Data / Rankings / Government payroll employment / US states

US states by government payroll employment

California had the highest government payroll employment of 51 states in September 2025, at 2,666,600 jobs. Vermont had the lowest, at 56,200 jobs. The median was 325,700 jobs and the figure for the United States was 23,543,000 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest2,666,600California
Lowest56,200Vermont
Median325,70051 states
United States23,543,000History

Map of states, September 2025

Alabama: 426,600 jobsAlaska: 79,200 jobsArizona: 432,400 jobsArkansas: 205,300 jobsCalifornia: 2,666,600 jobsColorado: 489,800 jobsConnecticut: 236,400 jobsDelaware: 72,500 jobsDistrict of Columbia: 228,700 jobsFlorida: 1,150,600 jobsGeorgia: 712,700 jobsHawaii: 126,300 jobsIdaho: 130,000 jobsIllinois: 853,200 jobsIndiana: 433,700 jobsIowa: 268,200 jobsKansas: 260,900 jobsKentucky: 317,700 jobsLouisiana: 325,700 jobsMaine: 102,800 jobsMaryland: 535,300 jobsMassachusetts: 473,500 jobsMichigan: 628,500 jobsMinnesota: 436,100 jobsMississippi: 237,400 jobsMissouri: 435,500 jobsMontana: 92,400 jobsNebraska: 179,400 jobsNevada: 184,500 jobsNew Hampshire: 87,300 jobsNew Jersey: 623,400 jobsNew Mexico: 192,300 jobsNew York: 1,523,700 jobsNorth Carolina: 777,200 jobsNorth Dakota: 86,200 jobsOhio: 794,300 jobsOklahoma: 372,300 jobsOregon: 318,700 jobsPennsylvania: 703,900 jobsRhode Island: 65,300 jobsSouth Carolina: 397,200 jobsSouth Dakota: 82,000 jobsTennessee: 455,900 jobsTexas: 2,137,900 jobsUtah: 278,200 jobsVermont: 56,200 jobsVirginia: 766,900 jobsWashington: 617,900 jobsWest Virginia: 147,800 jobsWisconsin: 414,200 jobsWyoming: 71,800 jobs
  • Under 100K
  • 100K to 220K
  • 220K to 330K
  • 330K to 440K
  • 440K to 710K
  • 710K and over
jobs, September 2025. Source: BLS, Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, government, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000009000000001). Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, September 2025

California: 2,666,600 jobsCalifornia2,666,600Texas: 2,137,900 jobsTexas2,137,900New York: 1,523,700 jobsNew York1,523,700Florida: 1,150,600 jobsFlorida1,150,600Illinois: 853,200 jobsIllinois853,200Ohio: 794,300 jobsOhio794,300North Carolina: 777,200 jobsNorth Carolina777,200Virginia: 766,900 jobsVirginia766,900Georgia: 712,700 jobsGeorgia712,700Pennsylvania: 703,900 jobsPennsylvania703,900Michigan: 628,500 jobsMichigan628,500New Jersey: 623,400 jobsNew Jersey623,400Washington: 617,900 jobsWashington617,900Maryland: 535,300 jobsMaryland535,300Colorado: 489,800 jobsColorado489,800Massachusetts: 473,500 jobsMassachusetts473,500Tennessee: 455,900 jobsTennessee455,900Minnesota: 436,100 jobsMinnesota436,100Missouri: 435,500 jobsMissouri435,500Indiana: 433,700 jobsIndiana433,700Arizona: 432,400 jobsArizona432,400Alabama: 426,600 jobsAlabama426,600Wisconsin: 414,200 jobsWisconsin414,200South Carolina: 397,200 jobsSouth Carolina397,200Oklahoma: 372,300 jobsOklahoma372,300Louisiana: 325,700 jobsLouisiana325,700Oregon: 318,700 jobsOregon318,700Kentucky: 317,700 jobsKentucky317,700Utah: 278,200 jobsUtah278,200Iowa: 268,200 jobsIowa268,200Kansas: 260,900 jobsKansas260,900Mississippi: 237,400 jobsMississippi237,400Connecticut: 236,400 jobsConnecticut236,400District of Columbia: 228,700 jobsDistrict of Columbia228,700Arkansas: 205,300 jobsArkansas205,300New Mexico: 192,300 jobsNew Mexico192,300Nevada: 184,500 jobsNevada184,500Nebraska: 179,400 jobsNebraska179,400West Virginia: 147,800 jobsWest Virginia147,800Idaho: 130,000 jobsIdaho130,000Hawaii: 126,300 jobsHawaii126,300Maine: 102,800 jobsMaine102,800Montana: 92,400 jobsMontana92,400New Hampshire: 87,300 jobsNew Hampshire87,300North Dakota: 86,200 jobsNorth Dakota86,200South Dakota: 82,000 jobsSouth Dakota82,000Alaska: 79,200 jobsAlaska79,200Delaware: 72,500 jobsDelaware72,500Wyoming: 71,800 jobsWyoming71,800Rhode Island: 65,300 jobsRhode Island65,300Vermont: 56,200 jobsVermont56,200California: 2,666,600 jobsCalifornia2,666,600Texas: 2,137,900 jobsTexas2,137,900New York: 1,523,700 jobsNew York1,523,700Florida: 1,150,600 jobsFlorida1,150,600Illinois: 853,200 jobsIllinois853,200Ohio: 794,300 jobsOhio794,300North Carolina: 777,200 jobsNorth Carolina777,200Virginia: 766,900 jobsVirginia766,900Georgia: 712,700 jobsGeorgia712,700Pennsylvania: 703,900 jobsPennsylvania703,900Michigan: 628,500 jobsMichigan628,500New Jersey: 623,400 jobsNew Jersey623,400Washington: 617,900 jobsWashington617,900Maryland: 535,300 jobsMaryland535,300Colorado: 489,800 jobsColorado489,800Massachusetts: 473,500 jobsMassachusetts473,500Tennessee: 455,900 jobsTennessee455,900Minnesota: 436,100 jobsMinnesota436,100Missouri: 435,500 jobsMissouri435,500Indiana: 433,700 jobsIndiana433,700Arizona: 432,400 jobsArizona432,400Alabama: 426,600 jobsAlabama426,600Wisconsin: 414,200 jobsWisconsin414,200South Carolina: 397,200 jobsSouth Carolina397,200Oklahoma: 372,300 jobsOklahoma372,300Louisiana: 325,700 jobsLouisiana325,700Oregon: 318,700 jobsOregon318,700Kentucky: 317,700 jobsKentucky317,700Utah: 278,200 jobsUtah278,200Iowa: 268,200 jobsIowa268,200Kansas: 260,900 jobsKansas260,900Mississippi: 237,400 jobsMississippi237,400Connecticut: 236,400 jobsConnecticut236,400District of Columbia: 228,700 jobsDistrict of Columbia228,700Arkansas: 205,300 jobsArkansas205,300New Mexico: 192,300 jobsNew Mexico192,300Nevada: 184,500 jobsNevada184,500Nebraska: 179,400 jobsNebraska179,400West Virginia: 147,800 jobsWest Virginia147,800Idaho: 130,000 jobsIdaho130,000Hawaii: 126,300 jobsHawaii126,300Maine: 102,800 jobsMaine102,800Montana: 92,400 jobsMontana92,400New Hampshire: 87,300 jobsNew Hampshire87,300North Dakota: 86,200 jobsNorth Dakota86,200South Dakota: 82,000 jobsSouth Dakota82,000Alaska: 79,200 jobsAlaska79,200Delaware: 72,500 jobsDelaware72,500Wyoming: 71,800 jobsWyoming71,800Rhode Island: 65,300 jobsRhode Island65,300Vermont: 56,200 jobsVermont56,200
jobs. Source: BLS, Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, government, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000009000000001). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStatesSeptember 2025
jobs		Change on September 2024
1California2,666,600-1.5%
2Texas2,137,900+0.9%
3New York1,523,700+1.7%
4Florida1,150,600-1.2%
5Illinois853,200+1.2%
6Ohio794,300+0.1%
7North Carolina777,200+0.9%
8Virginia766,900+1%
9Georgia712,700-0.2%
10Pennsylvania703,900+0.4%
11Michigan628,500+1.7%
12New Jersey623,400+0.1%
13Washington617,900+0.2%
14Maryland535,300-1.4%
15Colorado489,800-0.1%
16Massachusetts473,500+0.2%
17Tennessee455,900+0.7%
18Minnesota436,100+0.4%
19Missouri435,500-0.7%
20Indiana433,700+1.2%
21Arizona432,400-0.4%
22Alabama426,600+2.1%
23Wisconsin414,200-0.5%
24South Carolina397,200+1.6%
25Oklahoma372,300+0.5%
26Louisiana325,700+0.5%
27Oregon318,700+1.4%
28Kentucky317,700+0.4%
29Utah278,200+1.2%
30Iowa268,200+0.4%
31Kansas260,900+0.7%
32Mississippi237,400-0.6%
33Connecticut236,4000%
34District of Columbia228,700-3.4%
35Arkansas205,300-0.6%
36New Mexico192,300+0.2%
37Nevada184,500+0.8%
38Nebraska179,400+0.8%
39West Virginia147,800-1.4%
40Idaho130,000+0.9%
41Hawaii126,300+0.2%
42Maine102,800+0.8%
43Montana92,400-0.6%
44New Hampshire87,300-2.1%
45North Dakota86,200+0.5%
46South Dakota82,000-0.2%
47Alaska79,200-1.2%
48Delaware72,500+2.7%
49Wyoming71,800+0.3%
50Rhode Island65,300-1.7%
51Vermont56,200+1.4%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of jobs on government payrolls in the month, seasonally adjusted, from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The supersector covers federal, state and local government, including public schools, public hospitals and the Postal Service; active-duty military personnel are excluded.

One of the eleven CES supersectors that make up nonfarm_payroll_employment. Counts jobs on nonfarm payrolls, not people: someone with two jobs counts twice. It covers full-time and part-time employees paid for any part of the pay period that includes the 12th of the month, and excludes the self-employed, farm workers, private household workers and unpaid family workers.

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. Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, government, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000009000000001). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.76.Government.Current. 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). Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, government, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000009000000001) (US states by government payroll employment, 2025-09) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.76.Government.Current

MLA 9

Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, government, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000009000000001), US states by government payroll employment, 2025-09. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 18 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.76.Government.Current. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/government-jobs/us-states?period=2025-09. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, government, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000009000000001). US states by government payroll employment, 2025-09. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.76.Government.Current. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/government-jobs/us-states?period=2025-09.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, government, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000009000000001), US states by government payroll employment, 2025-09 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.76.Government.Current, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/government-jobs/us-states?period=2025-09 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_us_states_by_government_2026,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, government, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000009000000001): US states by government payroll employment, 2025-09}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.76.Government.Current},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/government-jobs/us-states?period=2025-09. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, government, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000009000000001). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.76.Government.Current. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, government, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000009000000001): US states by government payroll employment, 2025-09
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/18
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.76.Government.Current
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/government-jobs/us-states?period=2025-09
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/government-jobs/us-states?period=2025-09.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, government, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000009000000001). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.76.Government.Current. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest government payroll employment?

California, with 2,666,600 jobs in September 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest government payroll employment?

Vermont, with 56,200 jobs in September 2025.

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, Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, government, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000009000000001). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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