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 May 2026, at 1.9%. District of Columbia had the lowest, at -5.3%. The median was 0.1% and the figure for the United States was 0.2%. Source: BLS.

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Highest1.9Nevada
Lowest-5.3District of Columbia
Median0.151 states
United States0.2History

Map of states, May 2026

Alabama: 0.7 %Alaska: 0.3 %Arizona: 0.5 %Arkansas: 0.4 %California: 0.5 %Colorado: 0 %Connecticut: 0.4 %Delaware: 0 %District of Columbia: -5.3 %Florida: 0.1 %Georgia: 0.1 %Hawaii: 0.6 %Idaho: 0.7 %Illinois: -0.1 %Indiana: -0.4 %Iowa: -0.8 %Kansas: 0.4 %Kentucky: -0.5 %Louisiana: 0.8 %Maine: -0.3 %Maryland: -1 %Massachusetts: -0.1 %Michigan: -0.2 %Minnesota: 0.8 %Mississippi: 0.5 %Missouri: 0.1 %Montana: -0.8 %Nebraska: -0.3 %Nevada: 1.9 %New Hampshire: -0.3 %New Jersey: -0.1 %New Mexico: 0.4 %New York: 0.4 %North Carolina: 1.1 %North Dakota: 0 %Ohio: 0.1 %Oklahoma: -0.1 %Oregon: -1 %Pennsylvania: 0.6 %Rhode Island: -0.8 %South Carolina: 0.8 %South Dakota: 0.3 %Tennessee: 0.3 %Texas: 0.7 %Utah: 1 %Vermont: 0 %Virginia: -1.2 %Washington: 0 %West Virginia: 1.2 %Wisconsin: -0.1 %Wyoming: 0.6 %
  • Under -0.8
  • -0.8 to -0.3
  • -0.3 to 0
  • 0 to 0.3
  • 0.3 to 0.6
  • 0.6 and over
%, May 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, May 2026

Nevada: 1.9 %Nevada1.9West Virginia: 1.2 %West Virginia1.2North Carolina: 1.1 %North Carolina1.1Utah: 1 %Utah1Louisiana: 0.8 %Louisiana0.8Minnesota: 0.8 %Minnesota0.8South Carolina: 0.8 %South Carolina0.8Alabama: 0.7 %Alabama0.7Idaho: 0.7 %Idaho0.7Texas: 0.7 %Texas0.7Hawaii: 0.6 %Hawaii0.6Pennsylvania: 0.6 %Pennsylvania0.6Wyoming: 0.6 %Wyoming0.6Arizona: 0.5 %Arizona0.5California: 0.5 %California0.5Mississippi: 0.5 %Mississippi0.5Arkansas: 0.4 %Arkansas0.4Connecticut: 0.4 %Connecticut0.4Kansas: 0.4 %Kansas0.4New Mexico: 0.4 %New Mexico0.4New York: 0.4 %New York0.4Alaska: 0.3 %Alaska0.3South Dakota: 0.3 %South Dakota0.3Tennessee: 0.3 %Tennessee0.3Florida: 0.1 %Florida0.1Georgia: 0.1 %Georgia0.1Missouri: 0.1 %Missouri0.1Ohio: 0.1 %Ohio0.1Colorado: 0 %Colorado0Delaware: 0 %Delaware0North Dakota: 0 %North Dakota0Vermont: 0 %Vermont0Washington: 0 %Washington0Illinois: -0.1 %Illinois-0.1Massachusetts: -0.1 %Massachusetts-0.1New Jersey: -0.1 %New Jersey-0.1Oklahoma: -0.1 %Oklahoma-0.1Wisconsin: -0.1 %Wisconsin-0.1Michigan: -0.2 %Michigan-0.2Maine: -0.3 %Maine-0.3Nebraska: -0.3 %Nebraska-0.3New Hampshire: -0.3 %New Hampshire-0.3Indiana: -0.4 %Indiana-0.4Kentucky: -0.5 %Kentucky-0.5Iowa: -0.8 %Iowa-0.8Montana: -0.8 %Montana-0.8Rhode Island: -0.8 %Rhode Island-0.8Maryland: -1 %Maryland-1Oregon: -1 %Oregon-1Virginia: -1.2 %Virginia-1.2District of Columbia: -5.3 %District of Columbia-5.3Nevada: 1.9 %Nevada1.9West Virginia: 1.2 %West Virginia1.2North Carolina: 1.1 %North Carolina1.1Utah: 1 %Utah1Louisiana: 0.8 %Louisiana0.8Minnesota: 0.8 %Minnesota0.8South Carolina: 0.8 %South Carolina0.8Alabama: 0.7 %Alabama0.7Idaho: 0.7 %Idaho0.7Texas: 0.7 %Texas0.7Hawaii: 0.6 %Hawaii0.6Pennsylvania: 0.6 %Pennsylvania0.6Wyoming: 0.6 %Wyoming0.6Arizona: 0.5 %Arizona0.5California: 0.5 %California0.5Mississippi: 0.5 %Mississippi0.5Arkansas: 0.4 %Arkansas0.4Connecticut: 0.4 %Connecticut0.4Kansas: 0.4 %Kansas0.4New Mexico: 0.4 %New Mexico0.4New York: 0.4 %New York0.4Alaska: 0.3 %Alaska0.3South Dakota: 0.3 %South Dakota0.3Tennessee: 0.3 %Tennessee0.3Florida: 0.1 %Florida0.1Georgia: 0.1 %Georgia0.1Missouri: 0.1 %Missouri0.1Ohio: 0.1 %Ohio0.1Colorado: 0 %Colorado0Delaware: 0 %Delaware0North Dakota: 0 %North Dakota0Vermont: 0 %Vermont0Washington: 0 %Washington0Illinois: -0.1 %Illinois-0.1Massachusetts: -0.1 %Massachusetts-0.1New Jersey: -0.1 %New Jersey-0.1Oklahoma: -0.1 %Oklahoma-0.1Wisconsin: -0.1 %Wisconsin-0.1Michigan: -0.2 %Michigan-0.2Maine: -0.3 %Maine-0.3Nebraska: -0.3 %Nebraska-0.3New Hampshire: -0.3 %New Hampshire-0.3Indiana: -0.4 %Indiana-0.4Kentucky: -0.5 %Kentucky-0.5Iowa: -0.8 %Iowa-0.8Montana: -0.8 %Montana-0.8Rhode Island: -0.8 %Rhode Island-0.8Maryland: -1 %Maryland-1Oregon: -1 %Oregon-1Virginia: -1.2 %Virginia-1.2District of Columbia: -5.3 %District of Columbia-5.3
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStatesMay 2026 (%)Change on May 2025
1Nevada1.9+1.2 pts
2West Virginia1.2+2.5 pts
3North Carolina1.1+0.5 pts
4Utah1-0.8 pts
5Louisiana0.8+0.3 pts
5Minnesota0.8+0.3 pts
5South Carolina0.8-0.6 pts
8Alabama0.7+0.4 pts
8Idaho0.7-1.3 pts
8Texas0.7-0.7 pts
11Hawaii0.6+0.1 pts
11Pennsylvania0.6-0.1 pts
11Wyoming0.6+0.4 pts
14Arizona0.5+0.2 pts
14California0.5-0.2 pts
14Mississippi0.5+0.6 pts
17Arkansas0.4-0.6 pts
17Connecticut0.4-0.2 pts
17Kansas0.4-0.2 pts
17New Mexico0.4-0.4 pts
17New York0.4-0.4 pts
22Alaska0.3-1 pts
22South Dakota0.30 pts
22Tennessee0.3+0.2 pts
25Florida0.1-0.7 pts
25Georgia0.1-0.3 pts
25Missouri0.10 pts
25Ohio0.1-0.2 pts
29Colorado0+0.2 pts
29Delaware0-1.4 pts
29North Dakota0-0.1 pts
29Vermont0+0.4 pts
29Washington0-0.8 pts
34Illinois-0.1-0.5 pts
34Massachusetts-0.1+0.3 pts
34New Jersey-0.1-1 pts
34Oklahoma-0.1-1.2 pts
34Wisconsin-0.1-0.2 pts
39Michigan-0.2-0.3 pts
40Maine-0.3-0.8 pts
40Nebraska-0.3-0.7 pts
40New Hampshire-0.3-0.7 pts
43Indiana-0.4-0.6 pts
44Kentucky-0.5-0.7 pts
45Iowa-0.8-0.3 pts
45Montana-0.8-0.7 pts
45Rhode Island-0.8-2.1 pts
48Maryland-1-1 pts
48Oregon-1-0.7 pts
50Virginia-1.2-2.4 pts
51District of Columbia-5.3-3.9 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, 2026-05) [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, 2026-05. 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=2026-05. 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, 2026-05. 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=2026-05.

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, 2026-05 [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=2026-05 (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, 2026-05}},
  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=2026-05. 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, 2026-05
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=2026-05
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/payroll-job-growth/us-states?period=2026-05.
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 1.9% in May 2026, according to BLS.

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

District of Columbia, with -5.3% in May 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