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 January 2026, at 2%. District of Columbia had the lowest, at -5.9%. The median was 0% and the figure for the United States was 0.2%. Source: BLS.

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Highest2Nevada
Lowest-5.9District of Columbia
Median051 states
United States0.2History

Map of states, January 2026

Alabama: 0.3 %Alaska: -0.2 %Arizona: -0.4 %Arkansas: 0.8 %California: 0.7 %Colorado: -0.5 %Connecticut: 0.3 %Delaware: -0.1 %District of Columbia: -5.9 %Florida: -0.3 %Georgia: 0.1 %Hawaii: -0.1 %Idaho: 0.7 %Illinois: -0.1 %Indiana: -0.5 %Iowa: -1.2 %Kansas: 0.4 %Kentucky: 0.3 %Louisiana: 0.1 %Maine: -0.3 %Maryland: -1.6 %Massachusetts: -0.4 %Michigan: -0.1 %Minnesota: 0.4 %Mississippi: 0.1 %Missouri: 0.9 %Montana: 0 %Nebraska: -0.2 %Nevada: 2 %New Hampshire: -0.8 %New Jersey: 0.2 %New Mexico: -0.4 %New York: 0.4 %North Carolina: 0.8 %North Dakota: -0.2 %Ohio: 0.3 %Oklahoma: -0.3 %Oregon: -1 %Pennsylvania: 0.5 %Rhode Island: -0.4 %South Carolina: 1.2 %South Dakota: 0 %Tennessee: 0.1 %Texas: 0.7 %Utah: 0.7 %Vermont: -0.7 %Virginia: -0.6 %Washington: 0.1 %West Virginia: 0.4 %Wisconsin: -0.6 %Wyoming: -0.4 %
  • Under -0.5
  • -0.5 to -0.3
  • -0.3 to 0
  • 0 to 0.3
  • 0.3 to 0.6
  • 0.6 and over
%, January 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, January 2026

Nevada: 2 %Nevada2South Carolina: 1.2 %South Carolina1.2Missouri: 0.9 %Missouri0.9Arkansas: 0.8 %Arkansas0.8North Carolina: 0.8 %North Carolina0.8California: 0.7 %California0.7Idaho: 0.7 %Idaho0.7Texas: 0.7 %Texas0.7Utah: 0.7 %Utah0.7Pennsylvania: 0.5 %Pennsylvania0.5Kansas: 0.4 %Kansas0.4Minnesota: 0.4 %Minnesota0.4New York: 0.4 %New York0.4West Virginia: 0.4 %West Virginia0.4Alabama: 0.3 %Alabama0.3Connecticut: 0.3 %Connecticut0.3Kentucky: 0.3 %Kentucky0.3Ohio: 0.3 %Ohio0.3New Jersey: 0.2 %New Jersey0.2Georgia: 0.1 %Georgia0.1Louisiana: 0.1 %Louisiana0.1Mississippi: 0.1 %Mississippi0.1Tennessee: 0.1 %Tennessee0.1Washington: 0.1 %Washington0.1Montana: 0 %Montana0South Dakota: 0 %South Dakota0Delaware: -0.1 %Delaware-0.1Hawaii: -0.1 %Hawaii-0.1Illinois: -0.1 %Illinois-0.1Michigan: -0.1 %Michigan-0.1Alaska: -0.2 %Alaska-0.2Nebraska: -0.2 %Nebraska-0.2North Dakota: -0.2 %North Dakota-0.2Florida: -0.3 %Florida-0.3Maine: -0.3 %Maine-0.3Oklahoma: -0.3 %Oklahoma-0.3Arizona: -0.4 %Arizona-0.4Massachusetts: -0.4 %Massachusetts-0.4New Mexico: -0.4 %New Mexico-0.4Rhode Island: -0.4 %Rhode Island-0.4Wyoming: -0.4 %Wyoming-0.4Colorado: -0.5 %Colorado-0.5Indiana: -0.5 %Indiana-0.5Virginia: -0.6 %Virginia-0.6Wisconsin: -0.6 %Wisconsin-0.6Vermont: -0.7 %Vermont-0.7New Hampshire: -0.8 %New Hampshire-0.8Oregon: -1 %Oregon-1Iowa: -1.2 %Iowa-1.2Maryland: -1.6 %Maryland-1.6District of Columbia: -5.9 %District of Columbia-5.9Nevada: 2 %Nevada2South Carolina: 1.2 %South Carolina1.2Missouri: 0.9 %Missouri0.9Arkansas: 0.8 %Arkansas0.8North Carolina: 0.8 %North Carolina0.8California: 0.7 %California0.7Idaho: 0.7 %Idaho0.7Texas: 0.7 %Texas0.7Utah: 0.7 %Utah0.7Pennsylvania: 0.5 %Pennsylvania0.5Kansas: 0.4 %Kansas0.4Minnesota: 0.4 %Minnesota0.4New York: 0.4 %New York0.4West Virginia: 0.4 %West Virginia0.4Alabama: 0.3 %Alabama0.3Connecticut: 0.3 %Connecticut0.3Kentucky: 0.3 %Kentucky0.3Ohio: 0.3 %Ohio0.3New Jersey: 0.2 %New Jersey0.2Georgia: 0.1 %Georgia0.1Louisiana: 0.1 %Louisiana0.1Mississippi: 0.1 %Mississippi0.1Tennessee: 0.1 %Tennessee0.1Washington: 0.1 %Washington0.1Montana: 0 %Montana0South Dakota: 0 %South Dakota0Delaware: -0.1 %Delaware-0.1Hawaii: -0.1 %Hawaii-0.1Illinois: -0.1 %Illinois-0.1Michigan: -0.1 %Michigan-0.1Alaska: -0.2 %Alaska-0.2Nebraska: -0.2 %Nebraska-0.2North Dakota: -0.2 %North Dakota-0.2Florida: -0.3 %Florida-0.3Maine: -0.3 %Maine-0.3Oklahoma: -0.3 %Oklahoma-0.3Arizona: -0.4 %Arizona-0.4Massachusetts: -0.4 %Massachusetts-0.4New Mexico: -0.4 %New Mexico-0.4Rhode Island: -0.4 %Rhode Island-0.4Wyoming: -0.4 %Wyoming-0.4Colorado: -0.5 %Colorado-0.5Indiana: -0.5 %Indiana-0.5Virginia: -0.6 %Virginia-0.6Wisconsin: -0.6 %Wisconsin-0.6Vermont: -0.7 %Vermont-0.7New Hampshire: -0.8 %New Hampshire-0.8Oregon: -1 %Oregon-1Iowa: -1.2 %Iowa-1.2Maryland: -1.6 %Maryland-1.6District of Columbia: -5.9 %District of Columbia-5.9
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStatesJanuary 2026 (%)Change on January 2025
1Nevada2+1.4 pts
2South Carolina1.2-0.5 pts
3Missouri0.9+1 pts
4Arkansas0.8-0.4 pts
4North Carolina0.80 pts
6California0.7+0.7 pts
6Idaho0.7-1.4 pts
6Texas0.7-0.8 pts
6Utah0.7-1 pts
10Pennsylvania0.5-0.3 pts
11Kansas0.4-0.3 pts
11Minnesota0.4-0.5 pts
11New York0.4-1.3 pts
11West Virginia0.4+0.8 pts
15Alabama0.3-0.5 pts
15Connecticut0.3-0.4 pts
15Kentucky0.3+0.6 pts
15Ohio0.30 pts
19New Jersey0.2-0.6 pts
20Georgia0.1-0.6 pts
20Louisiana0.1-1.1 pts
20Mississippi0.1-0.6 pts
20Tennessee0.1-0.6 pts
20Washington0.1-1 pts
25Montana0-0.8 pts
25South Dakota0-0.9 pts
27Delaware-0.1-1.9 pts
27Hawaii-0.1-1.5 pts
27Illinois-0.1-0.7 pts
27Michigan-0.1-0.2 pts
31Alaska-0.2-2.6 pts
31Nebraska-0.2-1.5 pts
31North Dakota-0.2-1.5 pts
34Florida-0.3-1.4 pts
34Maine-0.3-1.2 pts
34Oklahoma-0.3-1.7 pts
37Arizona-0.4-1 pts
37Massachusetts-0.4-0.3 pts
37New Mexico-0.4-1.5 pts
37Rhode Island-0.4-1.9 pts
37Wyoming-0.4-0.8 pts
42Colorado-0.5-1.2 pts
42Indiana-0.5-1.1 pts
44Virginia-0.6-2 pts
44Wisconsin-0.6-1.3 pts
46Vermont-0.7-1.4 pts
47New Hampshire-0.8-1.1 pts
48Oregon-1-1.8 pts
49Iowa-1.2-1.8 pts
50Maryland-1.6-1.9 pts
51District of Columbia-5.9-5.1 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, 2026-01) [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, 2026-01. 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=2026-01. 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, 2026-01. 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=2026-01.

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, 2026-01 [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=2026-01 (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, 2026-01}},
  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=2026-01. 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, 2026-01
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=2026-01
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/payroll-job-growth/us-states?period=2026-01.
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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Questions

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

Nevada, with 2% in January 2026, according to BLS.

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

District of Columbia, with -5.9% in January 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