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 May 2026, at 2,053,400 jobs. Vermont had the lowest, at 35,100 jobs. The median was 218,500 jobs and the figure for the United States was 17,014,000 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest2,053,400California
Lowest35,100Vermont
Median218,50051 states
United States17,014,000History

Map of states, May 2026

Alabama: 218,500 jobsAlaska: 38,300 jobsArizona: 364,600 jobsArkansas: 134,400 jobsCalifornia: 2,053,400 jobsColorado: 353,200 jobsConnecticut: 155,000 jobsDelaware: 51,600 jobsDistrict of Columbia: 76,100 jobsFlorida: 1,336,600 jobsGeorgia: 523,000 jobsHawaii: 123,300 jobsIdaho: 91,800 jobsIllinois: 607,900 jobsIndiana: 304,800 jobsIowa: 142,000 jobsKansas: 136,700 jobsKentucky: 208,000 jobsLouisiana: 226,600 jobsMaine: 70,500 jobsMaryland: 272,800 jobsMassachusetts: 362,600 jobsMichigan: 429,100 jobsMinnesota: 273,300 jobsMississippi: 136,900 jobsMissouri: 316,500 jobsMontana: 71,100 jobsNebraska: 103,800 jobsNevada: 360,200 jobsNew Hampshire: 78,000 jobsNew Jersey: 407,900 jobsNew Mexico: 100,300 jobsNew York: 929,000 jobsNorth Carolina: 558,100 jobsNorth Dakota: 41,400 jobsOhio: 571,200 jobsOklahoma: 182,800 jobsOregon: 205,500 jobsPennsylvania: 580,200 jobsRhode Island: 60,300 jobsSouth Carolina: 287,700 jobsSouth Dakota: 54,200 jobsTennessee: 373,400 jobsTexas: 1,545,800 jobsUtah: 177,600 jobsVermont: 35,100 jobsVirginia: 419,900 jobsWashington: 350,600 jobsWest Virginia: 71,500 jobsWisconsin: 296,200 jobsWyoming: 40,000 jobs
  • Under 70K
  • 70K to 140K
  • 140K to 220K
  • 220K to 350K
  • 350K to 490K
  • 490K and over
jobs, May 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, May 2026

California: 2,053,400 jobsCalifornia2,053,400Texas: 1,545,800 jobsTexas1,545,800Florida: 1,336,600 jobsFlorida1,336,600New York: 929,000 jobsNew York929,000Illinois: 607,900 jobsIllinois607,900Pennsylvania: 580,200 jobsPennsylvania580,200Ohio: 571,200 jobsOhio571,200North Carolina: 558,100 jobsNorth Carolina558,100Georgia: 523,000 jobsGeorgia523,000Michigan: 429,100 jobsMichigan429,100Virginia: 419,900 jobsVirginia419,900New Jersey: 407,900 jobsNew Jersey407,900Tennessee: 373,400 jobsTennessee373,400Arizona: 364,600 jobsArizona364,600Massachusetts: 362,600 jobsMassachusetts362,600Nevada: 360,200 jobsNevada360,200Colorado: 353,200 jobsColorado353,200Washington: 350,600 jobsWashington350,600Missouri: 316,500 jobsMissouri316,500Indiana: 304,800 jobsIndiana304,800Wisconsin: 296,200 jobsWisconsin296,200South Carolina: 287,700 jobsSouth Carolina287,700Minnesota: 273,300 jobsMinnesota273,300Maryland: 272,800 jobsMaryland272,800Louisiana: 226,600 jobsLouisiana226,600Alabama: 218,500 jobsAlabama218,500Kentucky: 208,000 jobsKentucky208,000Oregon: 205,500 jobsOregon205,500Oklahoma: 182,800 jobsOklahoma182,800Utah: 177,600 jobsUtah177,600Connecticut: 155,000 jobsConnecticut155,000Iowa: 142,000 jobsIowa142,000Mississippi: 136,900 jobsMississippi136,900Kansas: 136,700 jobsKansas136,700Arkansas: 134,400 jobsArkansas134,400Hawaii: 123,300 jobsHawaii123,300Nebraska: 103,800 jobsNebraska103,800New Mexico: 100,300 jobsNew Mexico100,300Idaho: 91,800 jobsIdaho91,800New Hampshire: 78,000 jobsNew Hampshire78,000District of Columbia: 76,100 jobsDistrict of Columbia76,100West Virginia: 71,500 jobsWest Virginia71,500Montana: 71,100 jobsMontana71,100Maine: 70,500 jobsMaine70,500Rhode Island: 60,300 jobsRhode Island60,300South Dakota: 54,200 jobsSouth Dakota54,200Delaware: 51,600 jobsDelaware51,600North Dakota: 41,400 jobsNorth Dakota41,400Wyoming: 40,000 jobsWyoming40,000Alaska: 38,300 jobsAlaska38,300Vermont: 35,100 jobsVermont35,100California: 2,053,400 jobsCalifornia2,053,400Texas: 1,545,800 jobsTexas1,545,800Florida: 1,336,600 jobsFlorida1,336,600New York: 929,000 jobsNew York929,000Illinois: 607,900 jobsIllinois607,900Pennsylvania: 580,200 jobsPennsylvania580,200Ohio: 571,200 jobsOhio571,200North Carolina: 558,100 jobsNorth Carolina558,100Georgia: 523,000 jobsGeorgia523,000Michigan: 429,100 jobsMichigan429,100Virginia: 419,900 jobsVirginia419,900New Jersey: 407,900 jobsNew Jersey407,900Tennessee: 373,400 jobsTennessee373,400Arizona: 364,600 jobsArizona364,600Massachusetts: 362,600 jobsMassachusetts362,600Nevada: 360,200 jobsNevada360,200Colorado: 353,200 jobsColorado353,200Washington: 350,600 jobsWashington350,600Missouri: 316,500 jobsMissouri316,500Indiana: 304,800 jobsIndiana304,800Wisconsin: 296,200 jobsWisconsin296,200South Carolina: 287,700 jobsSouth Carolina287,700Minnesota: 273,300 jobsMinnesota273,300Maryland: 272,800 jobsMaryland272,800Louisiana: 226,600 jobsLouisiana226,600Alabama: 218,500 jobsAlabama218,500Kentucky: 208,000 jobsKentucky208,000Oregon: 205,500 jobsOregon205,500Oklahoma: 182,800 jobsOklahoma182,800Utah: 177,600 jobsUtah177,600Connecticut: 155,000 jobsConnecticut155,000Iowa: 142,000 jobsIowa142,000Mississippi: 136,900 jobsMississippi136,900Kansas: 136,700 jobsKansas136,700Arkansas: 134,400 jobsArkansas134,400Hawaii: 123,300 jobsHawaii123,300Nebraska: 103,800 jobsNebraska103,800New Mexico: 100,300 jobsNew Mexico100,300Idaho: 91,800 jobsIdaho91,800New Hampshire: 78,000 jobsNew Hampshire78,000District of Columbia: 76,100 jobsDistrict of Columbia76,100West Virginia: 71,500 jobsWest Virginia71,500Montana: 71,100 jobsMontana71,100Maine: 70,500 jobsMaine70,500Rhode Island: 60,300 jobsRhode Island60,300South Dakota: 54,200 jobsSouth Dakota54,200Delaware: 51,600 jobsDelaware51,600North Dakota: 41,400 jobsNorth Dakota41,400Wyoming: 40,000 jobsWyoming40,000Alaska: 38,300 jobsAlaska38,300Vermont: 35,100 jobsVermont35,100
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

RankStatesMay 2026
jobs		Change on May 2025
1California2,053,400+1.7%
2Texas1,545,800+0.8%
3Florida1,336,600+0.3%
4New York929,000-0.7%
5Illinois607,900+0.2%
6Pennsylvania580,200+0.9%
7Ohio571,200+0.1%
8North Carolina558,100+2.7%
9Georgia523,000+0.5%
10Michigan429,100-1%
11Virginia419,900-0.6%
12New Jersey407,900-1.7%
13Tennessee373,400+1.4%
14Arizona364,600-1.3%
15Massachusetts362,600-1.2%
16Nevada360,200-0.2%
17Colorado353,200+0.5%
18Washington350,600+1.2%
19Missouri316,500+1.9%
20Indiana304,800-3.1%
21Wisconsin296,200+1.8%
22South Carolina287,700+1.7%
23Minnesota273,300-0.5%
24Maryland272,800+0.1%
25Louisiana226,600+0.5%
26Alabama218,500+2.2%
27Kentucky208,000+0.8%
28Oregon205,500-1.2%
29Oklahoma182,800-1.5%
30Utah177,600+0.6%
31Connecticut155,000-1.4%
32Iowa142,000-2.3%
33Mississippi136,900+1%
34Kansas136,700+2.1%
35Arkansas134,400+2.1%
36Hawaii123,300+2.2%
37Nebraska103,800+2%
38New Mexico100,300+1.1%
39Idaho91,800-3.1%
40New Hampshire78,000+1%
41District of Columbia76,100-1.7%
42West Virginia71,500-0.6%
43Montana71,100-3.4%
44Maine70,500-1.1%
45Rhode Island60,300-2.4%
46South Dakota54,200+5.4%
47Delaware51,600-3%
48North Dakota41,400+0.7%
49Wyoming40,000+3.4%
50Alaska38,300+5.2%
51Vermont35,100-0.6%

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, 2026-05) [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, 2026-05. 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=2026-05. 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, 2026-05. 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=2026-05.

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, 2026-05 [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=2026-05 (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, 2026-05}},
  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=2026-05. 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, 2026-05
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=2026-05
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/leisure-hospitality-jobs/us-states?period=2026-05.
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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Questions

Which state has the highest leisure and hospitality payroll employment?

California, with 2,053,400 jobs in May 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest leisure and hospitality payroll employment?

Vermont, with 35,100 jobs in May 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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