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 March 2026, at 2,046,900 jobs. Vermont had the lowest, at 35,800 jobs. The median was 218,500 jobs and the figure for the United States was 16,979,000 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest2,046,900California
Lowest35,800Vermont
Median218,50051 states
United States16,979,000History

Map of states, March 2026

Alabama: 218,500 jobsAlaska: 36,600 jobsArizona: 368,200 jobsArkansas: 135,000 jobsCalifornia: 2,046,900 jobsColorado: 349,300 jobsConnecticut: 154,500 jobsDelaware: 51,600 jobsDistrict of Columbia: 75,300 jobsFlorida: 1,330,100 jobsGeorgia: 517,400 jobsHawaii: 121,600 jobsIdaho: 91,000 jobsIllinois: 602,100 jobsIndiana: 306,000 jobsIowa: 139,600 jobsKansas: 133,200 jobsKentucky: 206,900 jobsLouisiana: 226,700 jobsMaine: 72,300 jobsMaryland: 269,600 jobsMassachusetts: 365,700 jobsMichigan: 425,500 jobsMinnesota: 266,500 jobsMississippi: 136,800 jobsMissouri: 314,500 jobsMontana: 72,800 jobsNebraska: 100,500 jobsNevada: 362,700 jobsNew Hampshire: 75,000 jobsNew Jersey: 408,000 jobsNew Mexico: 98,800 jobsNew York: 928,500 jobsNorth Carolina: 547,500 jobsNorth Dakota: 41,500 jobsOhio: 570,300 jobsOklahoma: 181,100 jobsOregon: 206,000 jobsPennsylvania: 575,900 jobsRhode Island: 62,200 jobsSouth Carolina: 285,800 jobsSouth Dakota: 53,600 jobsTennessee: 369,800 jobsTexas: 1,544,300 jobsUtah: 177,500 jobsVermont: 35,800 jobsVirginia: 418,300 jobsWashington: 344,800 jobsWest Virginia: 70,500 jobsWisconsin: 290,900 jobsWyoming: 38,500 jobs
  • Under 70K
  • 70K to 130K
  • 130K to 220K
  • 220K to 350K
  • 350K to 490K
  • 490K and over
jobs, March 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, March 2026

California: 2,046,900 jobsCalifornia2,046,900Texas: 1,544,300 jobsTexas1,544,300Florida: 1,330,100 jobsFlorida1,330,100New York: 928,500 jobsNew York928,500Illinois: 602,100 jobsIllinois602,100Pennsylvania: 575,900 jobsPennsylvania575,900Ohio: 570,300 jobsOhio570,300North Carolina: 547,500 jobsNorth Carolina547,500Georgia: 517,400 jobsGeorgia517,400Michigan: 425,500 jobsMichigan425,500Virginia: 418,300 jobsVirginia418,300New Jersey: 408,000 jobsNew Jersey408,000Tennessee: 369,800 jobsTennessee369,800Arizona: 368,200 jobsArizona368,200Massachusetts: 365,700 jobsMassachusetts365,700Nevada: 362,700 jobsNevada362,700Colorado: 349,300 jobsColorado349,300Washington: 344,800 jobsWashington344,800Missouri: 314,500 jobsMissouri314,500Indiana: 306,000 jobsIndiana306,000Wisconsin: 290,900 jobsWisconsin290,900South Carolina: 285,800 jobsSouth Carolina285,800Maryland: 269,600 jobsMaryland269,600Minnesota: 266,500 jobsMinnesota266,500Louisiana: 226,700 jobsLouisiana226,700Alabama: 218,500 jobsAlabama218,500Kentucky: 206,900 jobsKentucky206,900Oregon: 206,000 jobsOregon206,000Oklahoma: 181,100 jobsOklahoma181,100Utah: 177,500 jobsUtah177,500Connecticut: 154,500 jobsConnecticut154,500Iowa: 139,600 jobsIowa139,600Mississippi: 136,800 jobsMississippi136,800Arkansas: 135,000 jobsArkansas135,000Kansas: 133,200 jobsKansas133,200Hawaii: 121,600 jobsHawaii121,600Nebraska: 100,500 jobsNebraska100,500New Mexico: 98,800 jobsNew Mexico98,800Idaho: 91,000 jobsIdaho91,000District of Columbia: 75,300 jobsDistrict of Columbia75,300New Hampshire: 75,000 jobsNew Hampshire75,000Montana: 72,800 jobsMontana72,800Maine: 72,300 jobsMaine72,300West Virginia: 70,500 jobsWest Virginia70,500Rhode Island: 62,200 jobsRhode Island62,200South Dakota: 53,600 jobsSouth Dakota53,600Delaware: 51,600 jobsDelaware51,600North Dakota: 41,500 jobsNorth Dakota41,500Wyoming: 38,500 jobsWyoming38,500Alaska: 36,600 jobsAlaska36,600Vermont: 35,800 jobsVermont35,800California: 2,046,900 jobsCalifornia2,046,900Texas: 1,544,300 jobsTexas1,544,300Florida: 1,330,100 jobsFlorida1,330,100New York: 928,500 jobsNew York928,500Illinois: 602,100 jobsIllinois602,100Pennsylvania: 575,900 jobsPennsylvania575,900Ohio: 570,300 jobsOhio570,300North Carolina: 547,500 jobsNorth Carolina547,500Georgia: 517,400 jobsGeorgia517,400Michigan: 425,500 jobsMichigan425,500Virginia: 418,300 jobsVirginia418,300New Jersey: 408,000 jobsNew Jersey408,000Tennessee: 369,800 jobsTennessee369,800Arizona: 368,200 jobsArizona368,200Massachusetts: 365,700 jobsMassachusetts365,700Nevada: 362,700 jobsNevada362,700Colorado: 349,300 jobsColorado349,300Washington: 344,800 jobsWashington344,800Missouri: 314,500 jobsMissouri314,500Indiana: 306,000 jobsIndiana306,000Wisconsin: 290,900 jobsWisconsin290,900South Carolina: 285,800 jobsSouth Carolina285,800Maryland: 269,600 jobsMaryland269,600Minnesota: 266,500 jobsMinnesota266,500Louisiana: 226,700 jobsLouisiana226,700Alabama: 218,500 jobsAlabama218,500Kentucky: 206,900 jobsKentucky206,900Oregon: 206,000 jobsOregon206,000Oklahoma: 181,100 jobsOklahoma181,100Utah: 177,500 jobsUtah177,500Connecticut: 154,500 jobsConnecticut154,500Iowa: 139,600 jobsIowa139,600Mississippi: 136,800 jobsMississippi136,800Arkansas: 135,000 jobsArkansas135,000Kansas: 133,200 jobsKansas133,200Hawaii: 121,600 jobsHawaii121,600Nebraska: 100,500 jobsNebraska100,500New Mexico: 98,800 jobsNew Mexico98,800Idaho: 91,000 jobsIdaho91,000District of Columbia: 75,300 jobsDistrict of Columbia75,300New Hampshire: 75,000 jobsNew Hampshire75,000Montana: 72,800 jobsMontana72,800Maine: 72,300 jobsMaine72,300West Virginia: 70,500 jobsWest Virginia70,500Rhode Island: 62,200 jobsRhode Island62,200South Dakota: 53,600 jobsSouth Dakota53,600Delaware: 51,600 jobsDelaware51,600North Dakota: 41,500 jobsNorth Dakota41,500Wyoming: 38,500 jobsWyoming38,500Alaska: 36,600 jobsAlaska36,600Vermont: 35,800 jobsVermont35,800
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

RankStatesMarch 2026
jobs		Change on March 2025
1California2,046,900+1.7%
2Texas1,544,300+1%
3Florida1,330,100-0.3%
4New York928,500-1.4%
5Illinois602,100-0.1%
6Pennsylvania575,900+0.9%
7Ohio570,300+0.4%
8North Carolina547,500+1.5%
9Georgia517,400-0.1%
10Michigan425,500-0.6%
11Virginia418,300-0.2%
12New Jersey408,000-0%
13Tennessee369,800+0.8%
14Arizona368,200-0.8%
15Massachusetts365,700+0.3%
16Nevada362,700+0.9%
17Colorado349,300-0.4%
18Washington344,800+0.4%
19Missouri314,500+1.9%
20Indiana306,000-2.3%
21Wisconsin290,900+0.8%
22South Carolina285,800+1%
23Maryland269,600-0.6%
24Minnesota266,500-1.8%
25Louisiana226,700+0.7%
26Alabama218,500+2.5%
27Kentucky206,900+0.7%
28Oregon206,000-0.7%
29Oklahoma181,100-2.3%
30Utah177,500-0.3%
31Connecticut154,500-1.1%
32Iowa139,600-3.2%
33Mississippi136,800+1.3%
34Arkansas135,000+3.2%
35Kansas133,200-0.1%
36Hawaii121,600+1.1%
37Nebraska100,500+0.4%
38New Mexico98,800-0.4%
39Idaho91,000-3.4%
40District of Columbia75,300-2.8%
41New Hampshire75,000-2.6%
42Montana72,800-0.8%
43Maine72,300+2.8%
44West Virginia70,500-2.1%
45Rhode Island62,200+2.1%
46South Dakota53,600+6.6%
47Delaware51,600-2.3%
48North Dakota41,500+1%
49Wyoming38,500+1%
50Alaska36,600+1.9%
51Vermont35,800+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

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, 2026-03) [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, 2026-03. 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=2026-03. 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, 2026-03. 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=2026-03.

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, 2026-03 [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=2026-03 (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, 2026-03}},
  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=2026-03. 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, 2026-03
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=2026-03
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/leisure-hospitality-jobs/us-states?period=2026-03.
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 2,046,900 jobs in March 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest leisure and hospitality payroll employment?

Vermont, with 35,800 jobs in March 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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