Data / Rankings / Government payroll employment / US states

US states by government payroll employment

California had the highest government payroll employment of 51 states in December 2025, at 2,662,300 jobs. Vermont had the lowest, at 56,200 jobs. The median was 324,500 jobs and the figure for the United States was 23,349,000 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest2,662,300California
Lowest56,200Vermont
Median324,50051 states
United States23,349,000History

Map of states, December 2025

Alabama: 426,100 jobsAlaska: 78,100 jobsArizona: 427,600 jobsArkansas: 204,200 jobsCalifornia: 2,662,300 jobsColorado: 488,200 jobsConnecticut: 235,000 jobsDelaware: 71,500 jobsDistrict of Columbia: 212,300 jobsFlorida: 1,141,600 jobsGeorgia: 709,700 jobsHawaii: 124,600 jobsIdaho: 130,300 jobsIllinois: 855,500 jobsIndiana: 419,900 jobsIowa: 268,000 jobsKansas: 259,900 jobsKentucky: 315,900 jobsLouisiana: 324,500 jobsMaine: 102,100 jobsMaryland: 525,900 jobsMassachusetts: 472,300 jobsMichigan: 631,600 jobsMinnesota: 435,500 jobsMississippi: 236,500 jobsMissouri: 431,600 jobsMontana: 91,600 jobsNebraska: 178,800 jobsNevada: 185,000 jobsNew Hampshire: 85,300 jobsNew Jersey: 621,500 jobsNew Mexico: 191,100 jobsNew York: 1,519,900 jobsNorth Carolina: 775,100 jobsNorth Dakota: 85,400 jobsOhio: 793,000 jobsOklahoma: 370,000 jobsOregon: 316,100 jobsPennsylvania: 699,700 jobsRhode Island: 64,900 jobsSouth Carolina: 398,800 jobsSouth Dakota: 81,300 jobsTennessee: 456,200 jobsTexas: 2,133,500 jobsUtah: 275,500 jobsVermont: 56,200 jobsVirginia: 756,200 jobsWashington: 613,900 jobsWest Virginia: 146,100 jobsWisconsin: 411,700 jobsWyoming: 71,500 jobs
  • Under 100K
  • 100K to 210K
  • 210K to 320K
  • 320K to 440K
  • 440K to 710K
  • 710K and over
jobs, December 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, December 2025

California: 2,662,300 jobsCalifornia2,662,300Texas: 2,133,500 jobsTexas2,133,500New York: 1,519,900 jobsNew York1,519,900Florida: 1,141,600 jobsFlorida1,141,600Illinois: 855,500 jobsIllinois855,500Ohio: 793,000 jobsOhio793,000North Carolina: 775,100 jobsNorth Carolina775,100Virginia: 756,200 jobsVirginia756,200Georgia: 709,700 jobsGeorgia709,700Pennsylvania: 699,700 jobsPennsylvania699,700Michigan: 631,600 jobsMichigan631,600New Jersey: 621,500 jobsNew Jersey621,500Washington: 613,900 jobsWashington613,900Maryland: 525,900 jobsMaryland525,900Colorado: 488,200 jobsColorado488,200Massachusetts: 472,300 jobsMassachusetts472,300Tennessee: 456,200 jobsTennessee456,200Minnesota: 435,500 jobsMinnesota435,500Missouri: 431,600 jobsMissouri431,600Arizona: 427,600 jobsArizona427,600Alabama: 426,100 jobsAlabama426,100Indiana: 419,900 jobsIndiana419,900Wisconsin: 411,700 jobsWisconsin411,700South Carolina: 398,800 jobsSouth Carolina398,800Oklahoma: 370,000 jobsOklahoma370,000Louisiana: 324,500 jobsLouisiana324,500Oregon: 316,100 jobsOregon316,100Kentucky: 315,900 jobsKentucky315,900Utah: 275,500 jobsUtah275,500Iowa: 268,000 jobsIowa268,000Kansas: 259,900 jobsKansas259,900Mississippi: 236,500 jobsMississippi236,500Connecticut: 235,000 jobsConnecticut235,000District of Columbia: 212,300 jobsDistrict of Columbia212,300Arkansas: 204,200 jobsArkansas204,200New Mexico: 191,100 jobsNew Mexico191,100Nevada: 185,000 jobsNevada185,000Nebraska: 178,800 jobsNebraska178,800West Virginia: 146,100 jobsWest Virginia146,100Idaho: 130,300 jobsIdaho130,300Hawaii: 124,600 jobsHawaii124,600Maine: 102,100 jobsMaine102,100Montana: 91,600 jobsMontana91,600North Dakota: 85,400 jobsNorth Dakota85,400New Hampshire: 85,300 jobsNew Hampshire85,300South Dakota: 81,300 jobsSouth Dakota81,300Alaska: 78,100 jobsAlaska78,100Delaware: 71,500 jobsDelaware71,500Wyoming: 71,500 jobsWyoming71,500Rhode Island: 64,900 jobsRhode Island64,900Vermont: 56,200 jobsVermont56,200California: 2,662,300 jobsCalifornia2,662,300Texas: 2,133,500 jobsTexas2,133,500New York: 1,519,900 jobsNew York1,519,900Florida: 1,141,600 jobsFlorida1,141,600Illinois: 855,500 jobsIllinois855,500Ohio: 793,000 jobsOhio793,000North Carolina: 775,100 jobsNorth Carolina775,100Virginia: 756,200 jobsVirginia756,200Georgia: 709,700 jobsGeorgia709,700Pennsylvania: 699,700 jobsPennsylvania699,700Michigan: 631,600 jobsMichigan631,600New Jersey: 621,500 jobsNew Jersey621,500Washington: 613,900 jobsWashington613,900Maryland: 525,900 jobsMaryland525,900Colorado: 488,200 jobsColorado488,200Massachusetts: 472,300 jobsMassachusetts472,300Tennessee: 456,200 jobsTennessee456,200Minnesota: 435,500 jobsMinnesota435,500Missouri: 431,600 jobsMissouri431,600Arizona: 427,600 jobsArizona427,600Alabama: 426,100 jobsAlabama426,100Indiana: 419,900 jobsIndiana419,900Wisconsin: 411,700 jobsWisconsin411,700South Carolina: 398,800 jobsSouth Carolina398,800Oklahoma: 370,000 jobsOklahoma370,000Louisiana: 324,500 jobsLouisiana324,500Oregon: 316,100 jobsOregon316,100Kentucky: 315,900 jobsKentucky315,900Utah: 275,500 jobsUtah275,500Iowa: 268,000 jobsIowa268,000Kansas: 259,900 jobsKansas259,900Mississippi: 236,500 jobsMississippi236,500Connecticut: 235,000 jobsConnecticut235,000District of Columbia: 212,300 jobsDistrict of Columbia212,300Arkansas: 204,200 jobsArkansas204,200New Mexico: 191,100 jobsNew Mexico191,100Nevada: 185,000 jobsNevada185,000Nebraska: 178,800 jobsNebraska178,800West Virginia: 146,100 jobsWest Virginia146,100Idaho: 130,300 jobsIdaho130,300Hawaii: 124,600 jobsHawaii124,600Maine: 102,100 jobsMaine102,100Montana: 91,600 jobsMontana91,600North Dakota: 85,400 jobsNorth Dakota85,400New Hampshire: 85,300 jobsNew Hampshire85,300South Dakota: 81,300 jobsSouth Dakota81,300Alaska: 78,100 jobsAlaska78,100Delaware: 71,500 jobsDelaware71,500Wyoming: 71,500 jobsWyoming71,500Rhode Island: 64,900 jobsRhode Island64,900Vermont: 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

RankStatesDecember 2025
jobs		Change on December 2024
1California2,662,300-1.9%
2Texas2,133,500+0.4%
3New York1,519,900+1.2%
4Florida1,141,600-0.7%
5Illinois855,500+0.7%
6Ohio793,000-0.1%
7North Carolina775,100+0.4%
8Virginia756,200-1.1%
9Georgia709,700-0.8%
10Pennsylvania699,700-0.5%
11Michigan631,600+1.5%
12New Jersey621,500-0.5%
13Washington613,900-1.2%
14Maryland525,900-3.7%
15Colorado488,200-1.2%
16Massachusetts472,300-0.2%
17Tennessee456,200+0.3%
18Minnesota435,500+0.5%
19Missouri431,600-1.8%
20Arizona427,600-1.8%
21Alabama426,100+0.4%
22Indiana419,900-3.3%
23Wisconsin411,700-1.1%
24South Carolina398,800+1.7%
25Oklahoma370,000-0.2%
26Louisiana324,5000%
27Oregon316,100-0%
28Kentucky315,900-0.3%
29Utah275,500-0.1%
30Iowa268,000-0.2%
31Kansas259,9000%
32Mississippi236,500-1%
33Connecticut235,000-0.8%
34District of Columbia212,300-9.9%
35Arkansas204,200-1.1%
36New Mexico191,100-1.1%
37Nevada185,000+0.4%
38Nebraska178,800+0.1%
39West Virginia146,100-2.2%
40Idaho130,300+1.1%
41Hawaii124,600-1.7%
42Maine102,100-0.8%
43Montana91,600-1.3%
44North Dakota85,400-0.4%
45New Hampshire85,300-3.6%
46South Dakota81,300-1.2%
47Alaska78,100-2.5%
48Delaware71,500+0.4%
48Wyoming71,500-0.3%
50Rhode Island64,900-1.4%
51Vermont56,2000%

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, 2025-12) [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, 2025-12. 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=2025-12. 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, 2025-12. 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=2025-12.

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, 2025-12 [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=2025-12 (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, 2025-12}},
  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=2025-12. 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, 2025-12
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=2025-12
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/government-jobs/us-states?period=2025-12.
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 2,662,300 jobs in December 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest government payroll employment?

Vermont, with 56,200 jobs in December 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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