Data / Rankings / Government payroll employment / US states

US states by government payroll employment

California had the highest government payroll employment of 51 states in February 2026, at 2,668,600 jobs. Vermont had the lowest, at 56,000 jobs. The median was 325,000 jobs and the figure for the United States was 23,321,000 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest2,668,600California
Lowest56,000Vermont
Median325,00051 states
United States23,321,000History

Map of states, February 2026

Alabama: 428,300 jobsAlaska: 77,600 jobsArizona: 427,000 jobsArkansas: 204,500 jobsCalifornia: 2,668,600 jobsColorado: 487,400 jobsConnecticut: 235,200 jobsDelaware: 72,000 jobsDistrict of Columbia: 208,400 jobsFlorida: 1,140,500 jobsGeorgia: 709,900 jobsHawaii: 124,900 jobsIdaho: 129,900 jobsIllinois: 852,900 jobsIndiana: 421,600 jobsIowa: 267,800 jobsKansas: 259,300 jobsKentucky: 316,000 jobsLouisiana: 325,000 jobsMaine: 102,900 jobsMaryland: 524,000 jobsMassachusetts: 473,900 jobsMichigan: 633,500 jobsMinnesota: 436,100 jobsMississippi: 236,500 jobsMissouri: 431,700 jobsMontana: 91,400 jobsNebraska: 178,900 jobsNevada: 184,200 jobsNew Hampshire: 86,000 jobsNew Jersey: 621,100 jobsNew Mexico: 191,500 jobsNew York: 1,516,800 jobsNorth Carolina: 776,200 jobsNorth Dakota: 86,400 jobsOhio: 789,500 jobsOklahoma: 369,700 jobsOregon: 314,000 jobsPennsylvania: 699,200 jobsRhode Island: 64,700 jobsSouth Carolina: 398,900 jobsSouth Dakota: 81,300 jobsTennessee: 456,600 jobsTexas: 2,130,600 jobsUtah: 275,700 jobsVermont: 56,000 jobsVirginia: 757,300 jobsWashington: 612,300 jobsWest Virginia: 145,300 jobsWisconsin: 407,600 jobsWyoming: 71,400 jobs
  • Under 100K
  • 100K to 210K
  • 210K to 330K
  • 330K to 440K
  • 440K to 710K
  • 710K and over
jobs, February 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, February 2026

California: 2,668,600 jobsCalifornia2,668,600Texas: 2,130,600 jobsTexas2,130,600New York: 1,516,800 jobsNew York1,516,800Florida: 1,140,500 jobsFlorida1,140,500Illinois: 852,900 jobsIllinois852,900Ohio: 789,500 jobsOhio789,500North Carolina: 776,200 jobsNorth Carolina776,200Virginia: 757,300 jobsVirginia757,300Georgia: 709,900 jobsGeorgia709,900Pennsylvania: 699,200 jobsPennsylvania699,200Michigan: 633,500 jobsMichigan633,500New Jersey: 621,100 jobsNew Jersey621,100Washington: 612,300 jobsWashington612,300Maryland: 524,000 jobsMaryland524,000Colorado: 487,400 jobsColorado487,400Massachusetts: 473,900 jobsMassachusetts473,900Tennessee: 456,600 jobsTennessee456,600Minnesota: 436,100 jobsMinnesota436,100Missouri: 431,700 jobsMissouri431,700Alabama: 428,300 jobsAlabama428,300Arizona: 427,000 jobsArizona427,000Indiana: 421,600 jobsIndiana421,600Wisconsin: 407,600 jobsWisconsin407,600South Carolina: 398,900 jobsSouth Carolina398,900Oklahoma: 369,700 jobsOklahoma369,700Louisiana: 325,000 jobsLouisiana325,000Kentucky: 316,000 jobsKentucky316,000Oregon: 314,000 jobsOregon314,000Utah: 275,700 jobsUtah275,700Iowa: 267,800 jobsIowa267,800Kansas: 259,300 jobsKansas259,300Mississippi: 236,500 jobsMississippi236,500Connecticut: 235,200 jobsConnecticut235,200District of Columbia: 208,400 jobsDistrict of Columbia208,400Arkansas: 204,500 jobsArkansas204,500New Mexico: 191,500 jobsNew Mexico191,500Nevada: 184,200 jobsNevada184,200Nebraska: 178,900 jobsNebraska178,900West Virginia: 145,300 jobsWest Virginia145,300Idaho: 129,900 jobsIdaho129,900Hawaii: 124,900 jobsHawaii124,900Maine: 102,900 jobsMaine102,900Montana: 91,400 jobsMontana91,400North Dakota: 86,400 jobsNorth Dakota86,400New Hampshire: 86,000 jobsNew Hampshire86,000South Dakota: 81,300 jobsSouth Dakota81,300Alaska: 77,600 jobsAlaska77,600Delaware: 72,000 jobsDelaware72,000Wyoming: 71,400 jobsWyoming71,400Rhode Island: 64,700 jobsRhode Island64,700Vermont: 56,000 jobsVermont56,000California: 2,668,600 jobsCalifornia2,668,600Texas: 2,130,600 jobsTexas2,130,600New York: 1,516,800 jobsNew York1,516,800Florida: 1,140,500 jobsFlorida1,140,500Illinois: 852,900 jobsIllinois852,900Ohio: 789,500 jobsOhio789,500North Carolina: 776,200 jobsNorth Carolina776,200Virginia: 757,300 jobsVirginia757,300Georgia: 709,900 jobsGeorgia709,900Pennsylvania: 699,200 jobsPennsylvania699,200Michigan: 633,500 jobsMichigan633,500New Jersey: 621,100 jobsNew Jersey621,100Washington: 612,300 jobsWashington612,300Maryland: 524,000 jobsMaryland524,000Colorado: 487,400 jobsColorado487,400Massachusetts: 473,900 jobsMassachusetts473,900Tennessee: 456,600 jobsTennessee456,600Minnesota: 436,100 jobsMinnesota436,100Missouri: 431,700 jobsMissouri431,700Alabama: 428,300 jobsAlabama428,300Arizona: 427,000 jobsArizona427,000Indiana: 421,600 jobsIndiana421,600Wisconsin: 407,600 jobsWisconsin407,600South Carolina: 398,900 jobsSouth Carolina398,900Oklahoma: 369,700 jobsOklahoma369,700Louisiana: 325,000 jobsLouisiana325,000Kentucky: 316,000 jobsKentucky316,000Oregon: 314,000 jobsOregon314,000Utah: 275,700 jobsUtah275,700Iowa: 267,800 jobsIowa267,800Kansas: 259,300 jobsKansas259,300Mississippi: 236,500 jobsMississippi236,500Connecticut: 235,200 jobsConnecticut235,200District of Columbia: 208,400 jobsDistrict of Columbia208,400Arkansas: 204,500 jobsArkansas204,500New Mexico: 191,500 jobsNew Mexico191,500Nevada: 184,200 jobsNevada184,200Nebraska: 178,900 jobsNebraska178,900West Virginia: 145,300 jobsWest Virginia145,300Idaho: 129,900 jobsIdaho129,900Hawaii: 124,900 jobsHawaii124,900Maine: 102,900 jobsMaine102,900Montana: 91,400 jobsMontana91,400North Dakota: 86,400 jobsNorth Dakota86,400New Hampshire: 86,000 jobsNew Hampshire86,000South Dakota: 81,300 jobsSouth Dakota81,300Alaska: 77,600 jobsAlaska77,600Delaware: 72,000 jobsDelaware72,000Wyoming: 71,400 jobsWyoming71,400Rhode Island: 64,700 jobsRhode Island64,700Vermont: 56,000 jobsVermont56,000
jobs. Source: BLS, Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, government, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000009000000001). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStatesFebruary 2026
jobs		Change on February 2025
1California2,668,600-1.7%
2Texas2,130,6000%
3New York1,516,800+0.4%
4Florida1,140,500-1%
5Illinois852,900+0.1%
6Ohio789,500-0.6%
7North Carolina776,200+0.7%
8Virginia757,300-1%
9Georgia709,900-0.9%
10Pennsylvania699,200-0.5%
11Michigan633,500+1.6%
12New Jersey621,100-0.7%
13Washington612,300-1.2%
14Maryland524,000-4.1%
15Colorado487,400-0.7%
16Massachusetts473,900-0%
17Tennessee456,600+0.6%
18Minnesota436,100+0.1%
19Missouri431,700-1.7%
20Alabama428,300+0.6%
21Arizona427,000-1.8%
22Indiana421,600-2.3%
23Wisconsin407,600-2.4%
24South Carolina398,900+1.3%
25Oklahoma369,700-0.6%
26Louisiana325,000-0%
27Kentucky316,000-0.4%
28Oregon314,000-0.8%
29Utah275,700-0.2%
30Iowa267,800-0.6%
31Kansas259,300-0.2%
32Mississippi236,500-1%
33Connecticut235,200-0.5%
34District of Columbia208,400-11.2%
35Arkansas204,500-0.9%
36New Mexico191,500-0.5%
37Nevada184,2000%
38Nebraska178,900-0.2%
39West Virginia145,300-2.5%
40Idaho129,900+0.1%
41Hawaii124,900-1.8%
42Maine102,9000%
43Montana91,400-1.6%
44North Dakota86,400+0.3%
45New Hampshire86,000-2.5%
46South Dakota81,300-1%
47Alaska77,600-3%
48Delaware72,000+0.7%
49Wyoming71,400-0.4%
50Rhode Island64,700-1.7%
51Vermont56,000-0.9%

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, 2026-02) [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, 2026-02. 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=2026-02. 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, 2026-02. 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=2026-02.

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, 2026-02 [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=2026-02 (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, 2026-02}},
  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=2026-02. 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, 2026-02
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=2026-02
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/government-jobs/us-states?period=2026-02.
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  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank US states by government payroll employment using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"payroll_employment_government","level":"region","within":"United States","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=payroll_employment_government&level=region&within=United%20States&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which state has the highest government payroll employment?

California, with 2,668,600 jobs in February 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest government payroll employment?

Vermont, with 56,000 jobs in February 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.

US states: more rankings