Data / Rankings / Government payroll employment / US states

US states by government payroll employment

California had the highest government payroll employment of 51 states in April 2026, at 2,677,800 jobs. Vermont had the lowest, at 56,300 jobs. The median was 325,900 jobs and the figure for the United States was 23,331,000 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest2,677,800California
Lowest56,300Vermont
Median325,90051 states
United States23,331,000History

Map of states, April 2026

Alabama: 429,400 jobsAlaska: 77,100 jobsArizona: 427,700 jobsArkansas: 204,400 jobsCalifornia: 2,677,800 jobsColorado: 487,200 jobsConnecticut: 233,700 jobsDelaware: 71,300 jobsDistrict of Columbia: 207,300 jobsFlorida: 1,141,900 jobsGeorgia: 710,700 jobsHawaii: 125,300 jobsIdaho: 129,100 jobsIllinois: 854,300 jobsIndiana: 421,900 jobsIowa: 267,700 jobsKansas: 258,900 jobsKentucky: 316,500 jobsLouisiana: 325,900 jobsMaine: 102,900 jobsMaryland: 525,000 jobsMassachusetts: 475,800 jobsMichigan: 635,300 jobsMinnesota: 441,100 jobsMississippi: 236,000 jobsMissouri: 431,600 jobsMontana: 91,200 jobsNebraska: 179,000 jobsNevada: 182,900 jobsNew Hampshire: 86,200 jobsNew Jersey: 622,200 jobsNew Mexico: 193,000 jobsNew York: 1,518,600 jobsNorth Carolina: 777,200 jobsNorth Dakota: 86,700 jobsOhio: 790,800 jobsOklahoma: 370,800 jobsOregon: 313,400 jobsPennsylvania: 700,800 jobsRhode Island: 64,600 jobsSouth Carolina: 397,700 jobsSouth Dakota: 80,900 jobsTennessee: 453,600 jobsTexas: 2,132,000 jobsUtah: 276,700 jobsVermont: 56,300 jobsVirginia: 759,500 jobsWashington: 610,900 jobsWest Virginia: 145,900 jobsWisconsin: 407,800 jobsWyoming: 71,300 jobs
  • Under 100K
  • 100K to 210K
  • 210K to 330K
  • 330K to 450K
  • 450K to 710K
  • 710K and over
jobs, April 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, April 2026

California: 2,677,800 jobsCalifornia2,677,800Texas: 2,132,000 jobsTexas2,132,000New York: 1,518,600 jobsNew York1,518,600Florida: 1,141,900 jobsFlorida1,141,900Illinois: 854,300 jobsIllinois854,300Ohio: 790,800 jobsOhio790,800North Carolina: 777,200 jobsNorth Carolina777,200Virginia: 759,500 jobsVirginia759,500Georgia: 710,700 jobsGeorgia710,700Pennsylvania: 700,800 jobsPennsylvania700,800Michigan: 635,300 jobsMichigan635,300New Jersey: 622,200 jobsNew Jersey622,200Washington: 610,900 jobsWashington610,900Maryland: 525,000 jobsMaryland525,000Colorado: 487,200 jobsColorado487,200Massachusetts: 475,800 jobsMassachusetts475,800Tennessee: 453,600 jobsTennessee453,600Minnesota: 441,100 jobsMinnesota441,100Missouri: 431,600 jobsMissouri431,600Alabama: 429,400 jobsAlabama429,400Arizona: 427,700 jobsArizona427,700Indiana: 421,900 jobsIndiana421,900Wisconsin: 407,800 jobsWisconsin407,800South Carolina: 397,700 jobsSouth Carolina397,700Oklahoma: 370,800 jobsOklahoma370,800Louisiana: 325,900 jobsLouisiana325,900Kentucky: 316,500 jobsKentucky316,500Oregon: 313,400 jobsOregon313,400Utah: 276,700 jobsUtah276,700Iowa: 267,700 jobsIowa267,700Kansas: 258,900 jobsKansas258,900Mississippi: 236,000 jobsMississippi236,000Connecticut: 233,700 jobsConnecticut233,700District of Columbia: 207,300 jobsDistrict of Columbia207,300Arkansas: 204,400 jobsArkansas204,400New Mexico: 193,000 jobsNew Mexico193,000Nevada: 182,900 jobsNevada182,900Nebraska: 179,000 jobsNebraska179,000West Virginia: 145,900 jobsWest Virginia145,900Idaho: 129,100 jobsIdaho129,100Hawaii: 125,300 jobsHawaii125,300Maine: 102,900 jobsMaine102,900Montana: 91,200 jobsMontana91,200North Dakota: 86,700 jobsNorth Dakota86,700New Hampshire: 86,200 jobsNew Hampshire86,200South Dakota: 80,900 jobsSouth Dakota80,900Alaska: 77,100 jobsAlaska77,100Delaware: 71,300 jobsDelaware71,300Wyoming: 71,300 jobsWyoming71,300Rhode Island: 64,600 jobsRhode Island64,600Vermont: 56,300 jobsVermont56,300California: 2,677,800 jobsCalifornia2,677,800Texas: 2,132,000 jobsTexas2,132,000New York: 1,518,600 jobsNew York1,518,600Florida: 1,141,900 jobsFlorida1,141,900Illinois: 854,300 jobsIllinois854,300Ohio: 790,800 jobsOhio790,800North Carolina: 777,200 jobsNorth Carolina777,200Virginia: 759,500 jobsVirginia759,500Georgia: 710,700 jobsGeorgia710,700Pennsylvania: 700,800 jobsPennsylvania700,800Michigan: 635,300 jobsMichigan635,300New Jersey: 622,200 jobsNew Jersey622,200Washington: 610,900 jobsWashington610,900Maryland: 525,000 jobsMaryland525,000Colorado: 487,200 jobsColorado487,200Massachusetts: 475,800 jobsMassachusetts475,800Tennessee: 453,600 jobsTennessee453,600Minnesota: 441,100 jobsMinnesota441,100Missouri: 431,600 jobsMissouri431,600Alabama: 429,400 jobsAlabama429,400Arizona: 427,700 jobsArizona427,700Indiana: 421,900 jobsIndiana421,900Wisconsin: 407,800 jobsWisconsin407,800South Carolina: 397,700 jobsSouth Carolina397,700Oklahoma: 370,800 jobsOklahoma370,800Louisiana: 325,900 jobsLouisiana325,900Kentucky: 316,500 jobsKentucky316,500Oregon: 313,400 jobsOregon313,400Utah: 276,700 jobsUtah276,700Iowa: 267,700 jobsIowa267,700Kansas: 258,900 jobsKansas258,900Mississippi: 236,000 jobsMississippi236,000Connecticut: 233,700 jobsConnecticut233,700District of Columbia: 207,300 jobsDistrict of Columbia207,300Arkansas: 204,400 jobsArkansas204,400New Mexico: 193,000 jobsNew Mexico193,000Nevada: 182,900 jobsNevada182,900Nebraska: 179,000 jobsNebraska179,000West Virginia: 145,900 jobsWest Virginia145,900Idaho: 129,100 jobsIdaho129,100Hawaii: 125,300 jobsHawaii125,300Maine: 102,900 jobsMaine102,900Montana: 91,200 jobsMontana91,200North Dakota: 86,700 jobsNorth Dakota86,700New Hampshire: 86,200 jobsNew Hampshire86,200South Dakota: 80,900 jobsSouth Dakota80,900Alaska: 77,100 jobsAlaska77,100Delaware: 71,300 jobsDelaware71,300Wyoming: 71,300 jobsWyoming71,300Rhode Island: 64,600 jobsRhode Island64,600Vermont: 56,300 jobsVermont56,300
jobs. Source: BLS, Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, government, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000009000000001). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStatesApril 2026
jobs		Change on April 2025
1California2,677,800-1.3%
2Texas2,132,000-0%
3New York1,518,600+0.4%
4Florida1,141,900-0.7%
5Illinois854,300+0.1%
6Ohio790,800-0.5%
7North Carolina777,200+0.6%
8Virginia759,500-0.6%
9Georgia710,700-0.9%
10Pennsylvania700,800-0.4%
11Michigan635,300+1.8%
12New Jersey622,200-0.6%
13Washington610,900-1.2%
14Maryland525,000-3.4%
15Colorado487,200-0.5%
16Massachusetts475,800+0.1%
17Tennessee453,600+0.2%
18Minnesota441,100+0.8%
19Missouri431,600-1.8%
20Alabama429,400+1%
21Arizona427,700-1.6%
22Indiana421,900-3.7%
23Wisconsin407,800-2%
24South Carolina397,700+1.1%
25Oklahoma370,800-0.6%
26Louisiana325,900+0.3%
27Kentucky316,500-0.5%
28Oregon313,400-0.9%
29Utah276,700-0.1%
30Iowa267,700-0.6%
31Kansas258,900-0.4%
32Mississippi236,000-0.8%
33Connecticut233,700-1.1%
34District of Columbia207,300-11.6%
35Arkansas204,400-1%
36New Mexico193,000+0.2%
37Nevada182,900-1.2%
38Nebraska179,000-0.2%
39West Virginia145,900-1.7%
40Idaho129,100-0.3%
41Hawaii125,300-0.9%
42Maine102,900-0.4%
43Montana91,200-1.3%
44North Dakota86,700+0.7%
45New Hampshire86,200-2.2%
46South Dakota80,900-1.3%
47Alaska77,100-3.4%
48Delaware71,300-0.8%
48Wyoming71,300-0.4%
50Rhode Island64,600-2%
51Vermont56,300-0.2%

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, 2026-04) [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, 2026-04. 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=2026-04. 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, 2026-04. 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=2026-04.

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, 2026-04 [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=2026-04 (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, 2026-04}},
  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=2026-04. 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, 2026-04
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=2026-04
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/government-jobs/us-states?period=2026-04.
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 2,677,800 jobs in April 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest government payroll employment?

Vermont, with 56,300 jobs in April 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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