Data / Rankings / Job creation rate / US states

US states by job creation rate

Utah had the highest job creation rate of 51 states in 2021, at 15.17%. Hawaii had the lowest, at 7.446%. The median was 11.12% and the figure for the United States was 11.592%. Source: the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Highest15.17Utah
Lowest7.446Hawaii
Median11.1251 states
United States11.592History

Map of states, 2021

Alabama: 10.369 %Alaska: 11.016 %Arizona: 13.705 %Arkansas: 11.797 %California: 12.658 %Colorado: 13.421 %Connecticut: 9.425 %Delaware: 13.819 %District of Columbia: 10.17 %Florida: 12.874 %Georgia: 13.16 %Hawaii: 7.446 %Idaho: 13.823 %Illinois: 10.572 %Indiana: 11.133 %Iowa: 9.234 %Kansas: 12.277 %Kentucky: 11.12 %Louisiana: 10.136 %Maine: 11.625 %Maryland: 11.284 %Massachusetts: 9.638 %Michigan: 10.22 %Minnesota: 10.272 %Mississippi: 10.762 %Missouri: 10.82 %Montana: 12.467 %Nebraska: 10.707 %Nevada: 12.793 %New Hampshire: 9.552 %New Jersey: 11.067 %New Mexico: 9.973 %New York: 10.23 %North Carolina: 12.449 %North Dakota: 8.764 %Ohio: 11.483 %Oklahoma: 11.557 %Oregon: 11.147 %Pennsylvania: 10.596 %Rhode Island: 8.64 %South Carolina: 11.881 %South Dakota: 10.494 %Tennessee: 12.744 %Texas: 12.282 %Utah: 15.17 %Vermont: 9.424 %Virginia: 11.798 %Washington: 11.942 %West Virginia: 9.991 %Wisconsin: 10.395 %Wyoming: 11.762 %
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%, 2021. 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, 2021

Utah: 15.17 %Utah15.17Idaho: 13.823 %Idaho13.823Delaware: 13.819 %Delaware13.819Arizona: 13.705 %Arizona13.705Colorado: 13.421 %Colorado13.421Georgia: 13.16 %Georgia13.16Florida: 12.874 %Florida12.874Nevada: 12.793 %Nevada12.793Tennessee: 12.744 %Tennessee12.744California: 12.658 %California12.658Montana: 12.467 %Montana12.467North Carolina: 12.449 %North Carolina12.449Texas: 12.282 %Texas12.282Kansas: 12.277 %Kansas12.277Washington: 11.942 %Washington11.942South Carolina: 11.881 %South Carolina11.881Virginia: 11.798 %Virginia11.798Arkansas: 11.797 %Arkansas11.797Wyoming: 11.762 %Wyoming11.762Maine: 11.625 %Maine11.625Oklahoma: 11.557 %Oklahoma11.557Ohio: 11.483 %Ohio11.483Maryland: 11.284 %Maryland11.284Oregon: 11.147 %Oregon11.147Indiana: 11.133 %Indiana11.133Kentucky: 11.12 %Kentucky11.12New Jersey: 11.067 %New Jersey11.067Alaska: 11.016 %Alaska11.016Missouri: 10.82 %Missouri10.82Mississippi: 10.762 %Mississippi10.762Nebraska: 10.707 %Nebraska10.707Pennsylvania: 10.596 %Pennsylvania10.596Illinois: 10.572 %Illinois10.572South Dakota: 10.494 %South Dakota10.494Wisconsin: 10.395 %Wisconsin10.395Alabama: 10.369 %Alabama10.369Minnesota: 10.272 %Minnesota10.272New York: 10.23 %New York10.23Michigan: 10.22 %Michigan10.22District of Columbia: 10.17 %District of Columbia10.17Louisiana: 10.136 %Louisiana10.136West Virginia: 9.991 %West Virginia9.991New Mexico: 9.973 %New Mexico9.973Massachusetts: 9.638 %Massachusetts9.638New Hampshire: 9.552 %New Hampshire9.552Connecticut: 9.425 %Connecticut9.425Vermont: 9.424 %Vermont9.424Iowa: 9.234 %Iowa9.234North Dakota: 8.764 %North Dakota8.764Rhode Island: 8.64 %Rhode Island8.64Hawaii: 7.446 %Hawaii7.446Utah: 15.17 %Utah15.17Idaho: 13.823 %Idaho13.823Delaware: 13.819 %Delaware13.819Arizona: 13.705 %Arizona13.705Colorado: 13.421 %Colorado13.421Georgia: 13.16 %Georgia13.16Florida: 12.874 %Florida12.874Nevada: 12.793 %Nevada12.793Tennessee: 12.744 %Tennessee12.744California: 12.658 %California12.658Montana: 12.467 %Montana12.467North Carolina: 12.449 %North Carolina12.449Texas: 12.282 %Texas12.282Kansas: 12.277 %Kansas12.277Washington: 11.942 %Washington11.942South Carolina: 11.881 %South Carolina11.881Virginia: 11.798 %Virginia11.798Arkansas: 11.797 %Arkansas11.797Wyoming: 11.762 %Wyoming11.762Maine: 11.625 %Maine11.625Oklahoma: 11.557 %Oklahoma11.557Ohio: 11.483 %Ohio11.483Maryland: 11.284 %Maryland11.284Oregon: 11.147 %Oregon11.147Indiana: 11.133 %Indiana11.133Kentucky: 11.12 %Kentucky11.12New Jersey: 11.067 %New Jersey11.067Alaska: 11.016 %Alaska11.016Missouri: 10.82 %Missouri10.82Mississippi: 10.762 %Mississippi10.762Nebraska: 10.707 %Nebraska10.707Pennsylvania: 10.596 %Pennsylvania10.596Illinois: 10.572 %Illinois10.572South Dakota: 10.494 %South Dakota10.494Wisconsin: 10.395 %Wisconsin10.395Alabama: 10.369 %Alabama10.369Minnesota: 10.272 %Minnesota10.272New York: 10.23 %New York10.23Michigan: 10.22 %Michigan10.22District of Columbia: 10.17 %District of Columbia10.17Louisiana: 10.136 %Louisiana10.136West Virginia: 9.991 %West Virginia9.991New Mexico: 9.973 %New Mexico9.973Massachusetts: 9.638 %Massachusetts9.638New Hampshire: 9.552 %New Hampshire9.552Connecticut: 9.425 %Connecticut9.425Vermont: 9.424 %Vermont9.424Iowa: 9.234 %Iowa9.234North Dakota: 8.764 %North Dakota8.764Rhode Island: 8.64 %Rhode Island8.64Hawaii: 7.446 %Hawaii7.446
%. 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

RankStates2021 (%)Change on 2020
1Utah15.17+1.69 pts
2Idaho13.823+0.66 pts
3Delaware13.819+1.15 pts
4Arizona13.705+1.24 pts
5Colorado13.421-0.2 pts
6Georgia13.16+0.2 pts
7Florida12.874-0.72 pts
8Nevada12.793-0.14 pts
9Tennessee12.744+0.49 pts
10California12.658-0.7 pts
11Montana12.467+0.53 pts
12North Carolina12.449+0.93 pts
13Texas12.282-1.02 pts
14Kansas12.277+1.4 pts
15Washington11.942-0.62 pts
16South Carolina11.881+0.04 pts
17Virginia11.798+0.06 pts
18Arkansas11.797+0.82 pts
19Wyoming11.762-0.28 pts
20Maine11.625+1.47 pts
21Oklahoma11.557-0.75 pts
22Ohio11.483+0.42 pts
23Maryland11.284-0.57 pts
24Oregon11.147-0.38 pts
25Indiana11.133+0.57 pts
26Kentucky11.12+0.53 pts
27New Jersey11.067-0.68 pts
28Alaska11.016-0.24 pts
29Missouri10.82-0.35 pts
30Mississippi10.762+0.46 pts
31Nebraska10.707-0.29 pts
32Pennsylvania10.596+0.14 pts
33Illinois10.572-0.65 pts
34South Dakota10.494-0.91 pts
35Wisconsin10.395+0.03 pts
36Alabama10.369-1.13 pts
37Minnesota10.272-0.04 pts
38New York10.23-1.23 pts
39Michigan10.22-0.79 pts
40District of Columbia10.17-2.09 pts
41Louisiana10.136-0.88 pts
42West Virginia9.991+0.46 pts
43New Mexico9.973-1.91 pts
44Massachusetts9.638-1.02 pts
45New Hampshire9.552+0.12 pts
46Connecticut9.425-2.91 pts
47Vermont9.424+0.08 pts
48Iowa9.234-0.58 pts
49North Dakota8.764-2.18 pts
50Rhode Island8.64-2.43 pts
51Hawaii7.446-1.55 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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

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, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{census_us_states_by_job_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/job-creation-rate/us-states?period=2021.
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?

Utah, with 15.17% in 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Which state has the lowest job creation rate?

Hawaii, with 7.446% in 2021.

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