Data / Rankings / Government payroll employment / US states

US states by government payroll employment

California had the highest government payroll employment of 51 states in October 2025, at 2,651,700 jobs. Vermont had the lowest, at 56,100 jobs. The median was 324,700 jobs and the figure for the United States was 23,390,000 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest2,651,700California
Lowest56,100Vermont
Median324,70051 states
United States23,390,000History

Map of states, October 2025

Alabama: 425,600 jobsAlaska: 78,100 jobsArizona: 427,100 jobsArkansas: 204,400 jobsCalifornia: 2,651,700 jobsColorado: 487,000 jobsConnecticut: 235,300 jobsDelaware: 71,600 jobsDistrict of Columbia: 212,800 jobsFlorida: 1,138,300 jobsGeorgia: 709,700 jobsHawaii: 124,600 jobsIdaho: 130,100 jobsIllinois: 852,600 jobsIndiana: 422,300 jobsIowa: 267,800 jobsKansas: 259,500 jobsKentucky: 315,600 jobsLouisiana: 324,700 jobsMaine: 101,600 jobsMaryland: 526,000 jobsMassachusetts: 472,400 jobsMichigan: 628,600 jobsMinnesota: 436,200 jobsMississippi: 237,000 jobsMissouri: 432,200 jobsMontana: 91,800 jobsNebraska: 178,500 jobsNevada: 184,100 jobsNew Hampshire: 86,100 jobsNew Jersey: 620,700 jobsNew Mexico: 190,500 jobsNew York: 1,520,800 jobsNorth Carolina: 774,500 jobsNorth Dakota: 85,100 jobsOhio: 794,000 jobsOklahoma: 370,300 jobsOregon: 316,000 jobsPennsylvania: 700,100 jobsRhode Island: 64,600 jobsSouth Carolina: 397,500 jobsSouth Dakota: 81,500 jobsTennessee: 454,600 jobsTexas: 2,132,300 jobsUtah: 274,500 jobsVermont: 56,100 jobsVirginia: 755,200 jobsWashington: 612,100 jobsWest Virginia: 146,300 jobsWisconsin: 409,100 jobsWyoming: 71,900 jobs
  • Under 100K
  • 100K to 210K
  • 210K to 320K
  • 320K to 440K
  • 440K to 710K
  • 710K and over
jobs, October 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, October 2025

California: 2,651,700 jobsCalifornia2,651,700Texas: 2,132,300 jobsTexas2,132,300New York: 1,520,800 jobsNew York1,520,800Florida: 1,138,300 jobsFlorida1,138,300Illinois: 852,600 jobsIllinois852,600Ohio: 794,000 jobsOhio794,000North Carolina: 774,500 jobsNorth Carolina774,500Virginia: 755,200 jobsVirginia755,200Georgia: 709,700 jobsGeorgia709,700Pennsylvania: 700,100 jobsPennsylvania700,100Michigan: 628,600 jobsMichigan628,600New Jersey: 620,700 jobsNew Jersey620,700Washington: 612,100 jobsWashington612,100Maryland: 526,000 jobsMaryland526,000Colorado: 487,000 jobsColorado487,000Massachusetts: 472,400 jobsMassachusetts472,400Tennessee: 454,600 jobsTennessee454,600Minnesota: 436,200 jobsMinnesota436,200Missouri: 432,200 jobsMissouri432,200Arizona: 427,100 jobsArizona427,100Alabama: 425,600 jobsAlabama425,600Indiana: 422,300 jobsIndiana422,300Wisconsin: 409,100 jobsWisconsin409,100South Carolina: 397,500 jobsSouth Carolina397,500Oklahoma: 370,300 jobsOklahoma370,300Louisiana: 324,700 jobsLouisiana324,700Oregon: 316,000 jobsOregon316,000Kentucky: 315,600 jobsKentucky315,600Utah: 274,500 jobsUtah274,500Iowa: 267,800 jobsIowa267,800Kansas: 259,500 jobsKansas259,500Mississippi: 237,000 jobsMississippi237,000Connecticut: 235,300 jobsConnecticut235,300District of Columbia: 212,800 jobsDistrict of Columbia212,800Arkansas: 204,400 jobsArkansas204,400New Mexico: 190,500 jobsNew Mexico190,500Nevada: 184,100 jobsNevada184,100Nebraska: 178,500 jobsNebraska178,500West Virginia: 146,300 jobsWest Virginia146,300Idaho: 130,100 jobsIdaho130,100Hawaii: 124,600 jobsHawaii124,600Maine: 101,600 jobsMaine101,600Montana: 91,800 jobsMontana91,800New Hampshire: 86,100 jobsNew Hampshire86,100North Dakota: 85,100 jobsNorth Dakota85,100South Dakota: 81,500 jobsSouth Dakota81,500Alaska: 78,100 jobsAlaska78,100Wyoming: 71,900 jobsWyoming71,900Delaware: 71,600 jobsDelaware71,600Rhode Island: 64,600 jobsRhode Island64,600Vermont: 56,100 jobsVermont56,100California: 2,651,700 jobsCalifornia2,651,700Texas: 2,132,300 jobsTexas2,132,300New York: 1,520,800 jobsNew York1,520,800Florida: 1,138,300 jobsFlorida1,138,300Illinois: 852,600 jobsIllinois852,600Ohio: 794,000 jobsOhio794,000North Carolina: 774,500 jobsNorth Carolina774,500Virginia: 755,200 jobsVirginia755,200Georgia: 709,700 jobsGeorgia709,700Pennsylvania: 700,100 jobsPennsylvania700,100Michigan: 628,600 jobsMichigan628,600New Jersey: 620,700 jobsNew Jersey620,700Washington: 612,100 jobsWashington612,100Maryland: 526,000 jobsMaryland526,000Colorado: 487,000 jobsColorado487,000Massachusetts: 472,400 jobsMassachusetts472,400Tennessee: 454,600 jobsTennessee454,600Minnesota: 436,200 jobsMinnesota436,200Missouri: 432,200 jobsMissouri432,200Arizona: 427,100 jobsArizona427,100Alabama: 425,600 jobsAlabama425,600Indiana: 422,300 jobsIndiana422,300Wisconsin: 409,100 jobsWisconsin409,100South Carolina: 397,500 jobsSouth Carolina397,500Oklahoma: 370,300 jobsOklahoma370,300Louisiana: 324,700 jobsLouisiana324,700Oregon: 316,000 jobsOregon316,000Kentucky: 315,600 jobsKentucky315,600Utah: 274,500 jobsUtah274,500Iowa: 267,800 jobsIowa267,800Kansas: 259,500 jobsKansas259,500Mississippi: 237,000 jobsMississippi237,000Connecticut: 235,300 jobsConnecticut235,300District of Columbia: 212,800 jobsDistrict of Columbia212,800Arkansas: 204,400 jobsArkansas204,400New Mexico: 190,500 jobsNew Mexico190,500Nevada: 184,100 jobsNevada184,100Nebraska: 178,500 jobsNebraska178,500West Virginia: 146,300 jobsWest Virginia146,300Idaho: 130,100 jobsIdaho130,100Hawaii: 124,600 jobsHawaii124,600Maine: 101,600 jobsMaine101,600Montana: 91,800 jobsMontana91,800New Hampshire: 86,100 jobsNew Hampshire86,100North Dakota: 85,100 jobsNorth Dakota85,100South Dakota: 81,500 jobsSouth Dakota81,500Alaska: 78,100 jobsAlaska78,100Wyoming: 71,900 jobsWyoming71,900Delaware: 71,600 jobsDelaware71,600Rhode Island: 64,600 jobsRhode Island64,600Vermont: 56,100 jobsVermont56,100
jobs. Source: BLS, Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, government, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000009000000001). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStatesOctober 2025
jobs		Change on October 2024
1California2,651,700-2.3%
2Texas2,132,300+0.6%
3New York1,520,800+1.5%
4Florida1,138,300-2.1%
5Illinois852,600+0.5%
6Ohio794,0000%
7North Carolina774,500+0.6%
8Virginia755,200-0.9%
9Georgia709,700-0.8%
10Pennsylvania700,100-0.3%
11Michigan628,600+1.2%
12New Jersey620,700-0.4%
13Washington612,100-1%
14Maryland526,000-3.5%
15Colorado487,000-0.9%
16Massachusetts472,400-0.1%
17Tennessee454,600+0.1%
18Minnesota436,200+0.5%
19Missouri432,200-1.6%
20Arizona427,100-1.7%
21Alabama425,600+1.7%
22Indiana422,300-2.3%
23Wisconsin409,100-1.7%
24South Carolina397,500+1.6%
25Oklahoma370,3000%
26Louisiana324,700+0.2%
27Oregon316,000+0.2%
28Kentucky315,600-0.2%
29Utah274,500-0.2%
30Iowa267,8000%
31Kansas259,5000%
32Mississippi237,000-0.9%
33Connecticut235,300-0.7%
34District of Columbia212,800-9.8%
35Arkansas204,400-1.2%
36New Mexico190,500-1%
37Nevada184,100+0.2%
38Nebraska178,500+0.2%
39West Virginia146,300-2.8%
40Idaho130,100+0.9%
41Hawaii124,600-2%
42Maine101,600-0.7%
43Montana91,800-1.4%
44New Hampshire86,100-2.9%
45North Dakota85,100-0.7%
46South Dakota81,500-0.6%
47Alaska78,100-2.3%
48Wyoming71,900+0.6%
49Delaware71,600+1%
50Rhode Island64,600-2%
51Vermont56,1000%

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, 2025-10) [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, 2025-10. 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=2025-10. 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, 2025-10. 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=2025-10.

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, 2025-10 [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=2025-10 (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, 2025-10}},
  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=2025-10. 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, 2025-10
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=2025-10
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/government-jobs/us-states?period=2025-10.
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 2,651,700 jobs in October 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest government payroll employment?

Vermont, with 56,100 jobs in October 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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