Data / Rankings / Nonfarm payroll employment / US states

US states by nonfarm payroll employment

California had the highest nonfarm payroll employment of 51 states in December 2025, at 18,062,500 jobs. Wyoming had the lowest, at 293,800 jobs. The median was 1,997,200 jobs and the figure for the United States was 158,432,000 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest18,062,500California
Lowest293,800Wyoming
Median1,997,20051 states
United States158,432,000History

Map of states, December 2025

Alabama: 2,196,200 jobsAlaska: 336,900 jobsArizona: 3,255,500 jobsArkansas: 1,344,400 jobsCalifornia: 18,062,500 jobsColorado: 2,959,400 jobsConnecticut: 1,717,000 jobsDelaware: 494,800 jobsDistrict of Columbia: 725,600 jobsFlorida: 9,953,900 jobsGeorgia: 4,983,100 jobsHawaii: 641,500 jobsIdaho: 882,100 jobsIllinois: 6,148,800 jobsIndiana: 3,241,100 jobsIowa: 1,578,000 jobsKansas: 1,464,200 jobsKentucky: 2,029,300 jobsLouisiana: 1,997,200 jobsMaine: 659,100 jobsMaryland: 2,786,100 jobsMassachusetts: 3,705,700 jobsMichigan: 4,478,800 jobsMinnesota: 3,035,000 jobsMississippi: 1,192,600 jobsMissouri: 2,985,600 jobsMontana: 525,300 jobsNebraska: 1,059,700 jobsNevada: 1,600,000 jobsNew Hampshire: 696,400 jobsNew Jersey: 4,380,500 jobsNew Mexico: 889,800 jobsNew York: 9,983,300 jobsNorth Carolina: 5,068,200 jobsNorth Dakota: 444,600 jobsOhio: 5,663,400 jobsOklahoma: 1,787,000 jobsOregon: 1,972,500 jobsPennsylvania: 6,184,000 jobsRhode Island: 514,200 jobsSouth Carolina: 2,400,100 jobsSouth Dakota: 470,100 jobsTennessee: 3,370,200 jobsTexas: 14,339,400 jobsUtah: 1,772,700 jobsVermont: 311,500 jobsVirginia: 4,252,800 jobsWashington: 3,639,300 jobsWest Virginia: 716,300 jobsWisconsin: 3,024,500 jobsWyoming: 293,800 jobs
  • Under 600K
  • 600K to 1.3M
  • 1.3M to 2M
  • 2M to 3.1M
  • 3.1M to 4.8M
  • 4.8M and over
jobs, December 2025. Source: BLS, Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, total nonfarm, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000000000000001). Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, December 2025

California: 18,062,500 jobsCalifornia18,062,500Texas: 14,339,400 jobsTexas14,339,400New York: 9,983,300 jobsNew York9,983,300Florida: 9,953,900 jobsFlorida9,953,900Pennsylvania: 6,184,000 jobsPennsylvania6,184,000Illinois: 6,148,800 jobsIllinois6,148,800Ohio: 5,663,400 jobsOhio5,663,400North Carolina: 5,068,200 jobsNorth Carolina5,068,200Georgia: 4,983,100 jobsGeorgia4,983,100Michigan: 4,478,800 jobsMichigan4,478,800New Jersey: 4,380,500 jobsNew Jersey4,380,500Virginia: 4,252,800 jobsVirginia4,252,800Massachusetts: 3,705,700 jobsMassachusetts3,705,700Washington: 3,639,300 jobsWashington3,639,300Tennessee: 3,370,200 jobsTennessee3,370,200Arizona: 3,255,500 jobsArizona3,255,500Indiana: 3,241,100 jobsIndiana3,241,100Minnesota: 3,035,000 jobsMinnesota3,035,000Wisconsin: 3,024,500 jobsWisconsin3,024,500Missouri: 2,985,600 jobsMissouri2,985,600Colorado: 2,959,400 jobsColorado2,959,400Maryland: 2,786,100 jobsMaryland2,786,100South Carolina: 2,400,100 jobsSouth Carolina2,400,100Alabama: 2,196,200 jobsAlabama2,196,200Kentucky: 2,029,300 jobsKentucky2,029,300Louisiana: 1,997,200 jobsLouisiana1,997,200Oregon: 1,972,500 jobsOregon1,972,500Oklahoma: 1,787,000 jobsOklahoma1,787,000Utah: 1,772,700 jobsUtah1,772,700Connecticut: 1,717,000 jobsConnecticut1,717,000Nevada: 1,600,000 jobsNevada1,600,000Iowa: 1,578,000 jobsIowa1,578,000Kansas: 1,464,200 jobsKansas1,464,200Arkansas: 1,344,400 jobsArkansas1,344,400Mississippi: 1,192,600 jobsMississippi1,192,600Nebraska: 1,059,700 jobsNebraska1,059,700New Mexico: 889,800 jobsNew Mexico889,800Idaho: 882,100 jobsIdaho882,100District of Columbia: 725,600 jobsDistrict of Columbia725,600West Virginia: 716,300 jobsWest Virginia716,300New Hampshire: 696,400 jobsNew Hampshire696,400Maine: 659,100 jobsMaine659,100Hawaii: 641,500 jobsHawaii641,500Montana: 525,300 jobsMontana525,300Rhode Island: 514,200 jobsRhode Island514,200Delaware: 494,800 jobsDelaware494,800South Dakota: 470,100 jobsSouth Dakota470,100North Dakota: 444,600 jobsNorth Dakota444,600Alaska: 336,900 jobsAlaska336,900Vermont: 311,500 jobsVermont311,500Wyoming: 293,800 jobsWyoming293,800California: 18,062,500 jobsCalifornia18,062,500Texas: 14,339,400 jobsTexas14,339,400New York: 9,983,300 jobsNew York9,983,300Florida: 9,953,900 jobsFlorida9,953,900Pennsylvania: 6,184,000 jobsPennsylvania6,184,000Illinois: 6,148,800 jobsIllinois6,148,800Ohio: 5,663,400 jobsOhio5,663,400North Carolina: 5,068,200 jobsNorth Carolina5,068,200Georgia: 4,983,100 jobsGeorgia4,983,100Michigan: 4,478,800 jobsMichigan4,478,800New Jersey: 4,380,500 jobsNew Jersey4,380,500Virginia: 4,252,800 jobsVirginia4,252,800Massachusetts: 3,705,700 jobsMassachusetts3,705,700Washington: 3,639,300 jobsWashington3,639,300Tennessee: 3,370,200 jobsTennessee3,370,200Arizona: 3,255,500 jobsArizona3,255,500Indiana: 3,241,100 jobsIndiana3,241,100Minnesota: 3,035,000 jobsMinnesota3,035,000Wisconsin: 3,024,500 jobsWisconsin3,024,500Missouri: 2,985,600 jobsMissouri2,985,600Colorado: 2,959,400 jobsColorado2,959,400Maryland: 2,786,100 jobsMaryland2,786,100South Carolina: 2,400,100 jobsSouth Carolina2,400,100Alabama: 2,196,200 jobsAlabama2,196,200Kentucky: 2,029,300 jobsKentucky2,029,300Louisiana: 1,997,200 jobsLouisiana1,997,200Oregon: 1,972,500 jobsOregon1,972,500Oklahoma: 1,787,000 jobsOklahoma1,787,000Utah: 1,772,700 jobsUtah1,772,700Connecticut: 1,717,000 jobsConnecticut1,717,000Nevada: 1,600,000 jobsNevada1,600,000Iowa: 1,578,000 jobsIowa1,578,000Kansas: 1,464,200 jobsKansas1,464,200Arkansas: 1,344,400 jobsArkansas1,344,400Mississippi: 1,192,600 jobsMississippi1,192,600Nebraska: 1,059,700 jobsNebraska1,059,700New Mexico: 889,800 jobsNew Mexico889,800Idaho: 882,100 jobsIdaho882,100District of Columbia: 725,600 jobsDistrict of Columbia725,600West Virginia: 716,300 jobsWest Virginia716,300New Hampshire: 696,400 jobsNew Hampshire696,400Maine: 659,100 jobsMaine659,100Hawaii: 641,500 jobsHawaii641,500Montana: 525,300 jobsMontana525,300Rhode Island: 514,200 jobsRhode Island514,200Delaware: 494,800 jobsDelaware494,800South Dakota: 470,100 jobsSouth Dakota470,100North Dakota: 444,600 jobsNorth Dakota444,600Alaska: 336,900 jobsAlaska336,900Vermont: 311,500 jobsVermont311,500Wyoming: 293,800 jobsWyoming293,800
jobs. Source: BLS, Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, total nonfarm, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000000000000001). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStatesDecember 2025
jobs		Change on December 2024
1California18,062,500+0.3%
2Texas14,339,400+0.6%
3New York9,983,300+0.4%
4Florida9,953,900-0.3%
5Pennsylvania6,184,000+0.4%
6Illinois6,148,800-0.1%
7Ohio5,663,400-0.1%
8North Carolina5,068,200+0.8%
9Georgia4,983,100-0.1%
10Michigan4,478,800-0.1%
11New Jersey4,380,500+0.1%
12Virginia4,252,800-0.4%
13Massachusetts3,705,700-0.5%
14Washington3,639,300+0.1%
15Tennessee3,370,2000%
16Arizona3,255,500-0.4%
17Indiana3,241,100-0.9%
18Minnesota3,035,000+0.1%
19Wisconsin3,024,500-0.6%
20Missouri2,985,600-0.2%
21Colorado2,959,400-0.4%
22Maryland2,786,100-2.3%
23South Carolina2,400,100+1.1%
24Alabama2,196,200+0.2%
25Kentucky2,029,300-0.3%
26Louisiana1,997,200+0.2%
27Oregon1,972,500-1.1%
28Oklahoma1,787,000-0.2%
29Utah1,772,700+0.8%
30Connecticut1,717,000+0.1%
31Nevada1,600,000+1.8%
32Iowa1,578,000-1%
33Kansas1,464,2000%
34Arkansas1,344,400+0.7%
35Mississippi1,192,600+0.4%
36Nebraska1,059,700-0.1%
37New Mexico889,800-0.4%
38Idaho882,100+1.3%
39District of Columbia725,600-5.4%
40West Virginia716,300-0.2%
41New Hampshire696,400-1.2%
42Maine659,100-0.4%
43Hawaii641,5000%
44Montana525,300-0%
45Rhode Island514,200-0.3%
46Delaware494,800-0.1%
47South Dakota470,1000%
48North Dakota444,600-0.7%
49Alaska336,900+0.1%
50Vermont311,500-0.2%
51Wyoming293,800-0.4%

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of jobs on nonfarm payrolls in the month, seasonally adjusted, from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey of businesses and government agencies run by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The monthly jobs count of the national Employment Situation report and the State Employment and Unemployment release. 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. For employed people from the household survey use employment_population_ratio; for May job counts by occupation use oews_employment.

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, total nonfarm, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000000000000001). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.55.TotalNonFarmStateWide.All. 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, total nonfarm, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000000000000001) (US states by nonfarm payroll employment, 2025-12) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.55.TotalNonFarmStateWide.All

MLA 9

Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, total nonfarm, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000000000000001), US states by nonfarm payroll employment, 2025-12. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 18 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.55.TotalNonFarmStateWide.All. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonfarm-payroll-employment/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, total nonfarm, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000000000000001). US states by nonfarm payroll employment, 2025-12. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.55.TotalNonFarmStateWide.All. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonfarm-payroll-employment/us-states?period=2025-12.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, total nonfarm, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000000000000001), US states by nonfarm payroll employment, 2025-12 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.55.TotalNonFarmStateWide.All, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonfarm-payroll-employment/us-states?period=2025-12 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_us_states_by_nonfarm_2026,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, total nonfarm, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000000000000001): US states by nonfarm payroll employment, 2025-12}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.55.TotalNonFarmStateWide.All},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonfarm-payroll-employment/us-states?period=2025-12. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, total nonfarm, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000000000000001). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.55.TotalNonFarmStateWide.All. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, total nonfarm, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000000000000001): US states by nonfarm 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.55.TotalNonFarmStateWide.All
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonfarm-payroll-employment/us-states?period=2025-12
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonfarm-payroll-employment/us-states?period=2025-12.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, total nonfarm, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000000000000001). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.55.TotalNonFarmStateWide.All. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Rank US states by nonfarm payroll employment using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which state has the highest nonfarm payroll employment?

California, with 18,062,500 jobs in December 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest nonfarm payroll employment?

Wyoming, with 293,800 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, total nonfarm, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000000000000001). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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