Data / Rankings / Job creation rate / US states

US states by job creation rate

North Dakota had the highest job creation rate of 51 states in 2012, at 17.255%. New Hampshire had the lowest, at 11.146%. The median was 13.284% and the figure for the United States was 13.794%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest17.255North Dakota
Lowest11.146New Hampshire
Median13.28451 states
United States13.794History

Map of states, 2012

Alabama: 12.919 %Alaska: 14.549 %Arizona: 15.002 %Arkansas: 11.979 %California: 14.7 %Colorado: 14.948 %Connecticut: 12.651 %Delaware: 13.44 %District of Columbia: 13.706 %Florida: 16.615 %Georgia: 14.12 %Hawaii: 12.06 %Idaho: 14.543 %Illinois: 13.12 %Indiana: 13.661 %Iowa: 11.714 %Kansas: 12.759 %Kentucky: 13.512 %Louisiana: 13.809 %Maine: 11.773 %Maryland: 13.354 %Massachusetts: 11.938 %Michigan: 13.768 %Minnesota: 12.767 %Mississippi: 11.334 %Missouri: 12.559 %Montana: 13.194 %Nebraska: 12.227 %Nevada: 14.212 %New Hampshire: 11.146 %New Jersey: 13.492 %New Mexico: 12.725 %New York: 13.074 %North Carolina: 13.437 %North Dakota: 17.255 %Ohio: 13.204 %Oklahoma: 14.181 %Oregon: 13.17 %Pennsylvania: 12.364 %Rhode Island: 11.551 %South Carolina: 13.257 %South Dakota: 12.789 %Tennessee: 13.284 %Texas: 15.882 %Utah: 15.098 %Vermont: 14.071 %Virginia: 14.279 %Washington: 13.422 %West Virginia: 12.703 %Wisconsin: 11.23 %Wyoming: 15.39 %
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%, 2012. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2012

North Dakota: 17.255 %North Dakota17.255Florida: 16.615 %Florida16.615Texas: 15.882 %Texas15.882Wyoming: 15.39 %Wyoming15.39Utah: 15.098 %Utah15.098Arizona: 15.002 %Arizona15.002Colorado: 14.948 %Colorado14.948California: 14.7 %California14.7Alaska: 14.549 %Alaska14.549Idaho: 14.543 %Idaho14.543Virginia: 14.279 %Virginia14.279Nevada: 14.212 %Nevada14.212Oklahoma: 14.181 %Oklahoma14.181Georgia: 14.12 %Georgia14.12Vermont: 14.071 %Vermont14.071Louisiana: 13.809 %Louisiana13.809Michigan: 13.768 %Michigan13.768District of Columbia: 13.706 %District of Columbia13.706Indiana: 13.661 %Indiana13.661Kentucky: 13.512 %Kentucky13.512New Jersey: 13.492 %New Jersey13.492Delaware: 13.44 %Delaware13.44North Carolina: 13.437 %North Carolina13.437Washington: 13.422 %Washington13.422Maryland: 13.354 %Maryland13.354Tennessee: 13.284 %Tennessee13.284South Carolina: 13.257 %South Carolina13.257Ohio: 13.204 %Ohio13.204Montana: 13.194 %Montana13.194Oregon: 13.17 %Oregon13.17Illinois: 13.12 %Illinois13.12New York: 13.074 %New York13.074Alabama: 12.919 %Alabama12.919South Dakota: 12.789 %South Dakota12.789Minnesota: 12.767 %Minnesota12.767Kansas: 12.759 %Kansas12.759New Mexico: 12.725 %New Mexico12.725West Virginia: 12.703 %West Virginia12.703Connecticut: 12.651 %Connecticut12.651Missouri: 12.559 %Missouri12.559Pennsylvania: 12.364 %Pennsylvania12.364Nebraska: 12.227 %Nebraska12.227Hawaii: 12.06 %Hawaii12.06Arkansas: 11.979 %Arkansas11.979Massachusetts: 11.938 %Massachusetts11.938Maine: 11.773 %Maine11.773Iowa: 11.714 %Iowa11.714Rhode Island: 11.551 %Rhode Island11.551Mississippi: 11.334 %Mississippi11.334Wisconsin: 11.23 %Wisconsin11.23New Hampshire: 11.146 %New Hampshire11.146North Dakota: 17.255 %North Dakota17.255Florida: 16.615 %Florida16.615Texas: 15.882 %Texas15.882Wyoming: 15.39 %Wyoming15.39Utah: 15.098 %Utah15.098Arizona: 15.002 %Arizona15.002Colorado: 14.948 %Colorado14.948California: 14.7 %California14.7Alaska: 14.549 %Alaska14.549Idaho: 14.543 %Idaho14.543Virginia: 14.279 %Virginia14.279Nevada: 14.212 %Nevada14.212Oklahoma: 14.181 %Oklahoma14.181Georgia: 14.12 %Georgia14.12Vermont: 14.071 %Vermont14.071Louisiana: 13.809 %Louisiana13.809Michigan: 13.768 %Michigan13.768District of Columbia: 13.706 %District of Columbia13.706Indiana: 13.661 %Indiana13.661Kentucky: 13.512 %Kentucky13.512New Jersey: 13.492 %New Jersey13.492Delaware: 13.44 %Delaware13.44North Carolina: 13.437 %North Carolina13.437Washington: 13.422 %Washington13.422Maryland: 13.354 %Maryland13.354Tennessee: 13.284 %Tennessee13.284South Carolina: 13.257 %South Carolina13.257Ohio: 13.204 %Ohio13.204Montana: 13.194 %Montana13.194Oregon: 13.17 %Oregon13.17Illinois: 13.12 %Illinois13.12New York: 13.074 %New York13.074Alabama: 12.919 %Alabama12.919South Dakota: 12.789 %South Dakota12.789Minnesota: 12.767 %Minnesota12.767Kansas: 12.759 %Kansas12.759New Mexico: 12.725 %New Mexico12.725West Virginia: 12.703 %West Virginia12.703Connecticut: 12.651 %Connecticut12.651Missouri: 12.559 %Missouri12.559Pennsylvania: 12.364 %Pennsylvania12.364Nebraska: 12.227 %Nebraska12.227Hawaii: 12.06 %Hawaii12.06Arkansas: 11.979 %Arkansas11.979Massachusetts: 11.938 %Massachusetts11.938Maine: 11.773 %Maine11.773Iowa: 11.714 %Iowa11.714Rhode Island: 11.551 %Rhode Island11.551Mississippi: 11.334 %Mississippi11.334Wisconsin: 11.23 %Wisconsin11.23New Hampshire: 11.146 %New Hampshire11.146
%. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2012 (%)Change on 2011
1North Dakota17.255+3.25 pts
2Florida16.615+0.6 pts
3Texas15.882+1.12 pts
4Wyoming15.39+0.89 pts
5Utah15.098+1.53 pts
6Arizona15.002-0.47 pts
7Colorado14.948+0.62 pts
8California14.7+0.76 pts
9Alaska14.549+2.06 pts
10Idaho14.543+2.06 pts
11Virginia14.279+1.12 pts
12Nevada14.212+1.04 pts
13Oklahoma14.181+1.06 pts
14Georgia14.12+0.67 pts
15Vermont14.071+3.43 pts
16Louisiana13.809+0.76 pts
17Michigan13.768-0.6 pts
18District of Columbia13.706+0.87 pts
19Indiana13.661+1.55 pts
20Kentucky13.512+1.5 pts
21New Jersey13.492+0.97 pts
22Delaware13.44+1.54 pts
23North Carolina13.437+0.35 pts
24Washington13.422-0.08 pts
25Maryland13.354+0.27 pts
26Tennessee13.284+0.57 pts
27South Carolina13.257-0.29 pts
28Ohio13.204+0.82 pts
29Montana13.194+1.01 pts
30Oregon13.17+0.57 pts
31Illinois13.12+0.69 pts
32New York13.074+0.13 pts
33Alabama12.919-0.44 pts
34South Dakota12.789+2.19 pts
35Minnesota12.767+1.24 pts
36Kansas12.759+0.97 pts
37New Mexico12.725+0.94 pts
38West Virginia12.703+0.53 pts
39Connecticut12.651+1.41 pts
40Missouri12.559+1.52 pts
41Pennsylvania12.364+0.14 pts
42Nebraska12.227+1.05 pts
43Hawaii12.06-0.04 pts
44Arkansas11.979-0.76 pts
45Massachusetts11.938+0.62 pts
46Maine11.773+0.68 pts
47Iowa11.714+0.97 pts
48Rhode Island11.551-0.7 pts
49Mississippi11.334-0.78 pts
50Wisconsin11.23+0.36 pts
51New Hampshire11.146+0.91 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Jobs added at opening and expanding establishments during the year, as a percentage of average employment in the two years. United States: Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics.

A gross flow: jobs lost elsewhere are not subtracted, so the net change is this rate minus job_destruction_rate. Not the same as payroll job growth from the monthly employment surveys. The year is the twelve months to March: 2023 compares March 2022 with March 2023.

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. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv. 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. Census Bureau. (2025). Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010 (US states by job creation rate, 2012) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv

MLA 9

Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, US states by job creation rate, 2012. U.S. Census Bureau, 25 Sept. 2025, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/us-states?period=2012. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Census Bureau. 2025. Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. US states by job creation rate, 2012. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/us-states?period=2012.

Harvard

U.S. Census Bureau (2025) Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010, US states by job creation rate, 2012 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/us-states?period=2012 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_job_2012,
  author = {{U.S. Census Bureau}},
  title = {{Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: US states by job creation rate, 2012}},
  year = {2025},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/us-states?period=2012. Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023\_st.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Census Bureau
TI  - Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010: US states by job creation rate, 2012
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/09/25
PB  - U.S. Census Bureau
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/us-states?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/us-states?period=2012.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Census Bureau. Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/bds/tables/time-series/2023/bds2023_st.csv. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which state has the highest job creation rate?

North Dakota, with 17.255% in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest job creation rate?

New Hampshire, with 11.146% in 2012.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Census Bureau, Business Dynamics Statistics: job creation rate, all covered industries, nation and states from 1978, counties from 2010. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Job creation rate: other rankings

US states: more rankings