Data / Rankings / Government payroll employment / US states

US states by government payroll employment

California had the highest government payroll employment of 51 states in January 2026, at 2,662,100 jobs. Vermont had the lowest, at 55,700 jobs. The median was 324,600 jobs and the figure for the United States was 23,329,000 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest2,662,100California
Lowest55,700Vermont
Median324,60051 states
United States23,329,000History

Map of states, January 2026

Alabama: 427,800 jobsAlaska: 77,700 jobsArizona: 426,500 jobsArkansas: 204,300 jobsCalifornia: 2,662,100 jobsColorado: 487,500 jobsConnecticut: 235,300 jobsDelaware: 71,700 jobsDistrict of Columbia: 209,000 jobsFlorida: 1,139,600 jobsGeorgia: 709,500 jobsHawaii: 124,900 jobsIdaho: 130,100 jobsIllinois: 852,500 jobsIndiana: 421,000 jobsIowa: 269,000 jobsKansas: 261,200 jobsKentucky: 315,600 jobsLouisiana: 324,600 jobsMaine: 102,300 jobsMaryland: 523,100 jobsMassachusetts: 473,500 jobsMichigan: 633,400 jobsMinnesota: 436,300 jobsMississippi: 236,400 jobsMissouri: 430,700 jobsMontana: 91,500 jobsNebraska: 178,700 jobsNevada: 184,200 jobsNew Hampshire: 86,400 jobsNew Jersey: 621,600 jobsNew Mexico: 191,700 jobsNew York: 1,520,700 jobsNorth Carolina: 775,200 jobsNorth Dakota: 86,200 jobsOhio: 792,900 jobsOklahoma: 369,400 jobsOregon: 315,100 jobsPennsylvania: 699,100 jobsRhode Island: 64,500 jobsSouth Carolina: 400,600 jobsSouth Dakota: 81,000 jobsTennessee: 455,400 jobsTexas: 2,130,300 jobsUtah: 275,400 jobsVermont: 55,700 jobsVirginia: 752,900 jobsWashington: 612,800 jobsWest Virginia: 145,700 jobsWisconsin: 412,700 jobsWyoming: 70,800 jobs
  • Under 100K
  • 100K to 210K
  • 210K to 320K
  • 320K to 440K
  • 440K to 710K
  • 710K and over
jobs, January 2026. 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, January 2026

California: 2,662,100 jobsCalifornia2,662,100Texas: 2,130,300 jobsTexas2,130,300New York: 1,520,700 jobsNew York1,520,700Florida: 1,139,600 jobsFlorida1,139,600Illinois: 852,500 jobsIllinois852,500Ohio: 792,900 jobsOhio792,900North Carolina: 775,200 jobsNorth Carolina775,200Virginia: 752,900 jobsVirginia752,900Georgia: 709,500 jobsGeorgia709,500Pennsylvania: 699,100 jobsPennsylvania699,100Michigan: 633,400 jobsMichigan633,400New Jersey: 621,600 jobsNew Jersey621,600Washington: 612,800 jobsWashington612,800Maryland: 523,100 jobsMaryland523,100Colorado: 487,500 jobsColorado487,500Massachusetts: 473,500 jobsMassachusetts473,500Tennessee: 455,400 jobsTennessee455,400Minnesota: 436,300 jobsMinnesota436,300Missouri: 430,700 jobsMissouri430,700Alabama: 427,800 jobsAlabama427,800Arizona: 426,500 jobsArizona426,500Indiana: 421,000 jobsIndiana421,000Wisconsin: 412,700 jobsWisconsin412,700South Carolina: 400,600 jobsSouth Carolina400,600Oklahoma: 369,400 jobsOklahoma369,400Louisiana: 324,600 jobsLouisiana324,600Kentucky: 315,600 jobsKentucky315,600Oregon: 315,100 jobsOregon315,100Utah: 275,400 jobsUtah275,400Iowa: 269,000 jobsIowa269,000Kansas: 261,200 jobsKansas261,200Mississippi: 236,400 jobsMississippi236,400Connecticut: 235,300 jobsConnecticut235,300District of Columbia: 209,000 jobsDistrict of Columbia209,000Arkansas: 204,300 jobsArkansas204,300New Mexico: 191,700 jobsNew Mexico191,700Nevada: 184,200 jobsNevada184,200Nebraska: 178,700 jobsNebraska178,700West Virginia: 145,700 jobsWest Virginia145,700Idaho: 130,100 jobsIdaho130,100Hawaii: 124,900 jobsHawaii124,900Maine: 102,300 jobsMaine102,300Montana: 91,500 jobsMontana91,500New Hampshire: 86,400 jobsNew Hampshire86,400North Dakota: 86,200 jobsNorth Dakota86,200South Dakota: 81,000 jobsSouth Dakota81,000Alaska: 77,700 jobsAlaska77,700Delaware: 71,700 jobsDelaware71,700Wyoming: 70,800 jobsWyoming70,800Rhode Island: 64,500 jobsRhode Island64,500Vermont: 55,700 jobsVermont55,700California: 2,662,100 jobsCalifornia2,662,100Texas: 2,130,300 jobsTexas2,130,300New York: 1,520,700 jobsNew York1,520,700Florida: 1,139,600 jobsFlorida1,139,600Illinois: 852,500 jobsIllinois852,500Ohio: 792,900 jobsOhio792,900North Carolina: 775,200 jobsNorth Carolina775,200Virginia: 752,900 jobsVirginia752,900Georgia: 709,500 jobsGeorgia709,500Pennsylvania: 699,100 jobsPennsylvania699,100Michigan: 633,400 jobsMichigan633,400New Jersey: 621,600 jobsNew Jersey621,600Washington: 612,800 jobsWashington612,800Maryland: 523,100 jobsMaryland523,100Colorado: 487,500 jobsColorado487,500Massachusetts: 473,500 jobsMassachusetts473,500Tennessee: 455,400 jobsTennessee455,400Minnesota: 436,300 jobsMinnesota436,300Missouri: 430,700 jobsMissouri430,700Alabama: 427,800 jobsAlabama427,800Arizona: 426,500 jobsArizona426,500Indiana: 421,000 jobsIndiana421,000Wisconsin: 412,700 jobsWisconsin412,700South Carolina: 400,600 jobsSouth Carolina400,600Oklahoma: 369,400 jobsOklahoma369,400Louisiana: 324,600 jobsLouisiana324,600Kentucky: 315,600 jobsKentucky315,600Oregon: 315,100 jobsOregon315,100Utah: 275,400 jobsUtah275,400Iowa: 269,000 jobsIowa269,000Kansas: 261,200 jobsKansas261,200Mississippi: 236,400 jobsMississippi236,400Connecticut: 235,300 jobsConnecticut235,300District of Columbia: 209,000 jobsDistrict of Columbia209,000Arkansas: 204,300 jobsArkansas204,300New Mexico: 191,700 jobsNew Mexico191,700Nevada: 184,200 jobsNevada184,200Nebraska: 178,700 jobsNebraska178,700West Virginia: 145,700 jobsWest Virginia145,700Idaho: 130,100 jobsIdaho130,100Hawaii: 124,900 jobsHawaii124,900Maine: 102,300 jobsMaine102,300Montana: 91,500 jobsMontana91,500New Hampshire: 86,400 jobsNew Hampshire86,400North Dakota: 86,200 jobsNorth Dakota86,200South Dakota: 81,000 jobsSouth Dakota81,000Alaska: 77,700 jobsAlaska77,700Delaware: 71,700 jobsDelaware71,700Wyoming: 70,800 jobsWyoming70,800Rhode Island: 64,500 jobsRhode Island64,500Vermont: 55,700 jobsVermont55,700
jobs. Source: BLS, Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, government, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000009000000001). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStatesJanuary 2026
jobs		Change on January 2025
1California2,662,100-2.7%
2Texas2,130,300+0.1%
3New York1,520,700+0.9%
4Florida1,139,600-1%
5Illinois852,500-0%
6Ohio792,900-0.2%
7North Carolina775,200+0.5%
8Virginia752,900-1.5%
9Georgia709,500-0.9%
10Pennsylvania699,100-1.2%
11Michigan633,400+1.4%
12New Jersey621,600-0.7%
13Washington612,800-1.3%
14Maryland523,100-4%
15Colorado487,500-0.8%
16Massachusetts473,500-0.3%
17Tennessee455,400+0.4%
18Minnesota436,300+0.3%
19Missouri430,700-1.5%
20Alabama427,800+0.4%
21Arizona426,500-1.9%
22Indiana421,000-3.2%
23Wisconsin412,700-1.8%
24South Carolina400,600+1.8%
25Oklahoma369,400-0.6%
26Louisiana324,600-0%
27Kentucky315,600-0%
28Oregon315,100-0.6%
29Utah275,400-0.3%
30Iowa269,000-0.8%
31Kansas261,200+0.7%
32Mississippi236,400-1.1%
33Connecticut235,300-0.6%
34District of Columbia209,000-11.3%
35Arkansas204,300-1%
36New Mexico191,700-0.7%
37Nevada184,200+0.6%
38Nebraska178,700-0.7%
39West Virginia145,700-1.4%
40Idaho130,100-0.3%
41Hawaii124,900-2.7%
42Maine102,300-1.2%
43Montana91,500-1.4%
44New Hampshire86,400-2.3%
45North Dakota86,2000%
46South Dakota81,000-1.5%
47Alaska77,700-3.2%
48Delaware71,700-0.7%
49Wyoming70,800-0.6%
50Rhode Island64,500-4%
51Vermont55,700-0.9%

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, 2026-01) [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, 2026-01. 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=2026-01. 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, 2026-01. 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=2026-01.

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, 2026-01 [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=2026-01 (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, 2026-01}},
  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=2026-01. 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, 2026-01
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=2026-01
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/government-jobs/us-states?period=2026-01.
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 2,662,100 jobs in January 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest government payroll employment?

Vermont, with 55,700 jobs in January 2026.

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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