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 August 2026, at 2,050,600 jobs. Vermont had the lowest, at 35,600 jobs. The median was 223,800 jobs and the figure for the United States was 16,959,000 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest2,050,600California
Lowest35,600Vermont
Median223,80051 states
United States16,959,000History

Map of states, August 2026

Alabama: 223,800 jobsAlaska: 38,700 jobsArizona: 359,800 jobsArkansas: 135,600 jobsCalifornia: 2,050,600 jobsColorado: 358,200 jobsConnecticut: 154,100 jobsDelaware: 51,500 jobsDistrict of Columbia: 75,600 jobsFlorida: 1,340,200 jobsGeorgia: 514,800 jobsHawaii: 121,500 jobsIdaho: 93,900 jobsIllinois: 606,500 jobsIndiana: 300,800 jobsIowa: 142,400 jobsKansas: 137,000 jobsKentucky: 208,700 jobsLouisiana: 228,100 jobsMaine: 70,700 jobsMaryland: 275,400 jobsMassachusetts: 361,300 jobsMichigan: 431,800 jobsMinnesota: 276,100 jobsMississippi: 137,700 jobsMissouri: 319,800 jobsMontana: 71,500 jobsNebraska: 104,700 jobsNevada: 359,900 jobsNew Hampshire: 78,500 jobsNew Jersey: 404,000 jobsNew Mexico: 99,400 jobsNew York: 923,800 jobsNorth Carolina: 555,700 jobsNorth Dakota: 41,900 jobsOhio: 567,100 jobsOklahoma: 183,100 jobsOregon: 203,600 jobsPennsylvania: 584,800 jobsRhode Island: 59,500 jobsSouth Carolina: 292,300 jobsSouth Dakota: 55,100 jobsTennessee: 374,300 jobsTexas: 1,557,100 jobsUtah: 178,900 jobsVermont: 35,600 jobsVirginia: 424,100 jobsWashington: 348,800 jobsWest Virginia: 72,400 jobsWisconsin: 295,100 jobsWyoming: 39,700 jobs
  • Under 70K
  • 70K to 140K
  • 140K to 220K
  • 220K to 350K
  • 350K to 490K
  • 490K and over
jobs, August 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, August 2026

California: 2,050,600 jobsCalifornia2,050,600Texas: 1,557,100 jobsTexas1,557,100Florida: 1,340,200 jobsFlorida1,340,200New York: 923,800 jobsNew York923,800Illinois: 606,500 jobsIllinois606,500Pennsylvania: 584,800 jobsPennsylvania584,800Ohio: 567,100 jobsOhio567,100North Carolina: 555,700 jobsNorth Carolina555,700Georgia: 514,800 jobsGeorgia514,800Michigan: 431,800 jobsMichigan431,800Virginia: 424,100 jobsVirginia424,100New Jersey: 404,000 jobsNew Jersey404,000Tennessee: 374,300 jobsTennessee374,300Massachusetts: 361,300 jobsMassachusetts361,300Nevada: 359,900 jobsNevada359,900Arizona: 359,800 jobsArizona359,800Colorado: 358,200 jobsColorado358,200Washington: 348,800 jobsWashington348,800Missouri: 319,800 jobsMissouri319,800Indiana: 300,800 jobsIndiana300,800Wisconsin: 295,100 jobsWisconsin295,100South Carolina: 292,300 jobsSouth Carolina292,300Minnesota: 276,100 jobsMinnesota276,100Maryland: 275,400 jobsMaryland275,400Louisiana: 228,100 jobsLouisiana228,100Alabama: 223,800 jobsAlabama223,800Kentucky: 208,700 jobsKentucky208,700Oregon: 203,600 jobsOregon203,600Oklahoma: 183,100 jobsOklahoma183,100Utah: 178,900 jobsUtah178,900Connecticut: 154,100 jobsConnecticut154,100Iowa: 142,400 jobsIowa142,400Mississippi: 137,700 jobsMississippi137,700Kansas: 137,000 jobsKansas137,000Arkansas: 135,600 jobsArkansas135,600Hawaii: 121,500 jobsHawaii121,500Nebraska: 104,700 jobsNebraska104,700New Mexico: 99,400 jobsNew Mexico99,400Idaho: 93,900 jobsIdaho93,900New Hampshire: 78,500 jobsNew Hampshire78,500District of Columbia: 75,600 jobsDistrict of Columbia75,600West Virginia: 72,400 jobsWest Virginia72,400Montana: 71,500 jobsMontana71,500Maine: 70,700 jobsMaine70,700Rhode Island: 59,500 jobsRhode Island59,500South Dakota: 55,100 jobsSouth Dakota55,100Delaware: 51,500 jobsDelaware51,500North Dakota: 41,900 jobsNorth Dakota41,900Wyoming: 39,700 jobsWyoming39,700Alaska: 38,700 jobsAlaska38,700Vermont: 35,600 jobsVermont35,600California: 2,050,600 jobsCalifornia2,050,600Texas: 1,557,100 jobsTexas1,557,100Florida: 1,340,200 jobsFlorida1,340,200New York: 923,800 jobsNew York923,800Illinois: 606,500 jobsIllinois606,500Pennsylvania: 584,800 jobsPennsylvania584,800Ohio: 567,100 jobsOhio567,100North Carolina: 555,700 jobsNorth Carolina555,700Georgia: 514,800 jobsGeorgia514,800Michigan: 431,800 jobsMichigan431,800Virginia: 424,100 jobsVirginia424,100New Jersey: 404,000 jobsNew Jersey404,000Tennessee: 374,300 jobsTennessee374,300Massachusetts: 361,300 jobsMassachusetts361,300Nevada: 359,900 jobsNevada359,900Arizona: 359,800 jobsArizona359,800Colorado: 358,200 jobsColorado358,200Washington: 348,800 jobsWashington348,800Missouri: 319,800 jobsMissouri319,800Indiana: 300,800 jobsIndiana300,800Wisconsin: 295,100 jobsWisconsin295,100South Carolina: 292,300 jobsSouth Carolina292,300Minnesota: 276,100 jobsMinnesota276,100Maryland: 275,400 jobsMaryland275,400Louisiana: 228,100 jobsLouisiana228,100Alabama: 223,800 jobsAlabama223,800Kentucky: 208,700 jobsKentucky208,700Oregon: 203,600 jobsOregon203,600Oklahoma: 183,100 jobsOklahoma183,100Utah: 178,900 jobsUtah178,900Connecticut: 154,100 jobsConnecticut154,100Iowa: 142,400 jobsIowa142,400Mississippi: 137,700 jobsMississippi137,700Kansas: 137,000 jobsKansas137,000Arkansas: 135,600 jobsArkansas135,600Hawaii: 121,500 jobsHawaii121,500Nebraska: 104,700 jobsNebraska104,700New Mexico: 99,400 jobsNew Mexico99,400Idaho: 93,900 jobsIdaho93,900New Hampshire: 78,500 jobsNew Hampshire78,500District of Columbia: 75,600 jobsDistrict of Columbia75,600West Virginia: 72,400 jobsWest Virginia72,400Montana: 71,500 jobsMontana71,500Maine: 70,700 jobsMaine70,700Rhode Island: 59,500 jobsRhode Island59,500South Dakota: 55,100 jobsSouth Dakota55,100Delaware: 51,500 jobsDelaware51,500North Dakota: 41,900 jobsNorth Dakota41,900Wyoming: 39,700 jobsWyoming39,700Alaska: 38,700 jobsAlaska38,700Vermont: 35,600 jobsVermont35,600
jobs. Source: BLS, Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, leisure and hospitality, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000007000000001). Retrieved 2026-10-20.

Full ranking

RankStatesAugust 2026
jobs		Change on August 2025
1California2,050,600+1.7%
2Texas1,557,100+1.9%
3Florida1,340,200+0.8%
4New York923,800-1.1%
5Illinois606,500+0.1%
6Pennsylvania584,800+2.1%
7Ohio567,100-0.6%
8North Carolina555,700+2.7%
9Georgia514,800-0.9%
10Michigan431,800+0.2%
11Virginia424,100+0.7%
12New Jersey404,000-1.1%
13Tennessee374,300+2%
14Massachusetts361,300-0.3%
15Nevada359,900-1.1%
16Arizona359,800-2.5%
17Colorado358,200+2.4%
18Washington348,800+1%
19Missouri319,800+3.4%
20Indiana300,800-4.1%
21Wisconsin295,100+1.7%
22South Carolina292,300+4%
23Minnesota276,100+0.9%
24Maryland275,400+2.6%
25Louisiana228,100+1.2%
26Alabama223,800+4.7%
27Kentucky208,700+1%
28Oregon203,600-1.5%
29Oklahoma183,100+0.3%
30Utah178,900+1%
31Connecticut154,100-1.3%
32Iowa142,400-0.8%
33Mississippi137,700+1.5%
34Kansas137,000+2.4%
35Arkansas135,600+2.7%
36Hawaii121,500+0.8%
37Nebraska104,700+2.5%
38New Mexico99,400+0.1%
39Idaho93,900-1.3%
40New Hampshire78,500+2.1%
41District of Columbia75,600-0.1%
42West Virginia72,400-0.4%
43Montana71,500-3.5%
44Maine70,700+0.7%
45Rhode Island59,500-3.3%
46South Dakota55,100+8.7%
47Delaware51,500-1.9%
48North Dakota41,900+2.7%
49Wyoming39,700+3.9%
50Alaska38,700+6.6%
51Vermont35,600+0.8%

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 2026-10-20.

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, 2026-08) [Data set]. Retrieved October 20, 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, 2026-08. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20 Oct. 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=2026-08. Accessed 20 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, 2026-08. Dataset. Accessed October 20, 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=2026-08.

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, 2026-08 [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=2026-08 (Accessed: 20 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, 2026-08}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.74.LeisureAndHospitality.Current},
  urldate = {2026-10-20},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/leisure-hospitality-jobs/us-states?period=2026-08. 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 2026-10-20.},
}
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, 2026-08
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/20
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=2026-08
Y2  - 2026/10/20
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/leisure-hospitality-jobs/us-states?period=2026-08.
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 2026-10-20.
ER  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank US states by leisure and hospitality payroll employment using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"payroll_employment_leisure_hospitality","level":"region","within":"United States","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=payroll_employment_leisure_hospitality&level=region&within=United%20States&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

Which state has the highest leisure and hospitality payroll employment?

California, with 2,050,600 jobs in August 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest leisure and hospitality payroll employment?

Vermont, with 35,600 jobs in August 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 2026-10-20.

US states: more rankings