Data / Rankings / Nonfarm payroll employment / US states

US states by nonfarm payroll employment

California had the highest nonfarm payroll employment of 51 states in March 2026, at 18,163,000 jobs. Wyoming had the lowest, at 294,400 jobs. The median was 2,005,200 jobs and the figure for the United States was 158,650,000 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest18,163,000California
Lowest294,400Wyoming
Median2,005,20051 states
United States158,650,000History

Map of states, March 2026

Alabama: 2,205,100 jobsAlaska: 336,700 jobsArizona: 3,274,300 jobsArkansas: 1,344,200 jobsCalifornia: 18,163,000 jobsColorado: 2,956,000 jobsConnecticut: 1,719,600 jobsDelaware: 495,300 jobsDistrict of Columbia: 720,800 jobsFlorida: 9,992,400 jobsGeorgia: 4,988,900 jobsHawaii: 642,600 jobsIdaho: 878,600 jobsIllinois: 6,147,400 jobsIndiana: 3,263,500 jobsIowa: 1,576,900 jobsKansas: 1,459,400 jobsKentucky: 2,033,300 jobsLouisiana: 2,005,200 jobsMaine: 660,800 jobsMaryland: 2,795,000 jobsMassachusetts: 3,707,800 jobsMichigan: 4,475,500 jobsMinnesota: 3,027,000 jobsMississippi: 1,190,300 jobsMissouri: 2,982,100 jobsMontana: 524,400 jobsNebraska: 1,055,200 jobsNevada: 1,607,900 jobsNew Hampshire: 697,400 jobsNew Jersey: 4,378,900 jobsNew Mexico: 890,700 jobsNew York: 9,979,000 jobsNorth Carolina: 5,080,100 jobsNorth Dakota: 450,400 jobsOhio: 5,679,300 jobsOklahoma: 1,790,500 jobsOregon: 1,962,900 jobsPennsylvania: 6,188,100 jobsRhode Island: 515,200 jobsSouth Carolina: 2,399,700 jobsSouth Dakota: 470,000 jobsTennessee: 3,374,900 jobsTexas: 14,394,000 jobsUtah: 1,774,900 jobsVermont: 311,200 jobsVirginia: 4,245,300 jobsWashington: 3,639,100 jobsWest Virginia: 716,300 jobsWisconsin: 3,019,800 jobsWyoming: 294,400 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, March 2026. 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, March 2026

California: 18,163,000 jobsCalifornia18,163,000Texas: 14,394,000 jobsTexas14,394,000Florida: 9,992,400 jobsFlorida9,992,400New York: 9,979,000 jobsNew York9,979,000Pennsylvania: 6,188,100 jobsPennsylvania6,188,100Illinois: 6,147,400 jobsIllinois6,147,400Ohio: 5,679,300 jobsOhio5,679,300North Carolina: 5,080,100 jobsNorth Carolina5,080,100Georgia: 4,988,900 jobsGeorgia4,988,900Michigan: 4,475,500 jobsMichigan4,475,500New Jersey: 4,378,900 jobsNew Jersey4,378,900Virginia: 4,245,300 jobsVirginia4,245,300Massachusetts: 3,707,800 jobsMassachusetts3,707,800Washington: 3,639,100 jobsWashington3,639,100Tennessee: 3,374,900 jobsTennessee3,374,900Arizona: 3,274,300 jobsArizona3,274,300Indiana: 3,263,500 jobsIndiana3,263,500Minnesota: 3,027,000 jobsMinnesota3,027,000Wisconsin: 3,019,800 jobsWisconsin3,019,800Missouri: 2,982,100 jobsMissouri2,982,100Colorado: 2,956,000 jobsColorado2,956,000Maryland: 2,795,000 jobsMaryland2,795,000South Carolina: 2,399,700 jobsSouth Carolina2,399,700Alabama: 2,205,100 jobsAlabama2,205,100Kentucky: 2,033,300 jobsKentucky2,033,300Louisiana: 2,005,200 jobsLouisiana2,005,200Oregon: 1,962,900 jobsOregon1,962,900Oklahoma: 1,790,500 jobsOklahoma1,790,500Utah: 1,774,900 jobsUtah1,774,900Connecticut: 1,719,600 jobsConnecticut1,719,600Nevada: 1,607,900 jobsNevada1,607,900Iowa: 1,576,900 jobsIowa1,576,900Kansas: 1,459,400 jobsKansas1,459,400Arkansas: 1,344,200 jobsArkansas1,344,200Mississippi: 1,190,300 jobsMississippi1,190,300Nebraska: 1,055,200 jobsNebraska1,055,200New Mexico: 890,700 jobsNew Mexico890,700Idaho: 878,600 jobsIdaho878,600District of Columbia: 720,800 jobsDistrict of Columbia720,800West Virginia: 716,300 jobsWest Virginia716,300New Hampshire: 697,400 jobsNew Hampshire697,400Maine: 660,800 jobsMaine660,800Hawaii: 642,600 jobsHawaii642,600Montana: 524,400 jobsMontana524,400Rhode Island: 515,200 jobsRhode Island515,200Delaware: 495,300 jobsDelaware495,300South Dakota: 470,000 jobsSouth Dakota470,000North Dakota: 450,400 jobsNorth Dakota450,400Alaska: 336,700 jobsAlaska336,700Vermont: 311,200 jobsVermont311,200Wyoming: 294,400 jobsWyoming294,400California: 18,163,000 jobsCalifornia18,163,000Texas: 14,394,000 jobsTexas14,394,000Florida: 9,992,400 jobsFlorida9,992,400New York: 9,979,000 jobsNew York9,979,000Pennsylvania: 6,188,100 jobsPennsylvania6,188,100Illinois: 6,147,400 jobsIllinois6,147,400Ohio: 5,679,300 jobsOhio5,679,300North Carolina: 5,080,100 jobsNorth Carolina5,080,100Georgia: 4,988,900 jobsGeorgia4,988,900Michigan: 4,475,500 jobsMichigan4,475,500New Jersey: 4,378,900 jobsNew Jersey4,378,900Virginia: 4,245,300 jobsVirginia4,245,300Massachusetts: 3,707,800 jobsMassachusetts3,707,800Washington: 3,639,100 jobsWashington3,639,100Tennessee: 3,374,900 jobsTennessee3,374,900Arizona: 3,274,300 jobsArizona3,274,300Indiana: 3,263,500 jobsIndiana3,263,500Minnesota: 3,027,000 jobsMinnesota3,027,000Wisconsin: 3,019,800 jobsWisconsin3,019,800Missouri: 2,982,100 jobsMissouri2,982,100Colorado: 2,956,000 jobsColorado2,956,000Maryland: 2,795,000 jobsMaryland2,795,000South Carolina: 2,399,700 jobsSouth Carolina2,399,700Alabama: 2,205,100 jobsAlabama2,205,100Kentucky: 2,033,300 jobsKentucky2,033,300Louisiana: 2,005,200 jobsLouisiana2,005,200Oregon: 1,962,900 jobsOregon1,962,900Oklahoma: 1,790,500 jobsOklahoma1,790,500Utah: 1,774,900 jobsUtah1,774,900Connecticut: 1,719,600 jobsConnecticut1,719,600Nevada: 1,607,900 jobsNevada1,607,900Iowa: 1,576,900 jobsIowa1,576,900Kansas: 1,459,400 jobsKansas1,459,400Arkansas: 1,344,200 jobsArkansas1,344,200Mississippi: 1,190,300 jobsMississippi1,190,300Nebraska: 1,055,200 jobsNebraska1,055,200New Mexico: 890,700 jobsNew Mexico890,700Idaho: 878,600 jobsIdaho878,600District of Columbia: 720,800 jobsDistrict of Columbia720,800West Virginia: 716,300 jobsWest Virginia716,300New Hampshire: 697,400 jobsNew Hampshire697,400Maine: 660,800 jobsMaine660,800Hawaii: 642,600 jobsHawaii642,600Montana: 524,400 jobsMontana524,400Rhode Island: 515,200 jobsRhode Island515,200Delaware: 495,300 jobsDelaware495,300South Dakota: 470,000 jobsSouth Dakota470,000North Dakota: 450,400 jobsNorth Dakota450,400Alaska: 336,700 jobsAlaska336,700Vermont: 311,200 jobsVermont311,200Wyoming: 294,400 jobsWyoming294,400
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

RankStatesMarch 2026
jobs		Change on March 2025
1California18,163,000+0.9%
2Texas14,394,000+0.8%
3Florida9,992,400-0.2%
4New York9,979,000-0.1%
5Pennsylvania6,188,100+0.4%
6Illinois6,147,400-0%
7Ohio5,679,300+0.3%
8North Carolina5,080,100+0.9%
9Georgia4,988,900+0.2%
10Michigan4,475,500-0.2%
11New Jersey4,378,9000%
12Virginia4,245,300-0.8%
13Massachusetts3,707,800-0.2%
14Washington3,639,100+0.3%
15Tennessee3,374,900+0.2%
16Arizona3,274,300-0.1%
17Indiana3,263,500-0.2%
18Minnesota3,027,000+0.2%
19Wisconsin3,019,800-0.6%
20Missouri2,982,100-0.3%
21Colorado2,956,000-0.2%
22Maryland2,795,000-1.7%
23South Carolina2,399,700+0.5%
24Alabama2,205,100+0.5%
25Kentucky2,033,300-0.1%
26Louisiana2,005,200+0.5%
27Oregon1,962,900-1.1%
28Oklahoma1,790,500-0.2%
29Utah1,774,900+0.7%
30Connecticut1,719,600+0.1%
31Nevada1,607,900+2.1%
32Iowa1,576,900-1.2%
33Kansas1,459,400-0.3%
34Arkansas1,344,200+0.5%
35Mississippi1,190,300+0.1%
36Nebraska1,055,200-0.3%
37New Mexico890,700-0.3%
38Idaho878,600+0.7%
39District of Columbia720,800-5.2%
40West Virginia716,300-0.3%
41New Hampshire697,400-0.9%
42Maine660,800-0%
43Hawaii642,600-0.2%
44Montana524,400-0.1%
45Rhode Island515,200-0.1%
46Delaware495,3000%
47South Dakota470,000+0.3%
48North Dakota450,400+0.7%
49Alaska336,700-0.4%
50Vermont311,200-0.4%
51Wyoming294,400-0%

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

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, 2026-03 [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=2026-03 (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, 2026-03}},
  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=2026-03. 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, 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.55.TotalNonFarmStateWide.All
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonfarm-payroll-employment/us-states?period=2026-03
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonfarm-payroll-employment/us-states?period=2026-03.
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 18,163,000 jobs in March 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest nonfarm payroll employment?

Wyoming, with 294,400 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, total nonfarm, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000000000000001). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

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