Data / Rankings / Government payroll employment / US states

US states by government payroll employment

California had the highest government payroll employment of 51 states in August 2026, at 2,675,900 jobs. Vermont had the lowest, at 56,500 jobs. The median was 325,900 jobs and the figure for the United States was 23,344,000 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest2,675,900California
Lowest56,500Vermont
Median325,90051 states
United States23,344,000History

Map of states, August 2026

Alabama: 431,600 jobsAlaska: 77,500 jobsArizona: 425,300 jobsArkansas: 204,700 jobsCalifornia: 2,675,900 jobsColorado: 484,600 jobsConnecticut: 234,800 jobsDelaware: 72,100 jobsDistrict of Columbia: 208,100 jobsFlorida: 1,144,100 jobsGeorgia: 709,500 jobsHawaii: 125,800 jobsIdaho: 128,300 jobsIllinois: 856,800 jobsIndiana: 422,800 jobsIowa: 268,500 jobsKansas: 257,500 jobsKentucky: 315,100 jobsLouisiana: 325,900 jobsMaine: 102,200 jobsMaryland: 527,200 jobsMassachusetts: 476,100 jobsMichigan: 643,000 jobsMinnesota: 438,800 jobsMississippi: 236,300 jobsMissouri: 432,600 jobsMontana: 91,200 jobsNebraska: 177,800 jobsNevada: 185,100 jobsNew Hampshire: 87,600 jobsNew Jersey: 621,200 jobsNew Mexico: 194,600 jobsNew York: 1,523,500 jobsNorth Carolina: 780,400 jobsNorth Dakota: 86,100 jobsOhio: 789,200 jobsOklahoma: 373,000 jobsOregon: 312,500 jobsPennsylvania: 700,700 jobsRhode Island: 64,500 jobsSouth Carolina: 403,100 jobsSouth Dakota: 80,500 jobsTennessee: 458,900 jobsTexas: 2,137,700 jobsUtah: 276,800 jobsVermont: 56,500 jobsVirginia: 758,500 jobsWashington: 606,000 jobsWest Virginia: 147,800 jobsWisconsin: 417,800 jobsWyoming: 71,200 jobs
  • Under 90K
  • 90K to 210K
  • 210K to 330K
  • 330K to 450K
  • 450K to 710K
  • 710K and over
jobs, August 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, August 2026

California: 2,675,900 jobsCalifornia2,675,900Texas: 2,137,700 jobsTexas2,137,700New York: 1,523,500 jobsNew York1,523,500Florida: 1,144,100 jobsFlorida1,144,100Illinois: 856,800 jobsIllinois856,800Ohio: 789,200 jobsOhio789,200North Carolina: 780,400 jobsNorth Carolina780,400Virginia: 758,500 jobsVirginia758,500Georgia: 709,500 jobsGeorgia709,500Pennsylvania: 700,700 jobsPennsylvania700,700Michigan: 643,000 jobsMichigan643,000New Jersey: 621,200 jobsNew Jersey621,200Washington: 606,000 jobsWashington606,000Maryland: 527,200 jobsMaryland527,200Colorado: 484,600 jobsColorado484,600Massachusetts: 476,100 jobsMassachusetts476,100Tennessee: 458,900 jobsTennessee458,900Minnesota: 438,800 jobsMinnesota438,800Missouri: 432,600 jobsMissouri432,600Alabama: 431,600 jobsAlabama431,600Arizona: 425,300 jobsArizona425,300Indiana: 422,800 jobsIndiana422,800Wisconsin: 417,800 jobsWisconsin417,800South Carolina: 403,100 jobsSouth Carolina403,100Oklahoma: 373,000 jobsOklahoma373,000Louisiana: 325,900 jobsLouisiana325,900Kentucky: 315,100 jobsKentucky315,100Oregon: 312,500 jobsOregon312,500Utah: 276,800 jobsUtah276,800Iowa: 268,500 jobsIowa268,500Kansas: 257,500 jobsKansas257,500Mississippi: 236,300 jobsMississippi236,300Connecticut: 234,800 jobsConnecticut234,800District of Columbia: 208,100 jobsDistrict of Columbia208,100Arkansas: 204,700 jobsArkansas204,700New Mexico: 194,600 jobsNew Mexico194,600Nevada: 185,100 jobsNevada185,100Nebraska: 177,800 jobsNebraska177,800West Virginia: 147,800 jobsWest Virginia147,800Idaho: 128,300 jobsIdaho128,300Hawaii: 125,800 jobsHawaii125,800Maine: 102,200 jobsMaine102,200Montana: 91,200 jobsMontana91,200New Hampshire: 87,600 jobsNew Hampshire87,600North Dakota: 86,100 jobsNorth Dakota86,100South Dakota: 80,500 jobsSouth Dakota80,500Alaska: 77,500 jobsAlaska77,500Delaware: 72,100 jobsDelaware72,100Wyoming: 71,200 jobsWyoming71,200Rhode Island: 64,500 jobsRhode Island64,500Vermont: 56,500 jobsVermont56,500California: 2,675,900 jobsCalifornia2,675,900Texas: 2,137,700 jobsTexas2,137,700New York: 1,523,500 jobsNew York1,523,500Florida: 1,144,100 jobsFlorida1,144,100Illinois: 856,800 jobsIllinois856,800Ohio: 789,200 jobsOhio789,200North Carolina: 780,400 jobsNorth Carolina780,400Virginia: 758,500 jobsVirginia758,500Georgia: 709,500 jobsGeorgia709,500Pennsylvania: 700,700 jobsPennsylvania700,700Michigan: 643,000 jobsMichigan643,000New Jersey: 621,200 jobsNew Jersey621,200Washington: 606,000 jobsWashington606,000Maryland: 527,200 jobsMaryland527,200Colorado: 484,600 jobsColorado484,600Massachusetts: 476,100 jobsMassachusetts476,100Tennessee: 458,900 jobsTennessee458,900Minnesota: 438,800 jobsMinnesota438,800Missouri: 432,600 jobsMissouri432,600Alabama: 431,600 jobsAlabama431,600Arizona: 425,300 jobsArizona425,300Indiana: 422,800 jobsIndiana422,800Wisconsin: 417,800 jobsWisconsin417,800South Carolina: 403,100 jobsSouth Carolina403,100Oklahoma: 373,000 jobsOklahoma373,000Louisiana: 325,900 jobsLouisiana325,900Kentucky: 315,100 jobsKentucky315,100Oregon: 312,500 jobsOregon312,500Utah: 276,800 jobsUtah276,800Iowa: 268,500 jobsIowa268,500Kansas: 257,500 jobsKansas257,500Mississippi: 236,300 jobsMississippi236,300Connecticut: 234,800 jobsConnecticut234,800District of Columbia: 208,100 jobsDistrict of Columbia208,100Arkansas: 204,700 jobsArkansas204,700New Mexico: 194,600 jobsNew Mexico194,600Nevada: 185,100 jobsNevada185,100Nebraska: 177,800 jobsNebraska177,800West Virginia: 147,800 jobsWest Virginia147,800Idaho: 128,300 jobsIdaho128,300Hawaii: 125,800 jobsHawaii125,800Maine: 102,200 jobsMaine102,200Montana: 91,200 jobsMontana91,200New Hampshire: 87,600 jobsNew Hampshire87,600North Dakota: 86,100 jobsNorth Dakota86,100South Dakota: 80,500 jobsSouth Dakota80,500Alaska: 77,500 jobsAlaska77,500Delaware: 72,100 jobsDelaware72,100Wyoming: 71,200 jobsWyoming71,200Rhode Island: 64,500 jobsRhode Island64,500Vermont: 56,500 jobsVermont56,500
jobs. Source: BLS, Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, government, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000009000000001). Retrieved 2026-10-20.

Full ranking

RankStatesAugust 2026
jobs		Change on August 2025
1California2,675,900-0%
2Texas2,137,700+0.2%
3New York1,523,500-0%
4Florida1,144,100-0.4%
5Illinois856,800+0.2%
6Ohio789,200-1%
7North Carolina780,400+0.6%
8Virginia758,500-1.1%
9Georgia709,500-0.3%
10Pennsylvania700,700-0.6%
11Michigan643,000+2.4%
12New Jersey621,200+0.4%
13Washington606,000-1.8%
14Maryland527,200-1.6%
15Colorado484,600-0.9%
16Massachusetts476,100+0.3%
17Tennessee458,900+0.8%
18Minnesota438,800+1.6%
19Missouri432,600-0.5%
20Alabama431,600+1.3%
21Arizona425,300-0.8%
22Indiana422,800-4.6%
23Wisconsin417,800+0.7%
24South Carolina403,100+1.3%
25Oklahoma373,000-0.1%
26Louisiana325,900+0.2%
27Kentucky315,100-0.8%
28Oregon312,500-1.6%
29Utah276,800-1.5%
30Iowa268,500+0.3%
31Kansas257,500-1.2%
32Mississippi236,300-0.6%
33Connecticut234,800-0.4%
34District of Columbia208,100-8.8%
35Arkansas204,700-0.8%
36New Mexico194,600+1.5%
37Nevada185,100+0.1%
38Nebraska177,800-0.6%
39West Virginia147,800-0.4%
40Idaho128,300-2.1%
41Hawaii125,800-0.5%
42Maine102,200-0.8%
43Montana91,200-1.3%
44New Hampshire87,600-0.5%
45North Dakota86,100+0.6%
46South Dakota80,500-1.7%
47Alaska77,500-2.9%
48Delaware72,100-1%
49Wyoming71,200-0.8%
50Rhode Island64,500-1.8%
51Vermont56,5000%

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 2026-10-20.

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, 2026-08) [Data set]. Retrieved October 20, 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, 2026-08. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20 Oct. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.76.Government.Current. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/government-jobs/us-states?period=2026-08. Accessed 20 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, 2026-08. Dataset. Accessed October 20, 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=2026-08.

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, 2026-08 [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=2026-08 (Accessed: 20 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, 2026-08}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.76.Government.Current},
  urldate = {2026-10-20},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/government-jobs/us-states?period=2026-08. 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 2026-10-20.},
}
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, 2026-08
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/20
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=2026-08
Y2  - 2026/10/20
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/government-jobs/us-states?period=2026-08.
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 2026-10-20.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest government payroll employment?

California, with 2,675,900 jobs in August 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest government payroll employment?

Vermont, with 56,500 jobs in August 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 2026-10-20.

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