1,530,234Kansas: 1,367,329 jobsKansas1,367,329Utah: 1,340,591 jobsUtah1,340,591Nevada: 1,244,635 jobsNevada1,244,635Arkansas: 1,177,884 jobsArkansas1,177,884Mississippi: 1,114,379 jobsMississippi1,114,379Nebraska: 959,176 jobsNebraska959,176New Mexico: 806,762 jobsNew Mexico806,762District of Columbia: 743,596 jobsDistrict of Columbia743,596West Virginia: 696,195 jobsWest Virginia696,195Idaho: 664,792 jobsIdaho664,792Hawaii: 637,854 jobsHawaii637,854New Hampshire: 636,806 jobsNew Hampshire636,806Maine: 595,889 jobsMaine595,889Rhode Island: 469,981 jobsRhode Island469,981Montana: 448,688 jobsMontana448,688North Dakota: 437,072 jobsNorth Dakota437,072Delaware: 433,748 jobsDelaware433,748South Dakota: 416,020 jobsSouth Dakota416,020Alaska: 331,681 jobsAlaska331,681Vermont: 307,058 jobsVermont307,058Wyoming: 282,667 jobsWyoming282,667California: 16,295,204 jobsCalifornia16,295,204Texas: 11,655,919 jobsTexas11,655,919New York: 9,014,385 jobsNew York9,014,385Florida: 8,039,635 jobsFlorida8,039,635Illinois: 5,848,451 jobsIllinois5,848,451Pennsylvania: 5,691,613 jobsPennsylvania5,691,613Ohio: 5,257,971 jobsOhio5,257,971North Carolina: 4,161,654 jobsNorth Carolina4,161,654Michigan: 4,161,641 jobsMichigan4,161,641Georgia: 4,151,011 jobsGeorgia4,151,011New Jersey: 3,889,975 jobsNew Jersey3,889,975Virginia: 3,735,713 jobsVirginia3,735,713Massachusetts: 3,428,020 jobsMassachusetts3,428,020Washington: 3,122,749 jobsWashington3,122,749Indiana: 2,941,991 jobsIndiana2,941,991Tennessee: 2,820,198 jobsTennessee2,820,198Wisconsin: 2,794,170 jobsWisconsin2,794,170Minnesota: 2,776,684 jobsMinnesota2,776,684Missouri: 2,715,579 jobsMissouri2,715,579Arizona: 2,609,770 jobsArizona2,609,770Maryland: 2,591,189 jobsMaryland2,591,189Colorado: 2,494,450 jobsColorado2,494,450South Carolina: 1,949,881 jobsSouth Carolina1,949,881Louisiana: 1,930,688 jobsLouisiana1,930,688Alabama: 1,890,340 jobsAlabama1,890,340Kentucky: 1,835,550 jobsKentucky1,835,550Oregon: 1,787,398 jobsOregon1,787,398Connecticut: 1,662,825 jobsConnecticut1,662,825Oklahoma: 1,594,011 jobsOklahoma1,594,011Iowa: 1,530,234 jobsIowa1,530,234Kansas: 1,367,329 jobsKansas1,367,329Utah: 1,340,591 jobsUtah1,340,591Nevada: 1,244,635 jobsNevada1,244,635Arkansas: 1,177,884 jobsArkansas1,177,884Mississippi: 1,114,379 jobsMississippi1,114,379Nebraska: 959,176 jobsNebraska959,176New Mexico: 806,762 jobsNew Mexico806,762District of Columbia: 743,596 jobsDistrict of Columbia743,596West Virginia: 696,195 jobsWest Virginia696,195Idaho: 664,792 jobsIdaho664,792Hawaii: 637,854 jobsHawaii637,854New Hampshire: 636,806 jobsNew Hampshire636,806Maine: 595,889 jobsMaine595,889Rhode Island: 469,981 jobsRhode Island469,981Montana: 448,688 jobsMontana448,688North Dakota: 437,072 jobsNorth Dakota437,072Delaware: 433,748 jobsDelaware433,748South Dakota: 416,020 jobsSouth Dakota416,020Alaska: 331,681 jobsAlaska331,681Vermont: 307,058 jobsVermont307,058Wyoming: 282,667 jobsWyoming282,667
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

RankStates2015
jobs		Change on 2014
1California16,295,204+3.1%
2Texas11,655,919+2.4%
3New York9,014,385+1.9%
4Florida8,039,635+3.7%
5Illinois5,848,451+1.5%
6Pennsylvania5,691,613+0.8%
7Ohio5,257,971+1.4%
8North Carolina4,161,654+2.6%
9Michigan4,161,641+1.8%
10Georgia4,151,011+2.9%
11New Jersey3,889,975+1.3%
12Virginia3,735,713+2.2%
13Massachusetts3,428,020+2%
14Washington3,122,749+2.6%
15Indiana2,941,991+1.8%
16Tennessee2,820,198+2.6%
17Wisconsin2,794,170+1.3%
18Minnesota2,776,684+1.7%
19Missouri2,715,579+1.8%
20Arizona2,609,770+2.8%
21Maryland2,591,189+1.5%
22Colorado2,494,450+3.2%
23South Carolina1,949,881+2.9%
24Louisiana1,930,688+0.4%
25Alabama1,890,340+1.4%
26Kentucky1,835,550+1.6%
27Oregon1,787,398+3.6%
28Connecticut1,662,825+0.6%
29Oklahoma1,594,011+0.7%
30Iowa1,530,234+1%
31Kansas1,367,329+0.8%
32Utah1,340,591+3.8%
33Nevada1,244,635+3.5%
34Arkansas1,177,884+1.7%
35Mississippi1,114,379+1.1%
36Nebraska959,176+1.4%
37New Mexico806,762+1%
38District of Columbia743,596+2%
39West Virginia696,195-0.7%
40Idaho664,792+2.9%
41Hawaii637,854+1.9%
42New Hampshire636,806+1.6%
43Maine595,889+0.9%
44Rhode Island469,981+1.4%
45Montana448,688+1.9%
46North Dakota437,072-1.7%
47Delaware433,748+2.4%
48South Dakota416,020+1.2%
49Alaska331,681+0.5%
50Vermont307,058+0.8%
51Wyoming282,667-0.6%

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/2015/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), 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/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), 2015. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/us-states?period=2015. 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), 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/us-states?period=2015.

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), 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/us-states?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_us_states_by_covered_2015,
  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), 2015}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/us-states?period=2015. 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/2015/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), 2015
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2015/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/us-states?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/us-states?period=2015.
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/2015/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest covered employment (QCEW)?

California, with 16,295,204 jobs in 2015, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Wyoming, with 282,667 jobs in 2015.

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