Data / Rankings / Payroll job growth, 12-month change / US states

US states by payroll job growth, 12-month change, August 2026

Louisiana had the highest payroll job growth, 12-month change of 51 states in August 2026, at 1.6%. District of Columbia had the lowest, at -3.6%. The median was 0.4% and the figure for the United States was 0.3%. Source: BLS.

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Highest1.6Louisiana
Lowest-3.6District of Columbia
Median0.451 states
United States0.3History

Map of states, August 2026

Alabama: 1.1 %Alaska: 1.3 %Arizona: 0.6 %Arkansas: 0.6 %California: 0.8 %Colorado: 0.2 %Connecticut: 0.9 %Delaware: 0.1 %District of Columbia: -3.6 %Florida: 0.6 %Georgia: -0.1 %Hawaii: 0.2 %Idaho: 0.9 %Illinois: 0.2 %Indiana: -0.5 %Iowa: 0 %Kansas: 0.5 %Kentucky: -0.1 %Louisiana: 1.6 %Maine: -0.1 %Maryland: -0.2 %Massachusetts: 0.2 %Michigan: 0.2 %Minnesota: 1.5 %Mississippi: 0.4 %Missouri: 1.1 %Montana: -0.9 %Nebraska: 0.2 %Nevada: 1.3 %New Hampshire: 0.2 %New Jersey: -0.2 %New Mexico: 1.6 %New York: 0 %North Carolina: 1.3 %North Dakota: 0.5 %Ohio: 0.2 %Oklahoma: 0.7 %Oregon: -0.8 %Pennsylvania: 0.6 %Rhode Island: 0.1 %South Carolina: 1.6 %South Dakota: 0.2 %Tennessee: 0.5 %Texas: 1.1 %Utah: 1 %Vermont: -0.4 %Virginia: -0.9 %Washington: 0.4 %West Virginia: -0.3 %Wisconsin: 0.6 %Wyoming: 0.8 %
  • Under -0.6
  • -0.6 to -0.2
  • -0.2 to 0
  • 0 to 0.3
  • 0.3 to 0.8
  • 0.8 and over
%, August 2026. Red areas are below zero and blue areas above it. Source: Invokely calculation with data from BLS. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, August 2026

Louisiana: 1.6 %Louisiana1.6New Mexico: 1.6 %New Mexico1.6South Carolina: 1.6 %South Carolina1.6Minnesota: 1.5 %Minnesota1.5Alaska: 1.3 %Alaska1.3Nevada: 1.3 %Nevada1.3North Carolina: 1.3 %North Carolina1.3Alabama: 1.1 %Alabama1.1Missouri: 1.1 %Missouri1.1Texas: 1.1 %Texas1.1Utah: 1 %Utah1Connecticut: 0.9 %Connecticut0.9Idaho: 0.9 %Idaho0.9California: 0.8 %California0.8Wyoming: 0.8 %Wyoming0.8Oklahoma: 0.7 %Oklahoma0.7Arizona: 0.6 %Arizona0.6Arkansas: 0.6 %Arkansas0.6Florida: 0.6 %Florida0.6Pennsylvania: 0.6 %Pennsylvania0.6Wisconsin: 0.6 %Wisconsin0.6Kansas: 0.5 %Kansas0.5North Dakota: 0.5 %North Dakota0.5Tennessee: 0.5 %Tennessee0.5Mississippi: 0.4 %Mississippi0.4Washington: 0.4 %Washington0.4Colorado: 0.2 %Colorado0.2Hawaii: 0.2 %Hawaii0.2Illinois: 0.2 %Illinois0.2Massachusetts: 0.2 %Massachusetts0.2Michigan: 0.2 %Michigan0.2Nebraska: 0.2 %Nebraska0.2New Hampshire: 0.2 %New Hampshire0.2Ohio: 0.2 %Ohio0.2South Dakota: 0.2 %South Dakota0.2Delaware: 0.1 %Delaware0.1Rhode Island: 0.1 %Rhode Island0.1Iowa: 0 %Iowa0New York: 0 %New York0Georgia: -0.1 %Georgia-0.1Kentucky: -0.1 %Kentucky-0.1Maine: -0.1 %Maine-0.1Maryland: -0.2 %Maryland-0.2New Jersey: -0.2 %New Jersey-0.2West Virginia: -0.3 %West Virginia-0.3Vermont: -0.4 %Vermont-0.4Indiana: -0.5 %Indiana-0.5Oregon: -0.8 %Oregon-0.8Montana: -0.9 %Montana-0.9Virginia: -0.9 %Virginia-0.9District of Columbia: -3.6 %District of Columbia-3.6Louisiana: 1.6 %Louisiana1.6New Mexico: 1.6 %New Mexico1.6South Carolina: 1.6 %South Carolina1.6Minnesota: 1.5 %Minnesota1.5Alaska: 1.3 %Alaska1.3Nevada: 1.3 %Nevada1.3North Carolina: 1.3 %North Carolina1.3Alabama: 1.1 %Alabama1.1Missouri: 1.1 %Missouri1.1Texas: 1.1 %Texas1.1Utah: 1 %Utah1Connecticut: 0.9 %Connecticut0.9Idaho: 0.9 %Idaho0.9California: 0.8 %California0.8Wyoming: 0.8 %Wyoming0.8Oklahoma: 0.7 %Oklahoma0.7Arizona: 0.6 %Arizona0.6Arkansas: 0.6 %Arkansas0.6Florida: 0.6 %Florida0.6Pennsylvania: 0.6 %Pennsylvania0.6Wisconsin: 0.6 %Wisconsin0.6Kansas: 0.5 %Kansas0.5North Dakota: 0.5 %North Dakota0.5Tennessee: 0.5 %Tennessee0.5Mississippi: 0.4 %Mississippi0.4Washington: 0.4 %Washington0.4Colorado: 0.2 %Colorado0.2Hawaii: 0.2 %Hawaii0.2Illinois: 0.2 %Illinois0.2Massachusetts: 0.2 %Massachusetts0.2Michigan: 0.2 %Michigan0.2Nebraska: 0.2 %Nebraska0.2New Hampshire: 0.2 %New Hampshire0.2Ohio: 0.2 %Ohio0.2South Dakota: 0.2 %South Dakota0.2Delaware: 0.1 %Delaware0.1Rhode Island: 0.1 %Rhode Island0.1Iowa: 0 %Iowa0New York: 0 %New York0Georgia: -0.1 %Georgia-0.1Kentucky: -0.1 %Kentucky-0.1Maine: -0.1 %Maine-0.1Maryland: -0.2 %Maryland-0.2New Jersey: -0.2 %New Jersey-0.2West Virginia: -0.3 %West Virginia-0.3Vermont: -0.4 %Vermont-0.4Indiana: -0.5 %Indiana-0.5Oregon: -0.8 %Oregon-0.8Montana: -0.9 %Montana-0.9Virginia: -0.9 %Virginia-0.9District of Columbia: -3.6 %District of Columbia-3.6
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStatesAugust 2026 (%)Change on August 2025
1Louisiana Provisional1.6+1.8 pts
1New Mexico Provisional1.6+1.4 pts
1South Carolina Provisional1.6+0.3 pts
4Minnesota Provisional1.5+1.2 pts
5Alaska Provisional1.3+0.5 pts
5Nevada Provisional1.3-1 pts
5North Carolina Provisional1.3+0.6 pts
8Alabama Provisional1.1+0.9 pts
8Missouri Provisional1.1+1.4 pts
8Texas Provisional1.1+0.2 pts
11Utah Provisional1-0.6 pts
12Connecticut Provisional0.9+0.6 pts
12Idaho Provisional0.9-0.7 pts
14California Provisional0.8+0.4 pts
14Wyoming Provisional0.8+1.5 pts
16Oklahoma Provisional0.7+0.5 pts
17Arizona Provisional0.6+0.6 pts
17Arkansas Provisional0.6-0.1 pts
17Florida Provisional0.6+0.3 pts
17Pennsylvania Provisional0.6+0.2 pts
17Wisconsin Provisional0.6+0.8 pts
22Kansas Provisional0.5+0.4 pts
22North Dakota Provisional0.5+0.9 pts
22Tennessee Provisional0.5+0.6 pts
25Mississippi Provisional0.40 pts
25Washington Provisional0.4+0.2 pts
27Colorado Provisional0.2+0.3 pts
27Hawaii Provisional0.2-0.3 pts
27Illinois Provisional0.2+0.1 pts
27Massachusetts Provisional0.2+1 pts
27Michigan Provisional0.2+0.4 pts
27Nebraska Provisional0.2-0.1 pts
27New Hampshire Provisional0.2+0.7 pts
27Ohio Provisional0.2-0.2 pts
27South Dakota Provisional0.2-0.2 pts
36Delaware Provisional0.1-0.7 pts
36Rhode Island Provisional0.1-0.1 pts
38Iowa Provisional0+1 pts
38New York Provisional0-0.6 pts
40Georgia Provisional-0.1-0.5 pts
40Kentucky Provisional-0.1+0.2 pts
40Maine Provisional-0.1+0.1 pts
43Maryland Provisional-0.2+0.8 pts
43New Jersey Provisional-0.2-0.6 pts
45West Virginia Provisional-0.3-0.3 pts
46Vermont Provisional-0.4+0.2 pts
47Indiana Provisional-0.5-1.1 pts
48Oregon Provisional-0.8-0.2 pts
49Montana Provisional-0.9-1 pts
49Virginia Provisional-0.9-1.5 pts
51District of Columbia Provisional-3.6-0.9 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Percent change in seasonally adjusted nonfarm payroll employment from the same month a year earlier, from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Invokely computes it from the two published job counts, shown with each value, and rounds it to one decimal as BLS does in its state release. The latest month is preliminary. Each year BLS benchmarks the series to unemployment insurance tax records and revises past years. State estimates come out about two weeks after the national ones, and the states do not add up to the national total because each is estimated separately.

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), percent change from 12 months earlier. 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), percent change from 12 months earlier (US states by payroll job growth, 12-month change, 2026-08) [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), percent change from 12 months earlier, US states by payroll job growth, 12-month change, 2026-08. 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/payroll-job-growth/us-states. 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), percent change from 12 months earlier. US states by payroll job growth, 12-month change, 2026-08. 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/payroll-job-growth/us-states.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, total nonfarm, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000000000000001), percent change from 12 months earlier, US states by payroll job growth, 12-month change, 2026-08 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/sm/sm.data.55.TotalNonFarmStateWide.All, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/payroll-job-growth/us-states (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_us_states_by_payroll_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), percent change from 12 months earlier: US states by payroll job growth, 12-month change, 2026-08}},
  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/payroll-job-growth/us-states. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Current Employment Statistics, State and Area: all employees, total nonfarm, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000000000000001), percent change from 12 months earlier. 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), percent change from 12 months earlier: US states by payroll job growth, 12-month change, 2026-08
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/payroll-job-growth/us-states
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/payroll-job-growth/us-states.
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), percent change from 12 months earlier. 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 payroll job growth, 12-month change using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which state has the highest payroll job growth, 12-month change?

Louisiana, with 1.6% in August 2026, according to BLS.

Which state has the lowest payroll job growth, 12-month change?

District of Columbia, with -3.6% 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, total nonfarm, statewide, seasonally adjusted (SMS, state, 000000000000001), percent change from 12 months earlier. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

US states: more rankings