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

US states by payroll job growth, 12-month change

Nevada had the highest payroll job growth, 12-month change of 51 states in November 2025, at 1.8%. District of Columbia had the lowest, at -5.3%. The median was -0.2% and the figure for the United States was 0.2%. Source: BLS.

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Highest1.8Nevada
Lowest-5.3District of Columbia
Median-0.251 states
United States0.2History

Map of states, November 2025

Alabama: 0.1 %Alaska: 0.1 %Arizona: -0.5 %Arkansas: 0.5 %California: 0.1 %Colorado: -0.3 %Connecticut: 0.1 %Delaware: -0.6 %District of Columbia: -5.3 %Florida: -0.3 %Georgia: -0.2 %Hawaii: 0 %Idaho: 1.1 %Illinois: -0.3 %Indiana: -0.6 %Iowa: -0.9 %Kansas: 0.2 %Kentucky: -0.5 %Louisiana: -0.2 %Maine: -0.3 %Maryland: -2.2 %Massachusetts: -0.6 %Michigan: -0.2 %Minnesota: 0.3 %Mississippi: 0.5 %Missouri: -0.2 %Montana: -0.2 %Nebraska: -0.3 %Nevada: 1.8 %New Hampshire: -1 %New Jersey: 0.1 %New Mexico: 0 %New York: 0.3 %North Carolina: 0.7 %North Dakota: -0.6 %Ohio: -0.1 %Oklahoma: -0.3 %Oregon: -1 %Pennsylvania: 0.3 %Rhode Island: -0.5 %South Carolina: 1.2 %South Dakota: 0 %Tennessee: -0.1 %Texas: 0.5 %Utah: 0.6 %Vermont: -0.4 %Virginia: -0.1 %Washington: 0.2 %West Virginia: -0.4 %Wisconsin: -0.9 %Wyoming: -0.3 %
  • Under -0.5
  • -0.5 to -0.3
  • -0.3 to 0
  • 0 to 0.1
  • 0.1 to 0.5
  • 0.5 and over
%, November 2025. 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, November 2025

Nevada: 1.8 %Nevada1.8South Carolina: 1.2 %South Carolina1.2Idaho: 1.1 %Idaho1.1North Carolina: 0.7 %North Carolina0.7Utah: 0.6 %Utah0.6Arkansas: 0.5 %Arkansas0.5Mississippi: 0.5 %Mississippi0.5Texas: 0.5 %Texas0.5Minnesota: 0.3 %Minnesota0.3New York: 0.3 %New York0.3Pennsylvania: 0.3 %Pennsylvania0.3Kansas: 0.2 %Kansas0.2Washington: 0.2 %Washington0.2Alabama: 0.1 %Alabama0.1Alaska: 0.1 %Alaska0.1California: 0.1 %California0.1Connecticut: 0.1 %Connecticut0.1New Jersey: 0.1 %New Jersey0.1Hawaii: 0 %Hawaii0New Mexico: 0 %New Mexico0South Dakota: 0 %South Dakota0Ohio: -0.1 %Ohio-0.1Tennessee: -0.1 %Tennessee-0.1Virginia: -0.1 %Virginia-0.1Georgia: -0.2 %Georgia-0.2Louisiana: -0.2 %Louisiana-0.2Michigan: -0.2 %Michigan-0.2Missouri: -0.2 %Missouri-0.2Montana: -0.2 %Montana-0.2Colorado: -0.3 %Colorado-0.3Florida: -0.3 %Florida-0.3Illinois: -0.3 %Illinois-0.3Maine: -0.3 %Maine-0.3Nebraska: -0.3 %Nebraska-0.3Oklahoma: -0.3 %Oklahoma-0.3Wyoming: -0.3 %Wyoming-0.3Vermont: -0.4 %Vermont-0.4West Virginia: -0.4 %West Virginia-0.4Arizona: -0.5 %Arizona-0.5Kentucky: -0.5 %Kentucky-0.5Rhode Island: -0.5 %Rhode Island-0.5Delaware: -0.6 %Delaware-0.6Indiana: -0.6 %Indiana-0.6Massachusetts: -0.6 %Massachusetts-0.6North Dakota: -0.6 %North Dakota-0.6Iowa: -0.9 %Iowa-0.9Wisconsin: -0.9 %Wisconsin-0.9New Hampshire: -1 %New Hampshire-1Oregon: -1 %Oregon-1Maryland: -2.2 %Maryland-2.2District of Columbia: -5.3 %District of Columbia-5.3Nevada: 1.8 %Nevada1.8South Carolina: 1.2 %South Carolina1.2Idaho: 1.1 %Idaho1.1North Carolina: 0.7 %North Carolina0.7Utah: 0.6 %Utah0.6Arkansas: 0.5 %Arkansas0.5Mississippi: 0.5 %Mississippi0.5Texas: 0.5 %Texas0.5Minnesota: 0.3 %Minnesota0.3New York: 0.3 %New York0.3Pennsylvania: 0.3 %Pennsylvania0.3Kansas: 0.2 %Kansas0.2Washington: 0.2 %Washington0.2Alabama: 0.1 %Alabama0.1Alaska: 0.1 %Alaska0.1California: 0.1 %California0.1Connecticut: 0.1 %Connecticut0.1New Jersey: 0.1 %New Jersey0.1Hawaii: 0 %Hawaii0New Mexico: 0 %New Mexico0South Dakota: 0 %South Dakota0Ohio: -0.1 %Ohio-0.1Tennessee: -0.1 %Tennessee-0.1Virginia: -0.1 %Virginia-0.1Georgia: -0.2 %Georgia-0.2Louisiana: -0.2 %Louisiana-0.2Michigan: -0.2 %Michigan-0.2Missouri: -0.2 %Missouri-0.2Montana: -0.2 %Montana-0.2Colorado: -0.3 %Colorado-0.3Florida: -0.3 %Florida-0.3Illinois: -0.3 %Illinois-0.3Maine: -0.3 %Maine-0.3Nebraska: -0.3 %Nebraska-0.3Oklahoma: -0.3 %Oklahoma-0.3Wyoming: -0.3 %Wyoming-0.3Vermont: -0.4 %Vermont-0.4West Virginia: -0.4 %West Virginia-0.4Arizona: -0.5 %Arizona-0.5Kentucky: -0.5 %Kentucky-0.5Rhode Island: -0.5 %Rhode Island-0.5Delaware: -0.6 %Delaware-0.6Indiana: -0.6 %Indiana-0.6Massachusetts: -0.6 %Massachusetts-0.6North Dakota: -0.6 %North Dakota-0.6Iowa: -0.9 %Iowa-0.9Wisconsin: -0.9 %Wisconsin-0.9New Hampshire: -1 %New Hampshire-1Oregon: -1 %Oregon-1Maryland: -2.2 %Maryland-2.2District of Columbia: -5.3 %District of Columbia-5.3
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStatesNovember 2025 (%)Change on November 2024
1Nevada1.8+0.9 pts
2South Carolina1.2-0.4 pts
3Idaho1.10 pts
4North Carolina0.7-0.3 pts
5Utah0.6-1 pts
6Arkansas0.5-1 pts
6Mississippi0.5-0.1 pts
6Texas0.5-1.2 pts
9Minnesota0.3-0.8 pts
9New York0.3-1.5 pts
9Pennsylvania0.3-0.6 pts
12Kansas0.2-0.9 pts
12Washington0.2-0.7 pts
14Alabama0.1-0.8 pts
14Alaska0.1-1.8 pts
14California0.1-1 pts
14Connecticut0.1-0.8 pts
14New Jersey0.1-0.8 pts
19Hawaii0-1.7 pts
19New Mexico0-1.2 pts
19South Dakota0-1.1 pts
22Ohio-0.1-0.8 pts
22Tennessee-0.1-0.5 pts
22Virginia-0.1-1.5 pts
25Georgia-0.2-1.1 pts
25Louisiana-0.2-1.7 pts
25Michigan-0.2-0.7 pts
25Missouri-0.2-0.8 pts
25Montana-0.2-1.1 pts
30Colorado-0.3-1 pts
30Florida-0.3-1.5 pts
30Illinois-0.3-0.8 pts
30Maine-0.3-1.6 pts
30Nebraska-0.3-1.3 pts
30Oklahoma-0.3-1.7 pts
30Wyoming-0.3-1.2 pts
37Vermont-0.4-0.9 pts
37West Virginia-0.4-1.1 pts
39Arizona-0.5-2.4 pts
39Kentucky-0.5-1 pts
39Rhode Island-0.5-2 pts
42Delaware-0.6-2.7 pts
42Indiana-0.6-1.3 pts
42Massachusetts-0.6-0.7 pts
42North Dakota-0.6-2.4 pts
46Iowa-0.9-0.7 pts
46Wisconsin-0.9-1.9 pts
48New Hampshire-1-1.6 pts
48Oregon-1-1.2 pts
50Maryland-2.2-4.2 pts
51District of Columbia-5.3-5.2 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, 2025-11) [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, 2025-11. 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?period=2025-11. 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, 2025-11. 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?period=2025-11.

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, 2025-11 [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?period=2025-11 (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, 2025-11}},
  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?period=2025-11. 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, 2025-11
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?period=2025-11
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/payroll-job-growth/us-states?period=2025-11.
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?

Nevada, with 1.8% in November 2025, according to BLS.

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

District of Columbia, with -5.3% in November 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), percent change from 12 months earlier. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

US states: more rankings