Data / Rankings / Employed residents / US cities

US cities by employed residents

New York, NY had the highest employed residents of 1623 cities in 2018, at 4.09 million. Corcoran, CA had the lowest, at 4,864. The median was 23,087. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest4,093,831New York, NY
Lowest4,864Corcoran, CA
Median23,0871623 cities

Top 40 cities, 2018

New York, NY: 4,093,831 personsNew York, NY4,093,831Los Angeles, CA: 1,947,238 personsLos Angeles, CA1,947,238Chicago, IL: 1,367,990 personsChicago, IL1,367,990Houston, TX: 1,107,870 personsHouston, TX1,107,870Phoenix, AZ: 785,354 personsPhoenix, AZ785,354Philadelphia, PA: 728,071 personsPhiladelphia, PA728,071San Diego, CA: 691,009 personsSan Diego, CA691,009San Antonio, TX: 653,550 personsSan Antonio, TX653,550Dallas, TX: 647,375 personsDallas, TX647,375Austin, TX: 537,139 personsAustin, TX537,139San Jose, CA: 526,400 personsSan Jose, CA526,400San Francisco, CA: 515,569 personsSan Francisco, CA515,569Columbus, OH: 463,080 personsColumbus, OH463,080Charlotte, NC: 453,210 personsCharlotte, NC453,210Jacksonville, FL: 448,228 personsJacksonville, FL448,228Seattle, WA: 441,422 personsSeattle, WA441,422Indianapolis, IN: 433,420 personsIndianapolis, IN433,420Fort Worth, TX: 425,590 personsFort Worth, TX425,590Denver, CO: 407,612 personsDenver, CO407,612Boston, MA: 386,149 personsBoston, MA386,149Portland, OR: 361,825 personsPortland, OR361,825Oklahoma City, OK: 326,192 personsOklahoma City, OK326,192Las Vegas, NV: 294,221 personsLas Vegas, NV294,221Baltimore, MD: 286,248 personsBaltimore, MD286,248El Paso, TX: 285,873 personsEl Paso, TX285,873Memphis, TN: 281,643 personsMemphis, TN281,643Albuquerque, NM: 272,999 personsAlbuquerque, NM272,999Milwaukee, WI: 268,601 personsMilwaukee, WI268,601Kansas City, MO: 260,430 personsKansas City, MO260,430Atlanta, GA: 257,565 personsAtlanta, GA257,565Omaha, NE: 251,095 personsOmaha, NE251,095Raleigh, NC: 250,705 personsRaleigh, NC250,705Tucson, AZ: 248,475 personsTucson, AZ248,475Sacramento, CA: 243,300 personsSacramento, CA243,300Minneapolis, MN: 242,079 personsMinneapolis, MN242,079Long Beach, CA: 238,166 personsLong Beach, CA238,166Mesa, AZ: 237,731 personsMesa, AZ237,731Detroit, MI: 234,504 personsDetroit, MI234,504Colorado Springs, CO: 229,816 personsColorado Springs, CO229,816Oakland, CA: 228,242 personsOakland, CA228,242New York, NY: 4,093,831 personsNew York, NY4,093,831Los Angeles, CA: 1,947,238 personsLos Angeles, CA1,947,238Chicago, IL: 1,367,990 personsChicago, IL1,367,990Houston, TX: 1,107,870 personsHouston, TX1,107,870Phoenix, AZ: 785,354 personsPhoenix, AZ785,354Philadelphia, PA: 728,071 personsPhiladelphia, PA728,071San Diego, CA: 691,009 personsSan Diego, CA691,009San Antonio, TX: 653,550 personsSan Antonio, TX653,550Dallas, TX: 647,375 personsDallas, TX647,375Austin, TX: 537,139 personsAustin, TX537,139San Jose, CA: 526,400 personsSan Jose, CA526,400San Francisco, CA: 515,569 personsSan Francisco, CA515,569Columbus, OH: 463,080 personsColumbus, OH463,080Charlotte, NC: 453,210 personsCharlotte, NC453,210Jacksonville, FL: 448,228 personsJacksonville, FL448,228Seattle, WA: 441,422 personsSeattle, WA441,422Indianapolis, IN: 433,420 personsIndianapolis, IN433,420Fort Worth, TX: 425,590 personsFort Worth, TX425,590Denver, CO: 407,612 personsDenver, CO407,612Boston, MA: 386,149 personsBoston, MA386,149Portland, OR: 361,825 personsPortland, OR361,825Oklahoma City, OK: 326,192 personsOklahoma City, OK326,192Las Vegas, NV: 294,221 personsLas Vegas, NV294,221Baltimore, MD: 286,248 personsBaltimore, MD286,248El Paso, TX: 285,873 personsEl Paso, TX285,873Memphis, TN: 281,643 personsMemphis, TN281,643Albuquerque, NM: 272,999 personsAlbuquerque, NM272,999Milwaukee, WI: 268,601 personsMilwaukee, WI268,601Kansas City, MO: 260,430 personsKansas City, MO260,430Atlanta, GA: 257,565 personsAtlanta, GA257,565Omaha, NE: 251,095 personsOmaha, NE251,095Raleigh, NC: 250,705 personsRaleigh, NC250,705Tucson, AZ: 248,475 personsTucson, AZ248,475Sacramento, CA: 243,300 personsSacramento, CA243,300Minneapolis, MN: 242,079 personsMinneapolis, MN242,079Long Beach, CA: 238,166 personsLong Beach, CA238,166Mesa, AZ: 237,731 personsMesa, AZ237,731Detroit, MI: 234,504 personsDetroit, MI234,504Colorado Springs, CO: 229,816 personsColorado Springs, CO229,816Oakland, CA: 228,242 personsOakland, CA228,242
persons. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCities2018
persons		Change on 2017
1New York, NY4,093,831-0.2%
2Los Angeles, CA1,947,238+1%
3Chicago, IL1,367,990+0.6%
4Houston, TX1,107,870+1.1%
5Phoenix, AZ785,354+2.9%
6Philadelphia, PA728,071+1.5%
7San Diego, CA691,009+1.5%
8San Antonio, TX653,550+1.6%
9Dallas, TX647,375+0.4%
10Austin, TX537,139+2.6%
11San Jose, CA526,400+0.6%
12San Francisco, CA515,569+2.1%
13Columbus, OH463,080+1.1%
14Charlotte, NC453,210+2.3%
15Jacksonville, FL448,228+2.1%
16Seattle, WA441,422+4%
17Indianapolis, IN433,420+1.7%
18Fort Worth, TX425,590+3.2%
19Denver, CO407,612+2.4%
20Boston, MA386,149+3%
21Portland, OR361,825-0.2%
22Oklahoma City, OK326,192+1.9%
23Las Vegas, NV294,221+3%
24Baltimore, MD286,248-0.5%
25El Paso, TX285,873+1.5%
26Memphis, TN281,643+1.3%
27Albuquerque, NM272,999+0.8%
28Milwaukee, WI268,601-1%
29Kansas City, MO260,430+0.5%
30Atlanta, GA257,565+1.5%
31Omaha, NE251,095+0.9%
32Raleigh, NC250,705+1.5%
33Tucson, AZ248,475+1.3%
34Sacramento, CA243,300+2.1%
35Minneapolis, MN242,079+0.9%
36Long Beach, CA238,166+0.1%
37Mesa, AZ237,731+3.2%
38Detroit, MI234,504+1%
39Colorado Springs, CO229,816+1.9%
40Oakland, CA228,242+0.6%
41Virginia Beach, VA225,431+1%
42Miami, FL224,329+2.7%
43Fresno, CA223,639+1.1%
44Aurora, CO197,320+2.9%
45Arlington, TX195,877+1.4%
46Tulsa, OK193,137+1.2%
47Wichita, KS190,104+1.1%
48Tampa, FL188,571+1.3%
49New Orleans, LA175,507+0.3%
50Anaheim, CA172,105+1.1%
51Bakersfield, CA169,353+1.6%
52Orlando, FL166,350+2.4%
53St. Paul, MN164,486+0.7%
54Lexington, KY163,587-0.4%
55St. Louis, MO159,485-1.2%
56Cleveland, OH159,246+1%
57Madison, WI158,605+0.1%
58Pittsburgh, PA158,378+0.7%
59Lincoln, NE156,660+2.3%
60Santa Ana, CA153,407+0.6%
61Jersey City, NJ151,975+1.5%
62Cincinnati, OH150,288+0.7%
63Irvine, CA148,796+3.3%
64Plano, TX148,409+0.9%
65Chandler, AZ145,271+2.9%
66Riverside, CA145,237+2.1%
67Durham, NC144,065+2.1%
68Corpus Christi, TX142,799+0.8%
69Anchorage, AK142,499-1.7%
70Greensboro, NC141,576+1.1%
71Henderson, NV139,071+5.3%
72Gilbert, AZ134,744+4.4%
73Reno, NV133,641+5.2%
74St. Petersburg, FL133,154+2.2%
75Irving, TX131,683+0.7%
76Stockton, CA129,763+0.6%
77Boise City, ID127,063+2.3%
78Fort Wayne, IN126,490+2.4%
79Newark, NJ126,114+0.7%
80Chula Vista, CA123,108+1.5%
81Lubbock, TX122,566+1%
82Garland, TX121,996+1.8%
83Richmond, VA121,467+1.2%
84Scottsdale, AZ120,807+2.9%
85Toledo, OH120,222-0.2%
86Buffalo, NY118,610+0.5%
87Fremont, CA117,483+0.8%
88Des Moines, IA116,863+0.8%
89Chesapeake, VA116,103+2%
90Santa Clarita, CA114,211+0.5%
91Glendale, AZ113,853+2.5%
92North Las Vegas, NV113,273+3.7%
93Salt Lake City, UT112,066+0.1%
94Winston-Salem, NC111,549+1.2%
95Tacoma, WA109,818+2.9%
96Hialeah, FL109,370+0.7%
97Overland Park, KS106,324+0.4%
98Norfolk, VA106,052+0.1%
99Grand Rapids, MI104,955+1.7%
100Spokane, WA104,266+1.6%
101Baton Rouge, LA104,119+0.1%
102Sioux Falls, SD104,052+1.8%
103Huntington Beach, CA103,864+0.8%
104Worcester, MA102,960+2.6%
105Tempe, AZ102,424+5.1%
106Huntsville, AL102,186+3.1%
107Tallahassee, FL101,826+1.6%
108Laredo, TX100,430+1.5%
109Yonkers, NY98,973+2%
110Alexandria, VA97,203+0.7%
111Little Rock, AR95,998-0.4%
112Fort Collins, CO95,353+1.7%
113Aurora, IL94,895+0.4%
114Rochester, NY94,794+0.8%
115Oxnard, CA94,493+0.6%
116Fort Lauderdale, FL94,353+2.2%
117Amarillo, TX94,246+0.2%
118Glendale, CA94,130+1.2%
119Grand Prairie, TX93,892+0.7%
120Fontana, CA92,839+2.9%
121Santa Rosa, CA92,761-1%
122Frisco, TX92,210+6.8%
123Knoxville, TN92,167+1%
124Providence, RI92,044+0.9%
125McKinney, TX91,521+6.2%
126Mobile, AL91,514+1.1%
127San Bernardino, CA91,479+1.8%
128Modesto, CA90,734+1.5%
129Birmingham, AL90,154+1.8%
130Vancouver, WA89,775+2.7%
131Moreno Valley, CA89,149+2.7%
132Cary, NC88,288+2%
133Akron, OH87,815-0.4%
134Port St. Lucie, FL87,681+4%
135Cape Coral, FL87,155+3.6%
136Chattanooga, TN86,957+3.2%
137Peoria, AZ86,402+3.8%
138Sunnyvale, CA86,005+1.4%
139Montgomery, AL85,900-0.4%
140Lakewood, CO85,525+1.7%
141Newport News, VA85,427+0.7%
142Eugene, OR84,850-0.4%
143Oceanside, CA84,652+0.8%
144Pembroke Pines, FL84,649+1.7%
145Hayward, CA83,902+0.5%
146Garden Grove, CA83,266+0.5%
147Columbus, GA83,063+0.3%
148Rancho Cucamonga, CA82,489+2%
149Springfield, MO81,522+1%
150Hollywood, FL80,292+1.6%
151Bellevue, WA80,101+3.2%
152Ontario, CA79,388+3.7%
153Elk Grove, CA78,483+1.8%
154Shreveport, LA78,443-0.6%
155Murfreesboro, TN78,330+5.9%
156Salem, OR78,049+0.9%
157Salinas, CA77,238+1.7%
158Charleston, SC76,998+1.3%
159Stamford, CT76,351+0.4%
160Pasadena, CA75,400+0.7%
161Fayetteville, NC75,032+0.8%
162Olathe, KS75,025+1.3%
163Mesquite, TX74,983-0.7%
164Cedar Rapids, IA74,963+2%
165Thornton, CO74,730+3.3%
166Corona, CA74,535+2.5%
167Carrollton, TX74,400+1.1%
168Naperville, IL74,382+1.1%
169Miramar, FL74,023+1.2%
170Joliet, IL74,015+0.7%
171Bridgeport, CT73,550+0.1%
172Torrance, CA72,709-0%
173Fargo, ND72,532+0.6%
174Orange, CA72,108+1%
175Escondido, CA72,013+0.6%
176Kansas City, KS71,986+0.1%
177Palmdale, CA71,245+0.2%
178Brownsville, TX71,106+0.7%
179Pomona, CA70,817+0.4%
180Savannah, GA70,783+1.2%
181Cambridge, MA70,032+4%
182Fullerton, CA69,366+0.6%
183Santa Clara, CA69,318+1.8%
184West Valley City, UT69,236+0.1%
185Kent, WA68,848+2%
186Coral Springs, FL68,767+1.1%
187Arvada, CO68,650+2.7%
188Denton, TX68,093+2.5%
189Lewisville, TX67,821+0.8%
190Roseville, CA67,769+3.2%
191Gainesville, FL67,124+2%
192Lancaster, CA66,832+0.3%
193Westminster, CO66,770+1.5%
194Manchester, NH66,749+1.6%
195Clarksville, TN66,632+3%
196Warren, MI66,576+0.5%
197Rockford, IL66,494+2.5%
198Ann Arbor, MI66,261+1.4%
199Jackson, MS66,217-1.8%
200Columbia, MO65,887+0.8%
201Pasadena, TX65,784+0.3%
202Midland, TX65,547+14.8%
203Paterson, NJ65,482+0.8%
204Simi Valley, CA65,263+0.4%
205Springfield, MA64,955+2.4%
206Costa Mesa, CA64,605+1%
207Sterling Heights, MI64,591+1.1%
208Concord, CA63,794+0.7%
209New Haven, CT63,730+0.1%
210Macon, GA63,538-0.5%
211Provo, UT63,478+0.2%
212Berkeley, CA63,360+1%
213Sandy Springs, GA63,141+2.2%
214Rochester, MN63,051+1.7%
215Hampton, VA63,030+0.9%
216Elizabeth, NJ62,990+0.4%
217Richardson, TX62,809+3.7%
218Norman, OK62,773+1.9%
219Thousand Oaks, CA62,110+0.2%
220Columbia, SC61,472-1.8%
221Syracuse, NY61,101+1.6%
222Pearland, TX60,999+2.6%
223Visalia, CA60,742+0.3%
224Waco, TX60,721+0.4%
225West Jordan, UT60,625+1.8%
226McAllen, TX60,543+1.8%
227Vallejo, CA59,956+0.9%
228Topeka, KS59,761-0.3%
229Boulder, CO59,677+2.1%
230Lowell, MA59,502+2.5%
231Round Rock, TX59,471+6.3%
232San Mateo, CA58,906+1.8%
233Renton, WA58,767+1.8%
234Daly City, CA58,750+1.7%
235West Palm Beach, FL58,717+1%
236Billings, MT58,465+0.4%
237Surprise, AZ58,383+3.8%
238Lafayette, LA58,194+0.7%
239Centennial, CO58,031+1.2%
240Elgin, IL57,923+0.6%
241Quincy, MA57,347+2.8%
242Downey, CA57,324+0.2%
243Richmond, CA57,139+0.8%
244Independence, MO57,123-0.4%
245Evansville, IN57,104+1.1%
246Lansing, MI56,891+1%
247Hillsboro, OR56,8410%
248College Station, TX56,727+3.6%
249Wilmington, NC56,618+1.3%
250Somerville, MA56,601+3%

Showing the top 250 of 1623. The Excel download has every row.

Other periods

About this ranking

Residents who did any work for pay or profit in the reference week, or were temporarily absent from a job, 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, whatever the place of work, and someone with two jobs counts once. 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. 83 cities with data in other periods have no value for 2018 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: employment (measure 05), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. 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: employment (measure 05), annual average (US cities by employed residents, 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average, US cities by employed residents, 2018. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/us-cities?period=2018. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. US cities by employed residents, 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/us-cities?period=2018.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average, US cities by employed residents, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/us-cities?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_us_cities_by_employed_2018,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average: US cities by employed residents, 2018}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/us-cities?period=2018. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. 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: employment (measure 05), annual average: US cities by employed residents, 2018
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.CurrentU15-19
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/us-cities?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/employed-residents/us-cities?period=2018.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: employment (measure 05), annual average. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU15-19. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which city has the highest employed residents?

New York, NY, with 4.09 million in 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest employed residents?

Corcoran, CA, with 4,864 in 2018.

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: employment (measure 05), annual average. Retrieved 2026-10-12. 83 cities have no value for 2018 and are not ranked.

Employed residents: other rankings

US cities: more rankings