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

US states by covered employment (QCEW)

California had the highest covered employment (QCEW) of 51 states in 2024, at 18,183,696 jobs. Wyoming had the lowest, at 282,194 jobs. The median was 1,988,347 jobs and the figure for the United States was 154,990,441 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest18,183,696California
Lowest282,194Wyoming
Median1,988,34751 states
United States154,990,441History

Map of states, 2024

Alabama: 2,105,674 jobsAlaska: 329,164 jobsArizona: 3,222,450 jobsArkansas: 1,295,577 jobsCalifornia: 18,183,696 jobsColorado: 2,897,901 jobsConnecticut: 1,683,378 jobsDelaware: 477,336 jobsDistrict of Columbia: 759,666 jobsFlorida: 9,836,491 jobsGeorgia: 4,862,001 jobsHawaii: 639,801 jobsIdaho: 858,504 jobsIllinois: 6,043,357 jobsIndiana: 3,179,542 jobsIowa: 1,562,561 jobsKansas: 1,429,358 jobsKentucky: 1,988,347 jobsLouisiana: 1,920,359 jobsMaine: 648,874 jobsMaryland: 2,768,546 jobsMassachusetts: 3,644,805 jobsMichigan: 4,407,319 jobsMinnesota: 2,932,411 jobsMississippi: 1,167,716 jobsMissouri: 2,898,179 jobsMontana: 512,774 jobsNebraska: 1,018,759 jobsNevada: 1,551,426 jobsNew Hampshire: 687,990 jobsNew Jersey: 4,252,229 jobsNew Mexico: 869,987 jobsNew York: 9,705,821 jobsNorth Carolina: 4,901,211 jobsNorth Dakota: 428,692 jobsOhio: 5,520,656 jobsOklahoma: 1,692,477 jobsOregon: 1,994,161 jobsPennsylvania: 6,019,836 jobsRhode Island: 495,179 jobsSouth Carolina: 2,284,611 jobsSouth Dakota: 458,558 jobsTennessee: 3,270,771 jobsTexas: 13,936,364 jobsUtah: 1,714,013 jobsVermont: 309,138 jobsVirginia: 4,106,139 jobsWashington: 3,594,439 jobsWest Virginia: 695,658 jobsWisconsin: 2,944,347 jobsWyoming: 282,194 jobs
  • Under 600K
  • 600K to 1.3M
  • 1.3M to 2M
  • 2M to 3M
  • 3M to 4.7M
  • 4.7M and over
jobs, 2024. 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, 2024

California: 18,183,696 jobsCalifornia18,183,696Texas: 13,936,364 jobsTexas13,936,364Florida: 9,836,491 jobsFlorida9,836,491New York: 9,705,821 jobsNew York9,705,821Illinois: 6,043,357 jobsIllinois6,043,357Pennsylvania: 6,019,836 jobsPennsylvania6,019,836Ohio: 5,520,656 jobsOhio5,520,656North Carolina: 4,901,211 jobsNorth Carolina4,901,211Georgia: 4,862,001 jobsGeorgia4,862,001Michigan: 4,407,319 jobsMichigan4,407,319New Jersey: 4,252,229 jobsNew Jersey4,252,229Virginia: 4,106,139 jobsVirginia4,106,139Massachusetts: 3,644,805 jobsMassachusetts3,644,805Washington: 3,594,439 jobsWashington3,594,439Tennessee: 3,270,771 jobsTennessee3,270,771Arizona: 3,222,450 jobsArizona3,222,450Indiana: 3,179,542 jobsIndiana3,179,542Wisconsin: 2,944,347 jobsWisconsin2,944,347Minnesota: 2,932,411 jobsMinnesota2,932,411Missouri: 2,898,179 jobsMissouri2,898,179Colorado: 2,897,901 jobsColorado2,897,901Maryland: 2,768,546 jobsMaryland2,768,546South Carolina: 2,284,611 jobsSouth Carolina2,284,611Alabama: 2,105,674 jobsAlabama2,105,674Oregon: 1,994,161 jobsOregon1,994,161Kentucky: 1,988,347 jobsKentucky1,988,347Louisiana: 1,920,359 jobsLouisiana1,920,359Utah: 1,714,013 jobsUtah1,714,013Oklahoma: 1,692,477 jobsOklahoma1,692,477Connecticut: 1,683,378 jobsConnecticut1,683,378Iowa: 1,562,561 jobsIowa1,562,561Nevada: 1,551,426 jobsNevada1,551,426Kansas: 1,429,358 jobsKansas1,429,358Arkansas: 1,295,577 jobsArkansas1,295,577Mississippi: 1,167,716 jobsMississippi1,167,716Nebraska: 1,018,759 jobsNebraska1,018,759New Mexico: 869,987 jobsNew Mexico869,987Idaho: 858,504 jobsIdaho858,504District of Columbia: 759,666 jobsDistrict of Columbia759,666West Virginia: 695,658 jobsWest Virginia695,658New Hampshire: 687,990 jobsNew Hampshire687,990Maine: 648,874 jobsMaine648,874Hawaii: 639,801 jobsHawaii639,801Montana: 512,774 jobsMontana512,774Rhode Island: 495,179 jobsRhode Island495,179Delaware: 477,336 jobsDelaware477,336South Dakota: 458,558 jobsSouth Dakota458,558North Dakota: 428,692 jobsNorth Dakota428,692Alaska: 329,164 jobsAlaska329,164Vermont: 309,138 jobsVermont309,138Wyoming: 282,194 jobsWyoming282,194California: 18,183,696 jobsCalifornia18,183,696Texas: 13,936,364 jobsTexas13,936,364Florida: 9,836,491 jobsFlorida9,836,491New York: 9,705,821 jobsNew York9,705,821Illinois: 6,043,357 jobsIllinois6,043,357Pennsylvania: 6,019,836 jobsPennsylvania6,019,836Ohio: 5,520,656 jobsOhio5,520,656North Carolina: 4,901,211 jobsNorth Carolina4,901,211Georgia: 4,862,001 jobsGeorgia4,862,001Michigan: 4,407,319 jobsMichigan4,407,319New Jersey: 4,252,229 jobsNew Jersey4,252,229Virginia: 4,106,139 jobsVirginia4,106,139Massachusetts: 3,644,805 jobsMassachusetts3,644,805Washington: 3,594,439 jobsWashington3,594,439Tennessee: 3,270,771 jobsTennessee3,270,771Arizona: 3,222,450 jobsArizona3,222,450Indiana: 3,179,542 jobsIndiana3,179,542Wisconsin: 2,944,347 jobsWisconsin2,944,347Minnesota: 2,932,411 jobsMinnesota2,932,411Missouri: 2,898,179 jobsMissouri2,898,179Colorado: 2,897,901 jobsColorado2,897,901Maryland: 2,768,546 jobsMaryland2,768,546South Carolina: 2,284,611 jobsSouth Carolina2,284,611Alabama: 2,105,674 jobsAlabama2,105,674Oregon: 1,994,161 jobsOregon1,994,161Kentucky: 1,988,347 jobsKentucky1,988,347Louisiana: 1,920,359 jobsLouisiana1,920,359Utah: 1,714,013 jobsUtah1,714,013Oklahoma: 1,692,477 jobsOklahoma1,692,477Connecticut: 1,683,378 jobsConnecticut1,683,378Iowa: 1,562,561 jobsIowa1,562,561Nevada: 1,551,426 jobsNevada1,551,426Kansas: 1,429,358 jobsKansas1,429,358Arkansas: 1,295,577 jobsArkansas1,295,577Mississippi: 1,167,716 jobsMississippi1,167,716Nebraska: 1,018,759 jobsNebraska1,018,759New Mexico: 869,987 jobsNew Mexico869,987Idaho: 858,504 jobsIdaho858,504District of Columbia: 759,666 jobsDistrict of Columbia759,666West Virginia: 695,658 jobsWest Virginia695,658New Hampshire: 687,990 jobsNew Hampshire687,990Maine: 648,874 jobsMaine648,874Hawaii: 639,801 jobsHawaii639,801Montana: 512,774 jobsMontana512,774Rhode Island: 495,179 jobsRhode Island495,179Delaware: 477,336 jobsDelaware477,336South Dakota: 458,558 jobsSouth Dakota458,558North Dakota: 428,692 jobsNorth Dakota428,692Alaska: 329,164 jobsAlaska329,164Vermont: 309,138 jobsVermont309,138Wyoming: 282,194 jobsWyoming282,194
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

RankStates2024
jobs		Change on 2023
1California18,183,696+1%
2Texas13,936,364+1.7%
3Florida9,836,491+1.6%
4New York9,705,821+2.5%
5Illinois6,043,357+0.5%
6Pennsylvania6,019,836+0.9%
7Ohio5,520,656+0.7%
8North Carolina4,901,211+1.5%
9Georgia4,862,001+1.1%
10Michigan4,407,319+0.6%
11New Jersey4,252,229+1%
12Virginia4,106,139+1.4%
13Massachusetts3,644,805+0.2%
14Washington3,594,439+0.5%
15Tennessee3,270,771+1.2%
16Arizona3,222,450+1.8%
17Indiana3,179,542+0.7%
18Wisconsin2,944,347+0.8%
19Minnesota2,932,411+1%
20Missouri2,898,179+0.8%
21Colorado2,897,901+0.5%
22Maryland2,768,546+2.3%
23South Carolina2,284,611+1.8%
24Alabama2,105,674+1.4%
25Oregon1,994,161+0.3%
26Kentucky1,988,347+1%
27Louisiana1,920,359+1.4%
28Utah1,714,013+1.4%
29Oklahoma1,692,477+1.2%
30Connecticut1,683,378+0.9%
31Iowa1,562,561+0.4%
32Nevada1,551,426+1.9%
33Kansas1,429,358+0.9%
34Arkansas1,295,577+1.3%
35Mississippi1,167,716+0.6%
36Nebraska1,018,759+1%
37New Mexico869,987+1.6%
38Idaho858,504+1.9%
39District of Columbia759,666+0.3%
40West Virginia695,658+1.3%
41New Hampshire687,990+0.8%
42Maine648,874+1.4%
43Hawaii639,801+0.9%
44Montana512,774+1.2%
45Rhode Island495,179+1.4%
46Delaware477,336+1.7%
47South Dakota458,558+1.3%
48North Dakota428,692+1.7%
49Alaska329,164+2%
50Vermont309,138+0.7%
51Wyoming282,194+1.2%

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/2024/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), 2024) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/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), 2024. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 21 Aug. 2026, https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/10.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/us-states?period=2024. 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), 2024. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/10.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/us-states?period=2024.

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), 2024 [Dataset]. Available at: https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/10.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/us-states?period=2024 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_us_states_by_covered_2024,
  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), 2024}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/10.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/us-states?period=2024. 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/2024/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), 2024
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/08/21
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2024/a/industry/10.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/us-states?period=2024
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/covered-employment/us-states?period=2024.
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/2024/a/industry/10.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest covered employment (QCEW)?

California, with 18,183,696 jobs in 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest covered employment (QCEW)?

Wyoming, with 282,194 jobs in 2024.

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