Data / Rankings / Nonfarm payroll employment / US states

US states by nonfarm payroll employment

California had the highest nonfarm payroll employment of 51 states in April 2026, at 18,163,000 jobs. Wyoming had the lowest, at 294,600 jobs. The median was 2,009,300 jobs and the figure for the United States was 158,798,000 jobs. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Highest18,163,000California
Lowest294,600Wyoming
Median2,009,30051 states
United States158,798,000History

Map of states, April 2026

Alabama: 2,208,700 jobsAlaska: 337,600 jobsArizona: 3,282,400 jobsArkansas: 1,344,700 jobsCalifornia: 18,163,000 jobsColorado: 2,966,900 jobsConnecticut: 1,723,900 jobsDelaware: 494,600 jobsDistrict of Columbia: 720,700 jobsFlorida: 10,026,300 jobsGeorgia: 4,995,500 jobsHawaii: 644,000 jobsIdaho: 883,800 jobsIllinois: 6,158,800 jobsIndiana: 3,261,100 jobsIowa: 1,581,100 jobsKansas: 1,464,700 jobsKentucky: 2,034,200 jobsLouisiana: 2,009,300 jobsMaine: 661,600 jobsMaryland: 2,799,000 jobsMassachusetts: 3,715,200 jobsMichigan: 4,484,400 jobsMinnesota: 3,045,500 jobsMississippi: 1,193,800 jobsMissouri: 2,993,400 jobsMontana: 525,100 jobsNebraska: 1,058,600 jobsNevada: 1,608,500 jobsNew Hampshire: 700,400 jobsNew Jersey: 4,386,000 jobsNew Mexico: 897,600 jobsNew York: 9,977,700 jobsNorth Carolina: 5,101,500 jobsNorth Dakota: 448,300 jobsOhio: 5,687,400 jobsOklahoma: 1,793,400 jobsOregon: 1,963,500 jobsPennsylvania: 6,200,500 jobsRhode Island: 514,100 jobsSouth Carolina: 2,403,500 jobsSouth Dakota: 469,900 jobsTennessee: 3,376,500 jobsTexas: 14,401,400 jobsUtah: 1,781,500 jobsVermont: 310,800 jobsVirginia: 4,245,200 jobsWashington: 3,639,400 jobsWest Virginia: 717,500 jobsWisconsin: 3,031,100 jobsWyoming: 294,600 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, April 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, April 2026

California: 18,163,000 jobsCalifornia18,163,000Texas: 14,401,400 jobsTexas14,401,400Florida: 10,026,300 jobsFlorida10,026,300New York: 9,977,700 jobsNew York9,977,700Pennsylvania: 6,200,500 jobsPennsylvania6,200,500Illinois: 6,158,800 jobsIllinois6,158,800Ohio: 5,687,400 jobsOhio5,687,400North Carolina: 5,101,500 jobsNorth Carolina5,101,500Georgia: 4,995,500 jobsGeorgia4,995,500Michigan: 4,484,400 jobsMichigan4,484,400New Jersey: 4,386,000 jobsNew Jersey4,386,000Virginia: 4,245,200 jobsVirginia4,245,200Massachusetts: 3,715,200 jobsMassachusetts3,715,200Washington: 3,639,400 jobsWashington3,639,400Tennessee: 3,376,500 jobsTennessee3,376,500Arizona: 3,282,400 jobsArizona3,282,400Indiana: 3,261,100 jobsIndiana3,261,100Minnesota: 3,045,500 jobsMinnesota3,045,500Wisconsin: 3,031,100 jobsWisconsin3,031,100Missouri: 2,993,400 jobsMissouri2,993,400Colorado: 2,966,900 jobsColorado2,966,900Maryland: 2,799,000 jobsMaryland2,799,000South Carolina: 2,403,500 jobsSouth Carolina2,403,500Alabama: 2,208,700 jobsAlabama2,208,700Kentucky: 2,034,200 jobsKentucky2,034,200Louisiana: 2,009,300 jobsLouisiana2,009,300Oregon: 1,963,500 jobsOregon1,963,500Oklahoma: 1,793,400 jobsOklahoma1,793,400Utah: 1,781,500 jobsUtah1,781,500Connecticut: 1,723,900 jobsConnecticut1,723,900Nevada: 1,608,500 jobsNevada1,608,500Iowa: 1,581,100 jobsIowa1,581,100Kansas: 1,464,700 jobsKansas1,464,700Arkansas: 1,344,700 jobsArkansas1,344,700Mississippi: 1,193,800 jobsMississippi1,193,800Nebraska: 1,058,600 jobsNebraska1,058,600New Mexico: 897,600 jobsNew Mexico897,600Idaho: 883,800 jobsIdaho883,800District of Columbia: 720,700 jobsDistrict of Columbia720,700West Virginia: 717,500 jobsWest Virginia717,500New Hampshire: 700,400 jobsNew Hampshire700,400Maine: 661,600 jobsMaine661,600Hawaii: 644,000 jobsHawaii644,000Montana: 525,100 jobsMontana525,100Rhode Island: 514,100 jobsRhode Island514,100Delaware: 494,600 jobsDelaware494,600South Dakota: 469,900 jobsSouth Dakota469,900North Dakota: 448,300 jobsNorth Dakota448,300Alaska: 337,600 jobsAlaska337,600Vermont: 310,800 jobsVermont310,800Wyoming: 294,600 jobsWyoming294,600California: 18,163,000 jobsCalifornia18,163,000Texas: 14,401,400 jobsTexas14,401,400Florida: 10,026,300 jobsFlorida10,026,300New York: 9,977,700 jobsNew York9,977,700Pennsylvania: 6,200,500 jobsPennsylvania6,200,500Illinois: 6,158,800 jobsIllinois6,158,800Ohio: 5,687,400 jobsOhio5,687,400North Carolina: 5,101,500 jobsNorth Carolina5,101,500Georgia: 4,995,500 jobsGeorgia4,995,500Michigan: 4,484,400 jobsMichigan4,484,400New Jersey: 4,386,000 jobsNew Jersey4,386,000Virginia: 4,245,200 jobsVirginia4,245,200Massachusetts: 3,715,200 jobsMassachusetts3,715,200Washington: 3,639,400 jobsWashington3,639,400Tennessee: 3,376,500 jobsTennessee3,376,500Arizona: 3,282,400 jobsArizona3,282,400Indiana: 3,261,100 jobsIndiana3,261,100Minnesota: 3,045,500 jobsMinnesota3,045,500Wisconsin: 3,031,100 jobsWisconsin3,031,100Missouri: 2,993,400 jobsMissouri2,993,400Colorado: 2,966,900 jobsColorado2,966,900Maryland: 2,799,000 jobsMaryland2,799,000South Carolina: 2,403,500 jobsSouth Carolina2,403,500Alabama: 2,208,700 jobsAlabama2,208,700Kentucky: 2,034,200 jobsKentucky2,034,200Louisiana: 2,009,300 jobsLouisiana2,009,300Oregon: 1,963,500 jobsOregon1,963,500Oklahoma: 1,793,400 jobsOklahoma1,793,400Utah: 1,781,500 jobsUtah1,781,500Connecticut: 1,723,900 jobsConnecticut1,723,900Nevada: 1,608,500 jobsNevada1,608,500Iowa: 1,581,100 jobsIowa1,581,100Kansas: 1,464,700 jobsKansas1,464,700Arkansas: 1,344,700 jobsArkansas1,344,700Mississippi: 1,193,800 jobsMississippi1,193,800Nebraska: 1,058,600 jobsNebraska1,058,600New Mexico: 897,600 jobsNew Mexico897,600Idaho: 883,800 jobsIdaho883,800District of Columbia: 720,700 jobsDistrict of Columbia720,700West Virginia: 717,500 jobsWest Virginia717,500New Hampshire: 700,400 jobsNew Hampshire700,400Maine: 661,600 jobsMaine661,600Hawaii: 644,000 jobsHawaii644,000Montana: 525,100 jobsMontana525,100Rhode Island: 514,100 jobsRhode Island514,100Delaware: 494,600 jobsDelaware494,600South Dakota: 469,900 jobsSouth Dakota469,900North Dakota: 448,300 jobsNorth Dakota448,300Alaska: 337,600 jobsAlaska337,600Vermont: 310,800 jobsVermont310,800Wyoming: 294,600 jobsWyoming294,600
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

RankStatesApril 2026
jobs		Change on April 2025
1California18,163,000+0.6%
2Texas14,401,400+0.6%
3Florida10,026,300+0.1%
4New York9,977,700+0.4%
5Pennsylvania6,200,500+0.5%
6Illinois6,158,800-0.1%
7Ohio5,687,400+0.3%
8North Carolina5,101,500+1%
9Georgia4,995,5000%
10Michigan4,484,400-0.1%
11New Jersey4,386,000+0.1%
12Virginia4,245,200-0.9%
13Massachusetts3,715,2000%
14Washington3,639,4000%
15Tennessee3,376,5000%
16Arizona3,282,400+0.4%
17Indiana3,261,100-0.5%
18Minnesota3,045,500+0.4%
19Wisconsin3,031,100-0.3%
20Missouri2,993,4000%
21Colorado2,966,900+0.1%
22Maryland2,799,000-1.1%
23South Carolina2,403,500+0.8%
24Alabama2,208,700+0.6%
25Kentucky2,034,200-0.3%
26Louisiana2,009,300+0.5%
27Oregon1,963,500-1.2%
28Oklahoma1,793,400-0.2%
29Utah1,781,500+0.8%
30Connecticut1,723,900+0.2%
31Nevada1,608,500+1.8%
32Iowa1,581,100-0.9%
33Kansas1,464,700-0.2%
34Arkansas1,344,700+0.4%
35Mississippi1,193,800+0.2%
36Nebraska1,058,600-0.2%
37New Mexico897,600+0.7%
38Idaho883,800+0.7%
39District of Columbia720,700-5.2%
40West Virginia717,5000%
41New Hampshire700,400-0.4%
42Maine661,600+0.2%
43Hawaii644,000+0.3%
44Montana525,100-0.3%
45Rhode Island514,100-0.6%
46Delaware494,600-0.3%
47South Dakota469,900-0.1%
48North Dakota448,300+0.1%
49Alaska337,600-0.2%
50Vermont310,800-0.3%
51Wyoming294,600-0.1%

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, 2026-04) [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, 2026-04. 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=2026-04. 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, 2026-04. 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=2026-04.

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, 2026-04 [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=2026-04 (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, 2026-04}},
  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=2026-04. 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, 2026-04
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=2026-04
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/nonfarm-payroll-employment/us-states?period=2026-04.
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 April 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest nonfarm payroll employment?

Wyoming, with 294,600 jobs in April 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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