Data / Rankings / Leisure and hospitality payroll employment / US states

US states by leisure and hospitality payroll employment

California had the highest leisure and hospitality payroll employment of 51 states in September 2025, at 2,012,300 jobs. Vermont had the lowest, at 35,200 jobs. The median was 214,400 jobs and the figure for the United States was 16,907,000 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest2,012,300California
Lowest35,200Vermont
Median214,40051 states
United States16,907,000History

Map of states, September 2025

Alabama: 214,400 jobsAlaska: 36,100 jobsArizona: 368,500 jobsArkansas: 132,400 jobsCalifornia: 2,012,300 jobsColorado: 350,800 jobsConnecticut: 156,500 jobsDelaware: 52,000 jobsDistrict of Columbia: 75,100 jobsFlorida: 1,328,500 jobsGeorgia: 518,600 jobsHawaii: 120,400 jobsIdaho: 94,800 jobsIllinois: 603,700 jobsIndiana: 312,800 jobsIowa: 142,400 jobsKansas: 134,100 jobsKentucky: 206,200 jobsLouisiana: 223,700 jobsMaine: 71,200 jobsMaryland: 268,200 jobsMassachusetts: 363,300 jobsMichigan: 428,800 jobsMinnesota: 272,500 jobsMississippi: 134,700 jobsMissouri: 307,300 jobsMontana: 74,000 jobsNebraska: 101,300 jobsNevada: 361,700 jobsNew Hampshire: 76,700 jobsNew Jersey: 407,100 jobsNew Mexico: 99,000 jobsNew York: 932,000 jobsNorth Carolina: 542,400 jobsNorth Dakota: 41,000 jobsOhio: 569,800 jobsOklahoma: 182,100 jobsOregon: 205,700 jobsPennsylvania: 572,500 jobsRhode Island: 61,400 jobsSouth Carolina: 280,900 jobsSouth Dakota: 50,600 jobsTennessee: 366,400 jobsTexas: 1,530,500 jobsUtah: 177,700 jobsVermont: 35,200 jobsVirginia: 421,300 jobsWashington: 343,300 jobsWest Virginia: 72,500 jobsWisconsin: 288,300 jobsWyoming: 38,100 jobs
  • Under 70K
  • 70K to 130K
  • 130K to 210K
  • 210K to 350K
  • 350K to 490K
  • 490K and over
jobs, September 2025. Source: BLS, Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, leisure and hospitality, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000007000000001). Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, September 2025

California: 2,012,300 jobsCalifornia2,012,300Texas: 1,530,500 jobsTexas1,530,500Florida: 1,328,500 jobsFlorida1,328,500New York: 932,000 jobsNew York932,000Illinois: 603,700 jobsIllinois603,700Pennsylvania: 572,500 jobsPennsylvania572,500Ohio: 569,800 jobsOhio569,800North Carolina: 542,400 jobsNorth Carolina542,400Georgia: 518,600 jobsGeorgia518,600Michigan: 428,800 jobsMichigan428,800Virginia: 421,300 jobsVirginia421,300New Jersey: 407,100 jobsNew Jersey407,100Arizona: 368,500 jobsArizona368,500Tennessee: 366,400 jobsTennessee366,400Massachusetts: 363,300 jobsMassachusetts363,300Nevada: 361,700 jobsNevada361,700Colorado: 350,800 jobsColorado350,800Washington: 343,300 jobsWashington343,300Indiana: 312,800 jobsIndiana312,800Missouri: 307,300 jobsMissouri307,300Wisconsin: 288,300 jobsWisconsin288,300South Carolina: 280,900 jobsSouth Carolina280,900Minnesota: 272,500 jobsMinnesota272,500Maryland: 268,200 jobsMaryland268,200Louisiana: 223,700 jobsLouisiana223,700Alabama: 214,400 jobsAlabama214,400Kentucky: 206,200 jobsKentucky206,200Oregon: 205,700 jobsOregon205,700Oklahoma: 182,100 jobsOklahoma182,100Utah: 177,700 jobsUtah177,700Connecticut: 156,500 jobsConnecticut156,500Iowa: 142,400 jobsIowa142,400Mississippi: 134,700 jobsMississippi134,700Kansas: 134,100 jobsKansas134,100Arkansas: 132,400 jobsArkansas132,400Hawaii: 120,400 jobsHawaii120,400Nebraska: 101,300 jobsNebraska101,300New Mexico: 99,000 jobsNew Mexico99,000Idaho: 94,800 jobsIdaho94,800New Hampshire: 76,700 jobsNew Hampshire76,700District of Columbia: 75,100 jobsDistrict of Columbia75,100Montana: 74,000 jobsMontana74,000West Virginia: 72,500 jobsWest Virginia72,500Maine: 71,200 jobsMaine71,200Rhode Island: 61,400 jobsRhode Island61,400Delaware: 52,000 jobsDelaware52,000South Dakota: 50,600 jobsSouth Dakota50,600North Dakota: 41,000 jobsNorth Dakota41,000Wyoming: 38,100 jobsWyoming38,100Alaska: 36,100 jobsAlaska36,100Vermont: 35,200 jobsVermont35,200California: 2,012,300 jobsCalifornia2,012,300Texas: 1,530,500 jobsTexas1,530,500Florida: 1,328,500 jobsFlorida1,328,500New York: 932,000 jobsNew York932,000Illinois: 603,700 jobsIllinois603,700Pennsylvania: 572,500 jobsPennsylvania572,500Ohio: 569,800 jobsOhio569,800North Carolina: 542,400 jobsNorth Carolina542,400Georgia: 518,600 jobsGeorgia518,600Michigan: 428,800 jobsMichigan428,800Virginia: 421,300 jobsVirginia421,300New Jersey: 407,100 jobsNew Jersey407,100Arizona: 368,500 jobsArizona368,500Tennessee: 366,400 jobsTennessee366,400Massachusetts: 363,300 jobsMassachusetts363,300Nevada: 361,700 jobsNevada361,700Colorado: 350,800 jobsColorado350,800Washington: 343,300 jobsWashington343,300Indiana: 312,800 jobsIndiana312,800Missouri: 307,300 jobsMissouri307,300Wisconsin: 288,300 jobsWisconsin288,300South Carolina: 280,900 jobsSouth Carolina280,900Minnesota: 272,500 jobsMinnesota272,500Maryland: 268,200 jobsMaryland268,200Louisiana: 223,700 jobsLouisiana223,700Alabama: 214,400 jobsAlabama214,400Kentucky: 206,200 jobsKentucky206,200Oregon: 205,700 jobsOregon205,700Oklahoma: 182,100 jobsOklahoma182,100Utah: 177,700 jobsUtah177,700Connecticut: 156,500 jobsConnecticut156,500Iowa: 142,400 jobsIowa142,400Mississippi: 134,700 jobsMississippi134,700Kansas: 134,100 jobsKansas134,100Arkansas: 132,400 jobsArkansas132,400Hawaii: 120,400 jobsHawaii120,400Nebraska: 101,300 jobsNebraska101,300New Mexico: 99,000 jobsNew Mexico99,000Idaho: 94,800 jobsIdaho94,800New Hampshire: 76,700 jobsNew Hampshire76,700District of Columbia: 75,100 jobsDistrict of Columbia75,100Montana: 74,000 jobsMontana74,000West Virginia: 72,500 jobsWest Virginia72,500Maine: 71,200 jobsMaine71,200Rhode Island: 61,400 jobsRhode Island61,400Delaware: 52,000 jobsDelaware52,000South Dakota: 50,600 jobsSouth Dakota50,600North Dakota: 41,000 jobsNorth Dakota41,000Wyoming: 38,100 jobsWyoming38,100Alaska: 36,100 jobsAlaska36,100Vermont: 35,200 jobsVermont35,200
jobs. Source: BLS, Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, leisure and hospitality, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000007000000001). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStatesSeptember 2025
jobs		Change on September 2024
1California2,012,300+0.5%
2Texas1,530,500+0.8%
3Florida1,328,500+0.1%
4New York932,000-0.3%
5Illinois603,700-0.2%
6Pennsylvania572,500+0.8%
7Ohio569,8000%
8North Carolina542,4000%
9Georgia518,600+0.4%
10Michigan428,800-0.6%
11Virginia421,300+1.1%
12New Jersey407,100-0.2%
13Arizona368,500+0.5%
14Tennessee366,400-0.5%
15Massachusetts363,300-0.7%
16Nevada361,7000%
17Colorado350,800-1.2%
18Washington343,300-0.8%
19Indiana312,800-0.4%
20Missouri307,300-1.1%
21Wisconsin288,300-0.9%
22South Carolina280,900-0.4%
23Minnesota272,500-0.2%
24Maryland268,200-1.8%
25Louisiana223,700+0.3%
26Alabama214,400+1.4%
27Kentucky206,200+0.3%
28Oregon205,700-1%
29Oklahoma182,100-1.3%
30Utah177,700+0.5%
31Connecticut156,500+1.2%
32Iowa142,400-1.2%
33Mississippi134,700-0.7%
34Kansas134,100+0.2%
35Arkansas132,400+1.8%
36Hawaii120,400+0.5%
37Nebraska101,300+0.7%
38New Mexico99,000-0.8%
39Idaho94,800-0.1%
40New Hampshire76,700+0.7%
41District of Columbia75,100-2.5%
42Montana74,000-0.7%
43West Virginia72,500+1.1%
44Maine71,200+1.1%
45Rhode Island61,400+1.5%
46Delaware52,000-3%
47South Dakota50,600+0.4%
48North Dakota41,000+0.2%
49Wyoming38,100-1.6%
50Alaska36,100-1.1%
51Vermont35,200-0.6%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of jobs on leisure and hospitality payrolls in the month, seasonally adjusted, from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The supersector covers arts, entertainment and recreation, and accommodation and food services.

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, leisure and hospitality, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000007000000001). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.74.LeisureAndHospitality.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, leisure and hospitality, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000007000000001) (US states by leisure and hospitality payroll employment, 2025-09) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.74.LeisureAndHospitality.Current

MLA 9

Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, leisure and hospitality, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000007000000001), US states by leisure and hospitality payroll employment, 2025-09. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 18 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.74.LeisureAndHospitality.Current. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/leisure-hospitality-jobs/us-states?period=2025-09. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, leisure and hospitality, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000007000000001). US states by leisure and hospitality payroll employment, 2025-09. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.74.LeisureAndHospitality.Current. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/leisure-hospitality-jobs/us-states?period=2025-09.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, leisure and hospitality, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000007000000001), US states by leisure and hospitality payroll employment, 2025-09 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.74.LeisureAndHospitality.Current, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/leisure-hospitality-jobs/us-states?period=2025-09 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_us_states_by_leisure_2026,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, leisure and hospitality, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000007000000001): US states by leisure and hospitality payroll employment, 2025-09}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.74.LeisureAndHospitality.Current},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/leisure-hospitality-jobs/us-states?period=2025-09. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, leisure and hospitality, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000007000000001). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.74.LeisureAndHospitality.Current. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, leisure and hospitality, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000007000000001): US states by leisure and hospitality payroll employment, 2025-09
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.74.LeisureAndHospitality.Current
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/leisure-hospitality-jobs/us-states?period=2025-09
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/leisure-hospitality-jobs/us-states?period=2025-09.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, leisure and hospitality, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000007000000001). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.74.LeisureAndHospitality.Current. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Rank US states by leisure and hospitality payroll employment using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which state has the highest leisure and hospitality payroll employment?

California, with 2,012,300 jobs in September 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest leisure and hospitality payroll employment?

Vermont, with 35,200 jobs in September 2025.

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, leisure and hospitality, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000007000000001). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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