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 January 2026, at 2,053,200 jobs. Vermont had the lowest, at 36,100 jobs. The median was 217,200 jobs and the figure for the United States was 16,966,000 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest2,053,200California
Lowest36,100Vermont
Median217,20051 states
United States16,966,000History

Map of states, January 2026

Alabama: 217,200 jobsAlaska: 36,600 jobsArizona: 367,000 jobsArkansas: 134,600 jobsCalifornia: 2,053,200 jobsColorado: 348,400 jobsConnecticut: 155,700 jobsDelaware: 51,400 jobsDistrict of Columbia: 75,100 jobsFlorida: 1,327,600 jobsGeorgia: 517,400 jobsHawaii: 121,400 jobsIdaho: 92,500 jobsIllinois: 602,700 jobsIndiana: 303,300 jobsIowa: 138,600 jobsKansas: 132,800 jobsKentucky: 206,200 jobsLouisiana: 224,900 jobsMaine: 71,700 jobsMaryland: 270,700 jobsMassachusetts: 370,100 jobsMichigan: 424,500 jobsMinnesota: 268,800 jobsMississippi: 135,600 jobsMissouri: 312,300 jobsMontana: 74,000 jobsNebraska: 100,000 jobsNevada: 363,900 jobsNew Hampshire: 75,800 jobsNew Jersey: 406,000 jobsNew Mexico: 97,200 jobsNew York: 932,200 jobsNorth Carolina: 548,000 jobsNorth Dakota: 40,000 jobsOhio: 570,200 jobsOklahoma: 180,400 jobsOregon: 209,200 jobsPennsylvania: 576,700 jobsRhode Island: 62,500 jobsSouth Carolina: 288,700 jobsSouth Dakota: 54,100 jobsTennessee: 370,400 jobsTexas: 1,544,500 jobsUtah: 178,000 jobsVermont: 36,100 jobsVirginia: 419,900 jobsWashington: 343,400 jobsWest Virginia: 71,100 jobsWisconsin: 290,000 jobsWyoming: 38,600 jobs
  • Under 70K
  • 70K to 130K
  • 130K to 220K
  • 220K to 350K
  • 350K to 490K
  • 490K and over
jobs, January 2026. 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, January 2026

California: 2,053,200 jobsCalifornia2,053,200Texas: 1,544,500 jobsTexas1,544,500Florida: 1,327,600 jobsFlorida1,327,600New York: 932,200 jobsNew York932,200Illinois: 602,700 jobsIllinois602,700Pennsylvania: 576,700 jobsPennsylvania576,700Ohio: 570,200 jobsOhio570,200North Carolina: 548,000 jobsNorth Carolina548,000Georgia: 517,400 jobsGeorgia517,400Michigan: 424,500 jobsMichigan424,500Virginia: 419,900 jobsVirginia419,900New Jersey: 406,000 jobsNew Jersey406,000Tennessee: 370,400 jobsTennessee370,400Massachusetts: 370,100 jobsMassachusetts370,100Arizona: 367,000 jobsArizona367,000Nevada: 363,900 jobsNevada363,900Colorado: 348,400 jobsColorado348,400Washington: 343,400 jobsWashington343,400Missouri: 312,300 jobsMissouri312,300Indiana: 303,300 jobsIndiana303,300Wisconsin: 290,000 jobsWisconsin290,000South Carolina: 288,700 jobsSouth Carolina288,700Maryland: 270,700 jobsMaryland270,700Minnesota: 268,800 jobsMinnesota268,800Louisiana: 224,900 jobsLouisiana224,900Alabama: 217,200 jobsAlabama217,200Oregon: 209,200 jobsOregon209,200Kentucky: 206,200 jobsKentucky206,200Oklahoma: 180,400 jobsOklahoma180,400Utah: 178,000 jobsUtah178,000Connecticut: 155,700 jobsConnecticut155,700Iowa: 138,600 jobsIowa138,600Mississippi: 135,600 jobsMississippi135,600Arkansas: 134,600 jobsArkansas134,600Kansas: 132,800 jobsKansas132,800Hawaii: 121,400 jobsHawaii121,400Nebraska: 100,000 jobsNebraska100,000New Mexico: 97,200 jobsNew Mexico97,200Idaho: 92,500 jobsIdaho92,500New Hampshire: 75,800 jobsNew Hampshire75,800District of Columbia: 75,100 jobsDistrict of Columbia75,100Montana: 74,000 jobsMontana74,000Maine: 71,700 jobsMaine71,700West Virginia: 71,100 jobsWest Virginia71,100Rhode Island: 62,500 jobsRhode Island62,500South Dakota: 54,100 jobsSouth Dakota54,100Delaware: 51,400 jobsDelaware51,400North Dakota: 40,000 jobsNorth Dakota40,000Wyoming: 38,600 jobsWyoming38,600Alaska: 36,600 jobsAlaska36,600Vermont: 36,100 jobsVermont36,100California: 2,053,200 jobsCalifornia2,053,200Texas: 1,544,500 jobsTexas1,544,500Florida: 1,327,600 jobsFlorida1,327,600New York: 932,200 jobsNew York932,200Illinois: 602,700 jobsIllinois602,700Pennsylvania: 576,700 jobsPennsylvania576,700Ohio: 570,200 jobsOhio570,200North Carolina: 548,000 jobsNorth Carolina548,000Georgia: 517,400 jobsGeorgia517,400Michigan: 424,500 jobsMichigan424,500Virginia: 419,900 jobsVirginia419,900New Jersey: 406,000 jobsNew Jersey406,000Tennessee: 370,400 jobsTennessee370,400Massachusetts: 370,100 jobsMassachusetts370,100Arizona: 367,000 jobsArizona367,000Nevada: 363,900 jobsNevada363,900Colorado: 348,400 jobsColorado348,400Washington: 343,400 jobsWashington343,400Missouri: 312,300 jobsMissouri312,300Indiana: 303,300 jobsIndiana303,300Wisconsin: 290,000 jobsWisconsin290,000South Carolina: 288,700 jobsSouth Carolina288,700Maryland: 270,700 jobsMaryland270,700Minnesota: 268,800 jobsMinnesota268,800Louisiana: 224,900 jobsLouisiana224,900Alabama: 217,200 jobsAlabama217,200Oregon: 209,200 jobsOregon209,200Kentucky: 206,200 jobsKentucky206,200Oklahoma: 180,400 jobsOklahoma180,400Utah: 178,000 jobsUtah178,000Connecticut: 155,700 jobsConnecticut155,700Iowa: 138,600 jobsIowa138,600Mississippi: 135,600 jobsMississippi135,600Arkansas: 134,600 jobsArkansas134,600Kansas: 132,800 jobsKansas132,800Hawaii: 121,400 jobsHawaii121,400Nebraska: 100,000 jobsNebraska100,000New Mexico: 97,200 jobsNew Mexico97,200Idaho: 92,500 jobsIdaho92,500New Hampshire: 75,800 jobsNew Hampshire75,800District of Columbia: 75,100 jobsDistrict of Columbia75,100Montana: 74,000 jobsMontana74,000Maine: 71,700 jobsMaine71,700West Virginia: 71,100 jobsWest Virginia71,100Rhode Island: 62,500 jobsRhode Island62,500South Dakota: 54,100 jobsSouth Dakota54,100Delaware: 51,400 jobsDelaware51,400North Dakota: 40,000 jobsNorth Dakota40,000Wyoming: 38,600 jobsWyoming38,600Alaska: 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

RankStatesJanuary 2026
jobs		Change on January 2025
1California2,053,200+1.8%
2Texas1,544,500+1%
3Florida1,327,600-0.4%
4New York932,200-0.8%
5Illinois602,700-0.7%
6Pennsylvania576,700+0.9%
7Ohio570,200+0.3%
8North Carolina548,000+1.9%
9Georgia517,400+0.3%
10Michigan424,500-1.7%
11Virginia419,900+0.5%
12New Jersey406,000-0.7%
13Tennessee370,400+1.3%
14Massachusetts370,100+1.3%
15Arizona367,000-1.3%
16Nevada363,900+1%
17Colorado348,400-1.1%
18Washington343,400-0.4%
19Missouri312,300+1.6%
20Indiana303,300-3.2%
21Wisconsin290,000-0%
22South Carolina288,700+2.4%
23Maryland270,700-0.4%
24Minnesota268,800-1.5%
25Louisiana224,900-0.2%
26Alabama217,200+2.3%
27Oregon209,200+0.6%
28Kentucky206,200+0.8%
29Oklahoma180,400-2.8%
30Utah178,000+0.3%
31Connecticut155,700+0.3%
32Iowa138,600-4%
33Mississippi135,600+0.2%
34Arkansas134,600+2.8%
35Kansas132,800-0.4%
36Hawaii121,400+0.7%
37Nebraska100,000-0.5%
38New Mexico97,200-2.3%
39Idaho92,500-1.7%
40New Hampshire75,800-1.6%
41District of Columbia75,100-3.3%
42Montana74,000+0.7%
43Maine71,700+1.6%
44West Virginia71,100-0.4%
45Rhode Island62,500+2.3%
46South Dakota54,100+6.3%
47Delaware51,400-3.4%
48North Dakota40,000-2.9%
49Wyoming38,600+1.3%
50Alaska36,600+1.4%
51Vermont36,100+1.4%

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, 2026-01) [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, 2026-01. 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=2026-01. 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, 2026-01. 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=2026-01.

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, 2026-01 [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=2026-01 (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, 2026-01}},
  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=2026-01. 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, 2026-01
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=2026-01
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/leisure-hospitality-jobs/us-states?period=2026-01.
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 2,053,200 jobs in January 2026, 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 January 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, leisure and hospitality, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000007000000001). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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