Data / Rankings / Government payroll employment / US states

US states by government payroll employment

California had the highest government payroll employment of 51 states in June 2026, at 2,671,100 jobs. Vermont had the lowest, at 56,500 jobs. The median was 325,900 jobs and the figure for the United States was 23,338,000 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest2,671,100California
Lowest56,500Vermont
Median325,90051 states
United States23,338,000History

Map of states, June 2026

Alabama: 431,000 jobsAlaska: 77,300 jobsArizona: 426,300 jobsArkansas: 204,800 jobsCalifornia: 2,671,100 jobsColorado: 485,900 jobsConnecticut: 235,500 jobsDelaware: 71,900 jobsDistrict of Columbia: 206,800 jobsFlorida: 1,139,100 jobsGeorgia: 708,200 jobsHawaii: 124,900 jobsIdaho: 128,700 jobsIllinois: 856,600 jobsIndiana: 417,000 jobsIowa: 268,200 jobsKansas: 258,400 jobsKentucky: 316,000 jobsLouisiana: 325,900 jobsMaine: 102,900 jobsMaryland: 526,600 jobsMassachusetts: 476,200 jobsMichigan: 642,000 jobsMinnesota: 438,500 jobsMississippi: 235,900 jobsMissouri: 433,000 jobsMontana: 91,300 jobsNebraska: 178,000 jobsNevada: 182,300 jobsNew Hampshire: 88,100 jobsNew Jersey: 624,500 jobsNew Mexico: 192,400 jobsNew York: 1,528,300 jobsNorth Carolina: 779,800 jobsNorth Dakota: 86,700 jobsOhio: 789,600 jobsOklahoma: 371,500 jobsOregon: 312,000 jobsPennsylvania: 704,300 jobsRhode Island: 64,600 jobsSouth Carolina: 400,200 jobsSouth Dakota: 80,800 jobsTennessee: 455,900 jobsTexas: 2,127,300 jobsUtah: 277,000 jobsVermont: 56,500 jobsVirginia: 764,300 jobsWashington: 607,700 jobsWest Virginia: 148,000 jobsWisconsin: 409,100 jobsWyoming: 70,800 jobs
  • Under 100K
  • 100K to 210K
  • 210K to 330K
  • 330K to 440K
  • 440K to 710K
  • 710K and over
jobs, June 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, June 2026

California: 2,671,100 jobsCalifornia2,671,100Texas: 2,127,300 jobsTexas2,127,300New York: 1,528,300 jobsNew York1,528,300Florida: 1,139,100 jobsFlorida1,139,100Illinois: 856,600 jobsIllinois856,600Ohio: 789,600 jobsOhio789,600North Carolina: 779,800 jobsNorth Carolina779,800Virginia: 764,300 jobsVirginia764,300Georgia: 708,200 jobsGeorgia708,200Pennsylvania: 704,300 jobsPennsylvania704,300Michigan: 642,000 jobsMichigan642,000New Jersey: 624,500 jobsNew Jersey624,500Washington: 607,700 jobsWashington607,700Maryland: 526,600 jobsMaryland526,600Colorado: 485,900 jobsColorado485,900Massachusetts: 476,200 jobsMassachusetts476,200Tennessee: 455,900 jobsTennessee455,900Minnesota: 438,500 jobsMinnesota438,500Missouri: 433,000 jobsMissouri433,000Alabama: 431,000 jobsAlabama431,000Arizona: 426,300 jobsArizona426,300Indiana: 417,000 jobsIndiana417,000Wisconsin: 409,100 jobsWisconsin409,100South Carolina: 400,200 jobsSouth Carolina400,200Oklahoma: 371,500 jobsOklahoma371,500Louisiana: 325,900 jobsLouisiana325,900Kentucky: 316,000 jobsKentucky316,000Oregon: 312,000 jobsOregon312,000Utah: 277,000 jobsUtah277,000Iowa: 268,200 jobsIowa268,200Kansas: 258,400 jobsKansas258,400Mississippi: 235,900 jobsMississippi235,900Connecticut: 235,500 jobsConnecticut235,500District of Columbia: 206,800 jobsDistrict of Columbia206,800Arkansas: 204,800 jobsArkansas204,800New Mexico: 192,400 jobsNew Mexico192,400Nevada: 182,300 jobsNevada182,300Nebraska: 178,000 jobsNebraska178,000West Virginia: 148,000 jobsWest Virginia148,000Idaho: 128,700 jobsIdaho128,700Hawaii: 124,900 jobsHawaii124,900Maine: 102,900 jobsMaine102,900Montana: 91,300 jobsMontana91,300New Hampshire: 88,100 jobsNew Hampshire88,100North Dakota: 86,700 jobsNorth Dakota86,700South Dakota: 80,800 jobsSouth Dakota80,800Alaska: 77,300 jobsAlaska77,300Delaware: 71,900 jobsDelaware71,900Wyoming: 70,800 jobsWyoming70,800Rhode Island: 64,600 jobsRhode Island64,600Vermont: 56,500 jobsVermont56,500California: 2,671,100 jobsCalifornia2,671,100Texas: 2,127,300 jobsTexas2,127,300New York: 1,528,300 jobsNew York1,528,300Florida: 1,139,100 jobsFlorida1,139,100Illinois: 856,600 jobsIllinois856,600Ohio: 789,600 jobsOhio789,600North Carolina: 779,800 jobsNorth Carolina779,800Virginia: 764,300 jobsVirginia764,300Georgia: 708,200 jobsGeorgia708,200Pennsylvania: 704,300 jobsPennsylvania704,300Michigan: 642,000 jobsMichigan642,000New Jersey: 624,500 jobsNew Jersey624,500Washington: 607,700 jobsWashington607,700Maryland: 526,600 jobsMaryland526,600Colorado: 485,900 jobsColorado485,900Massachusetts: 476,200 jobsMassachusetts476,200Tennessee: 455,900 jobsTennessee455,900Minnesota: 438,500 jobsMinnesota438,500Missouri: 433,000 jobsMissouri433,000Alabama: 431,000 jobsAlabama431,000Arizona: 426,300 jobsArizona426,300Indiana: 417,000 jobsIndiana417,000Wisconsin: 409,100 jobsWisconsin409,100South Carolina: 400,200 jobsSouth Carolina400,200Oklahoma: 371,500 jobsOklahoma371,500Louisiana: 325,900 jobsLouisiana325,900Kentucky: 316,000 jobsKentucky316,000Oregon: 312,000 jobsOregon312,000Utah: 277,000 jobsUtah277,000Iowa: 268,200 jobsIowa268,200Kansas: 258,400 jobsKansas258,400Mississippi: 235,900 jobsMississippi235,900Connecticut: 235,500 jobsConnecticut235,500District of Columbia: 206,800 jobsDistrict of Columbia206,800Arkansas: 204,800 jobsArkansas204,800New Mexico: 192,400 jobsNew Mexico192,400Nevada: 182,300 jobsNevada182,300Nebraska: 178,000 jobsNebraska178,000West Virginia: 148,000 jobsWest Virginia148,000Idaho: 128,700 jobsIdaho128,700Hawaii: 124,900 jobsHawaii124,900Maine: 102,900 jobsMaine102,900Montana: 91,300 jobsMontana91,300New Hampshire: 88,100 jobsNew Hampshire88,100North Dakota: 86,700 jobsNorth Dakota86,700South Dakota: 80,800 jobsSouth Dakota80,800Alaska: 77,300 jobsAlaska77,300Delaware: 71,900 jobsDelaware71,900Wyoming: 70,800 jobsWyoming70,800Rhode Island: 64,600 jobsRhode Island64,600Vermont: 56,500 jobsVermont56,500
jobs. Source: BLS, Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, government, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000009000000001). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStatesJune 2026
jobs		Change on June 2025
1California2,671,100-1.1%
2Texas2,127,300-0.3%
3New York1,528,300+0.6%
4Florida1,139,100-1%
5Illinois856,600+0.5%
6Ohio789,600-0.7%
7North Carolina779,800+0.5%
8Virginia764,300-0.1%
9Georgia708,200-1.2%
10Pennsylvania704,300-0.6%
11Michigan642,000+2.6%
12New Jersey624,500-0.1%
13Washington607,700-1.9%
14Maryland526,600-2.3%
15Colorado485,900-0.4%
16Massachusetts476,200+0.3%
17Tennessee455,900-0%
18Minnesota438,500+0.8%
19Missouri433,0000%
20Alabama431,000+1.3%
21Arizona426,300-1.5%
22Indiana417,000-2.6%
23Wisconsin409,100-1.8%
24South Carolina400,200+1.4%
25Oklahoma371,500-0.4%
26Louisiana325,900+0.1%
27Kentucky316,000-0.6%
28Oregon312,000-1.5%
29Utah277,000-0.2%
30Iowa268,200-0.7%
31Kansas258,400-0.7%
32Mississippi235,900-0.5%
33Connecticut235,500-0.8%
34District of Columbia206,800-11.4%
35Arkansas204,800-0.6%
36New Mexico192,400+0.1%
37Nevada182,300-0.9%
38Nebraska178,000-1.2%
39West Virginia148,000-0.5%
40Idaho128,700-1.2%
41Hawaii124,900-1.4%
42Maine102,900-0.5%
43Montana91,300-0.9%
44New Hampshire88,100-0.3%
45North Dakota86,700+0.8%
46South Dakota80,800-1.8%
47Alaska77,300-2%
48Delaware71,900-0.1%
49Wyoming70,800-1.4%
50Rhode Island64,600-1.7%
51Vermont56,500+0.5%

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, 2026-06) [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, 2026-06. 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=2026-06. 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, 2026-06. 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=2026-06.

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, 2026-06 [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=2026-06 (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, 2026-06}},
  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=2026-06. 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, 2026-06
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=2026-06
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/government-jobs/us-states?period=2026-06.
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 2,671,100 jobs in June 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest government payroll employment?

Vermont, with 56,500 jobs in June 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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