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 December 2025, at 2,031,200 jobs. Vermont had the lowest, at 36,100 jobs. The median was 217,300 jobs and the figure for the United States was 16,961,000 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest2,031,200California
Lowest36,100Vermont
Median217,30051 states
United States16,961,000History

Map of states, December 2025

Alabama: 217,300 jobsAlaska: 36,600 jobsArizona: 366,000 jobsArkansas: 134,600 jobsCalifornia: 2,031,200 jobsColorado: 351,100 jobsConnecticut: 155,900 jobsDelaware: 51,700 jobsDistrict of Columbia: 75,300 jobsFlorida: 1,327,700 jobsGeorgia: 516,300 jobsHawaii: 120,900 jobsIdaho: 91,500 jobsIllinois: 603,400 jobsIndiana: 304,300 jobsIowa: 138,500 jobsKansas: 132,800 jobsKentucky: 207,400 jobsLouisiana: 225,600 jobsMaine: 72,000 jobsMaryland: 268,600 jobsMassachusetts: 369,400 jobsMichigan: 425,400 jobsMinnesota: 271,600 jobsMississippi: 136,400 jobsMissouri: 306,600 jobsMontana: 73,900 jobsNebraska: 101,100 jobsNevada: 364,000 jobsNew Hampshire: 75,500 jobsNew Jersey: 408,200 jobsNew Mexico: 99,000 jobsNew York: 933,100 jobsNorth Carolina: 547,700 jobsNorth Dakota: 39,600 jobsOhio: 568,500 jobsOklahoma: 181,000 jobsOregon: 208,000 jobsPennsylvania: 572,600 jobsRhode Island: 62,300 jobsSouth Carolina: 288,200 jobsSouth Dakota: 54,200 jobsTennessee: 368,200 jobsTexas: 1,532,300 jobsUtah: 177,900 jobsVermont: 36,100 jobsVirginia: 419,500 jobsWashington: 343,900 jobsWest Virginia: 71,600 jobsWisconsin: 289,300 jobsWyoming: 38,400 jobs
  • Under 70K
  • 70K to 130K
  • 130K to 220K
  • 220K to 350K
  • 350K to 490K
  • 490K and over
jobs, December 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, December 2025

California: 2,031,200 jobsCalifornia2,031,200Texas: 1,532,300 jobsTexas1,532,300Florida: 1,327,700 jobsFlorida1,327,700New York: 933,100 jobsNew York933,100Illinois: 603,400 jobsIllinois603,400Pennsylvania: 572,600 jobsPennsylvania572,600Ohio: 568,500 jobsOhio568,500North Carolina: 547,700 jobsNorth Carolina547,700Georgia: 516,300 jobsGeorgia516,300Michigan: 425,400 jobsMichigan425,400Virginia: 419,500 jobsVirginia419,500New Jersey: 408,200 jobsNew Jersey408,200Massachusetts: 369,400 jobsMassachusetts369,400Tennessee: 368,200 jobsTennessee368,200Arizona: 366,000 jobsArizona366,000Nevada: 364,000 jobsNevada364,000Colorado: 351,100 jobsColorado351,100Washington: 343,900 jobsWashington343,900Missouri: 306,600 jobsMissouri306,600Indiana: 304,300 jobsIndiana304,300Wisconsin: 289,300 jobsWisconsin289,300South Carolina: 288,200 jobsSouth Carolina288,200Minnesota: 271,600 jobsMinnesota271,600Maryland: 268,600 jobsMaryland268,600Louisiana: 225,600 jobsLouisiana225,600Alabama: 217,300 jobsAlabama217,300Oregon: 208,000 jobsOregon208,000Kentucky: 207,400 jobsKentucky207,400Oklahoma: 181,000 jobsOklahoma181,000Utah: 177,900 jobsUtah177,900Connecticut: 155,900 jobsConnecticut155,900Iowa: 138,500 jobsIowa138,500Mississippi: 136,400 jobsMississippi136,400Arkansas: 134,600 jobsArkansas134,600Kansas: 132,800 jobsKansas132,800Hawaii: 120,900 jobsHawaii120,900Nebraska: 101,100 jobsNebraska101,100New Mexico: 99,000 jobsNew Mexico99,000Idaho: 91,500 jobsIdaho91,500New Hampshire: 75,500 jobsNew Hampshire75,500District of Columbia: 75,300 jobsDistrict of Columbia75,300Montana: 73,900 jobsMontana73,900Maine: 72,000 jobsMaine72,000West Virginia: 71,600 jobsWest Virginia71,600Rhode Island: 62,300 jobsRhode Island62,300South Dakota: 54,200 jobsSouth Dakota54,200Delaware: 51,700 jobsDelaware51,700North Dakota: 39,600 jobsNorth Dakota39,600Wyoming: 38,400 jobsWyoming38,400Alaska: 36,600 jobsAlaska36,600Vermont: 36,100 jobsVermont36,100California: 2,031,200 jobsCalifornia2,031,200Texas: 1,532,300 jobsTexas1,532,300Florida: 1,327,700 jobsFlorida1,327,700New York: 933,100 jobsNew York933,100Illinois: 603,400 jobsIllinois603,400Pennsylvania: 572,600 jobsPennsylvania572,600Ohio: 568,500 jobsOhio568,500North Carolina: 547,700 jobsNorth Carolina547,700Georgia: 516,300 jobsGeorgia516,300Michigan: 425,400 jobsMichigan425,400Virginia: 419,500 jobsVirginia419,500New Jersey: 408,200 jobsNew Jersey408,200Massachusetts: 369,400 jobsMassachusetts369,400Tennessee: 368,200 jobsTennessee368,200Arizona: 366,000 jobsArizona366,000Nevada: 364,000 jobsNevada364,000Colorado: 351,100 jobsColorado351,100Washington: 343,900 jobsWashington343,900Missouri: 306,600 jobsMissouri306,600Indiana: 304,300 jobsIndiana304,300Wisconsin: 289,300 jobsWisconsin289,300South Carolina: 288,200 jobsSouth Carolina288,200Minnesota: 271,600 jobsMinnesota271,600Maryland: 268,600 jobsMaryland268,600Louisiana: 225,600 jobsLouisiana225,600Alabama: 217,300 jobsAlabama217,300Oregon: 208,000 jobsOregon208,000Kentucky: 207,400 jobsKentucky207,400Oklahoma: 181,000 jobsOklahoma181,000Utah: 177,900 jobsUtah177,900Connecticut: 155,900 jobsConnecticut155,900Iowa: 138,500 jobsIowa138,500Mississippi: 136,400 jobsMississippi136,400Arkansas: 134,600 jobsArkansas134,600Kansas: 132,800 jobsKansas132,800Hawaii: 120,900 jobsHawaii120,900Nebraska: 101,100 jobsNebraska101,100New Mexico: 99,000 jobsNew Mexico99,000Idaho: 91,500 jobsIdaho91,500New Hampshire: 75,500 jobsNew Hampshire75,500District of Columbia: 75,300 jobsDistrict of Columbia75,300Montana: 73,900 jobsMontana73,900Maine: 72,000 jobsMaine72,000West Virginia: 71,600 jobsWest Virginia71,600Rhode Island: 62,300 jobsRhode Island62,300South Dakota: 54,200 jobsSouth Dakota54,200Delaware: 51,700 jobsDelaware51,700North Dakota: 39,600 jobsNorth Dakota39,600Wyoming: 38,400 jobsWyoming38,400Alaska: 36,600 jobsAlaska36,600Vermont: 36,100 jobsVermont36,100
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

RankStatesDecember 2025
jobs		Change on December 2024
1California2,031,200+0.8%
2Texas1,532,300+0.2%
3Florida1,327,700-0.4%
4New York933,100-0.8%
5Illinois603,400-0.3%
6Pennsylvania572,600+0.2%
7Ohio568,500-0.6%
8North Carolina547,700+1.3%
9Georgia516,300-0.9%
10Michigan425,400-1.4%
11Virginia419,500-0.1%
12New Jersey408,200-0.7%
13Massachusetts369,400+0.9%
14Tennessee368,200+0.2%
15Arizona366,000-1%
16Nevada364,000+0.9%
17Colorado351,100-0.4%
18Washington343,900-0.4%
19Missouri306,600-1.7%
20Indiana304,300-3.1%
21Wisconsin289,300-0.6%
22South Carolina288,200+1.3%
23Minnesota271,600-1.7%
24Maryland268,600-1.9%
25Louisiana225,600-0.2%
26Alabama217,300+2.2%
27Oregon208,000-0%
28Kentucky207,400-0.1%
29Oklahoma181,000-2.6%
30Utah177,900+0.2%
31Connecticut155,900-0.4%
32Iowa138,500-4%
33Mississippi136,400-0.1%
34Arkansas134,600+2.8%
35Kansas132,800-2.2%
36Hawaii120,900+0.8%
37Nebraska101,100+0.1%
38New Mexico99,000-0.8%
39Idaho91,500-3.1%
40New Hampshire75,500-1.7%
41District of Columbia75,300-4%
42Montana73,900+0.5%
43Maine72,000+2.4%
44West Virginia71,600-1%
45Rhode Island62,300+1.6%
46South Dakota54,200+5.7%
47Delaware51,700-4.1%
48North Dakota39,600-4.8%
49Wyoming38,400+0.3%
50Alaska36,600+1.9%
51Vermont36,100+2%

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

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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, 2025-12) [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, 2025-12. 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=2025-12. 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, 2025-12. 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=2025-12.

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, 2025-12 [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=2025-12 (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, 2025-12}},
  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=2025-12. 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, 2025-12
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=2025-12
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/leisure-hospitality-jobs/us-states?period=2025-12.
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 2,031,200 jobs in December 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest leisure and hospitality payroll employment?

Vermont, with 36,100 jobs in December 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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