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

US states by covered employment (QCEW)

California had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 51 states in 2017, at 17,019,702 jobs. Wyoming had the lowest, at 269,586 jobs. The median was 1,883,407 jobs and the figure for the United States was 143,859,855 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest17,019,702California
Lowest269,586Wyoming
Median1,883,40751 states
United States143,859,855History

Map of states, 2017

Alabama: 1,936,819 jobsAlaska: 322,136 jobsArizona: 2,747,638 jobsArkansas: 1,200,542 jobsCalifornia: 17,019,702 jobsColorado: 2,609,770 jobsConnecticut: 1,669,616 jobsDelaware: 441,873 jobsDistrict of Columbia: 763,847 jobsFlorida: 8,494,623 jobsGeorgia: 4,346,453 jobsHawaii: 654,185 jobsIdaho: 706,820 jobsIllinois: 5,934,549 jobsIndiana: 3,018,177 jobsIowa: 1,540,435 jobsKansas: 1,371,633 jobsKentucky: 1,874,455 jobsLouisiana: 1,907,721 jobsMaine: 609,271 jobsMaryland: 2,653,569 jobsMassachusetts: 3,543,383 jobsMichigan: 4,294,711 jobsMinnesota: 2,856,105 jobsMississippi: 1,128,498 jobsMissouri: 2,781,242 jobsMontana: 459,431 jobsNebraska: 972,764 jobsNevada: 1,326,151 jobsNew Hampshire: 653,487 jobsNew Jersey: 4,006,799 jobsNew Mexico: 810,516 jobsNew York: 9,276,868 jobsNorth Carolina: 4,330,606 jobsNorth Dakota: 414,038 jobsOhio: 5,364,626 jobsOklahoma: 1,581,198 jobsOregon: 1,883,407 jobsPennsylvania: 5,799,123 jobsRhode Island: 477,362 jobsSouth Carolina: 2,035,341 jobsSouth Dakota: 422,489 jobsTennessee: 2,930,932 jobsTexas: 12,014,802 jobsUtah: 1,430,588 jobsVermont: 309,442 jobsVirginia: 3,838,368 jobsWashington: 3,290,209 jobsWest Virginia: 683,807 jobsWisconsin: 2,850,145 jobsWyoming: 269,586 jobs
  • Under 600K
  • 600K to 1.2M
  • 1.2M to 1.9M
  • 1.9M to 2.9M
  • 2.9M to 4.3M
  • 4.3M and over
jobs, 2017. 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, 2017

California: 17,019,702 jobsCalifornia17,019,702Texas: 12,014,802 jobsTexas12,014,802New York: 9,276,868 jobsNew York9,276,868Florida: 8,494,623 jobsFlorida8,494,623Illinois: 5,934,549 jobsIllinois5,934,549Pennsylvania: 5,799,123 jobsPennsylvania5,799,123Ohio: 5,364,626 jobsOhio5,364,626Georgia: 4,346,453 jobsGeorgia4,346,453North Carolina: 4,330,606 jobsNorth Carolina4,330,606Michigan: 4,294,711 jobsMichigan4,294,711New Jersey: 4,006,799 jobsNew Jersey4,006,799Virginia: 3,838,368 jobsVirginia3,838,368Massachusetts: 3,543,383 jobsMassachusetts3,543,383Washington: 3,290,209 jobsWashington3,290,209Indiana: 3,018,177 jobsIndiana3,018,177Tennessee: 2,930,932 jobsTennessee2,930,932Minnesota: 2,856,105 jobsMinnesota2,856,105Wisconsin: 2,850,145 jobsWisconsin2,850,145Missouri: 2,781,242 jobsMissouri2,781,242Arizona: 2,747,638 jobsArizona2,747,638Maryland: 2,653,569 jobsMaryland2,653,569Colorado: 2,609,770 jobsColorado2,609,770South Carolina: 2,035,341 jobsSouth Carolina2,035,341Alabama: 1,936,819 jobsAlabama1,936,819Louisiana: 1,907,721 jobsLouisiana1,907,721Oregon: 1,883,407 jobsOregon1,883,407Kentucky: 1,874,455 jobsKentucky1,874,455Connecticut: 1,669,616 jobsConnecticut1,669,616Oklahoma: 1,581,198 jobsOklahoma1,581,198Iowa: 1,540,435 jobsIowa1,540,435Utah: 1,430,588 jobsUtah1,430,588Kansas: 1,371,633 jobsKansas1,371,633Nevada: 1,326,151 jobsNevada1,326,151Arkansas: 1,200,542 jobsArkansas1,200,542Mississippi: 1,128,498 jobsMississippi1,128,498Nebraska: 972,764 jobsNebraska972,764New Mexico: 810,516 jobsNew Mexico810,516District of Columbia: 763,847 jobsDistrict of Columbia763,847Idaho: 706,820 jobsIdaho706,820West Virginia: 683,807 jobsWest Virginia683,807Hawaii: 654,185 jobsHawaii654,185New Hampshire: 653,487 jobsNew Hampshire653,487Maine: 609,271 jobsMaine609,271Rhode Island: 477,362 jobsRhode Island477,362Montana: 459,431 jobsMontana459,431Delaware: 441,873 jobsDelaware441,873South Dakota: 422,489 jobsSouth Dakota422,489North Dakota: 414,038 jobsNorth Dakota414,038Alaska: 322,136 jobsAlaska322,136Vermont: 309,442 jobsVermont309,442Wyoming: 269,586 jobsWyoming269,586California: 17,019,702 jobsCalifornia17,019,702Texas: 12,014,802 jobsTexas12,014,802New York: 9,276,868 jobsNew York9,276,868Florida: 8,494,623 jobsFlorida8,494,623Illinois: 5,934,549 jobsIllinois5,934,549Pennsylvania: 5,799,123 jobsPennsylvania5,799,123Ohio: 5,364,626 jobsOhio5,364,626Georgia: 4,346,453 jobsGeorgia4,346,453North Carolina: 4,330,606 jobsNorth Carolina4,330,606Michigan: 4,294,711 jobsMichigan4,294,711New Jersey: 4,006,799 jobsNew Jersey4,006,799Virginia: 3,838,368 jobsVirginia3,838,368Massachusetts: 3,543,383 jobsMassachusetts3,543,383Washington: 3,290,209 jobsWashington3,290,209Indiana: 3,018,177 jobsIndiana3,018,177Tennessee: 2,930,932 jobsTennessee2,930,932Minnesota: 2,856,105 jobsMinnesota2,856,105Wisconsin: 2,850,145 jobsWisconsin2,850,145Missouri: 2,781,242 jobsMissouri2,781,242Arizona: 2,747,638 jobsArizona2,747,638Maryland: 2,653,569 jobsMaryland2,653,569Colorado: 2,609,770 jobsColorado2,609,770South Carolina: 2,035,341 jobsSouth Carolina2,035,341Alabama: 1,936,819 jobsAlabama1,936,819Louisiana: 1,907,721 jobsLouisiana1,907,721Oregon: 1,883,407 jobsOregon1,883,407Kentucky: 1,874,455 jobsKentucky1,874,455Connecticut: 1,669,616 jobsConnecticut1,669,616Oklahoma: 1,581,198 jobsOklahoma1,581,198Iowa: 1,540,435 jobsIowa1,540,435Utah: 1,430,588 jobsUtah1,430,588Kansas: 1,371,633 jobsKansas1,371,633Nevada: 1,326,151 jobsNevada1,326,151Arkansas: 1,200,542 jobsArkansas1,200,542Mississippi: 1,128,498 jobsMississippi1,128,498Nebraska: 972,764 jobsNebraska972,764New Mexico: 810,516 jobsNew Mexico810,516District of Columbia: 763,847 jobsDistrict of Columbia763,847Idaho: 706,820 jobsIdaho706,820West Virginia: 683,807 jobsWest Virginia683,807Hawaii: 654,185 jobsHawaii654,185New Hampshire: 653,487 jobsNew Hampshire653,487Maine: 609,271 jobsMaine609,271Rhode Island: 477,362 jobsRhode Island477,362Montana: 459,431 jobsMontana459,431Delaware: 441,873 jobsDelaware441,873South Dakota: 422,489 jobsSouth Dakota422,489North Dakota: 414,038 jobsNorth Dakota414,038Alaska: 322,136 jobsAlaska322,136Vermont: 309,442 jobsVermont309,442Wyoming: 269,586 jobsWyoming269,586
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

RankStates2017
jobs		Change on 2016
1California17,019,702+1.8%
2Texas12,014,802+1.8%
3New York9,276,868+1.3%
4Florida8,494,623+2.2%
5Illinois5,934,549+0.7%
6Pennsylvania5,799,123+1.1%
7Ohio5,364,626+0.8%
8Georgia4,346,453+2%
9North Carolina4,330,606+1.7%
10Michigan4,294,711+1.2%
11New Jersey4,006,799+1.3%
12Virginia3,838,368+1.3%
13Massachusetts3,543,383+1.4%
14Washington3,290,209+2.3%
15Indiana3,018,177+1%
16Tennessee2,930,932+1.5%
17Minnesota2,856,105+1.5%
18Wisconsin2,850,145+0.8%
19Missouri2,781,242+0.9%
20Arizona2,747,638+2.5%
21Maryland2,653,569+1%
22Colorado2,609,770+2.2%
23South Carolina2,035,341+2%
24Alabama1,936,819+1.1%
25Louisiana1,907,721-0%
26Oregon1,883,407+2.3%
27Kentucky1,874,455+0.7%
28Connecticut1,669,616+0.2%
29Oklahoma1,581,198+0.3%
30Iowa1,540,4350%
31Utah1,430,588+3%
32Kansas1,371,633+0.1%
33Nevada1,326,151+3.3%
34Arkansas1,200,542+0.7%
35Mississippi1,128,498+0.3%
36Nebraska972,764+0.4%
37New Mexico810,516+0.4%
38District of Columbia763,847+1%
39Idaho706,820+2.7%
40West Virginia683,807-0.1%
41Hawaii654,185+1%
42New Hampshire653,487+0.9%
43Maine609,271+0.9%
44Rhode Island477,362+0.8%
45Montana459,431+1%
46Delaware441,873+0.8%
47South Dakota422,489+0.5%
48North Dakota414,038-0.7%
49Alaska322,136-1.3%
50Vermont309,442+0.5%
51Wyoming269,586-0.8%

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/2017/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), 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/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), 2017. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/us-states?period=2017. 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), 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/us-states?period=2017.

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), 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/us-states?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_us_states_by_covered_2017,
  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), 2017}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/us-states?period=2017. 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/2017/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), 2017
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2017/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/us-states?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/us-states?period=2017.
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/2017/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest covered employment (QCEW)?

California, with 17,019,702 jobs in 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Wyoming, with 269,586 jobs in 2017.

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