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

US states by payroll job growth, 12-month change

Louisiana had the highest payroll job growth, 12-month change of 51 states in August 2026, at 1.7%. 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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Highest1.7Louisiana
Lowest-3.6District of Columbia
Median0.451 states
United States0.3History

Map of states, August 2026

Alabama: 1 %Alaska: 1.1 %Arizona: 0.6 %Arkansas: 0.5 %California: 0.7 %Colorado: 0.3 %Connecticut: 0.9 %Delaware: 0.1 %District of Columbia: -3.6 %Florida: 0.5 %Georgia: -0.2 %Hawaii: 0.1 %Idaho: 0.7 %Illinois: 0.2 %Indiana: -0.5 %Iowa: 0 %Kansas: 0.4 %Kentucky: -0.2 %Louisiana: 1.7 %Maine: -0.1 %Maryland: -0.3 %Massachusetts: 0.3 %Michigan: 0.1 %Minnesota: 1.5 %Mississippi: 0.4 %Missouri: 1.2 %Montana: -1 %Nebraska: 0.2 %Nevada: 1.3 %New Hampshire: 0.2 %New Jersey: -0.2 %New Mexico: 1.4 %New York: 0 %North Carolina: 1.3 %North Dakota: 0.6 %Ohio: 0.3 %Oklahoma: 0.7 %Oregon: -0.6 %Pennsylvania: 0.7 %Rhode Island: 0 %South Carolina: 1.7 %South Dakota: 0.4 %Tennessee: 0.5 %Texas: 1.1 %Utah: 1.1 %Vermont: -0.3 %Virginia: -0.8 %Washington: 0.5 %West Virginia: -0.2 %Wisconsin: 0.6 %Wyoming: 0.6 %
  • Under -0.5
  • -0.5 to -0.2
  • -0.2 to 0
  • 0 to 0.4
  • 0.4 to 0.7
  • 0.7 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: 1.7 %Louisiana1.7South Carolina: 1.7 %South Carolina1.7Minnesota: 1.5 %Minnesota1.5New Mexico: 1.4 %New Mexico1.4Nevada: 1.3 %Nevada1.3North Carolina: 1.3 %North Carolina1.3Missouri: 1.2 %Missouri1.2Alaska: 1.1 %Alaska1.1Texas: 1.1 %Texas1.1Utah: 1.1 %Utah1.1Alabama: 1 %Alabama1Connecticut: 0.9 %Connecticut0.9California: 0.7 %California0.7Idaho: 0.7 %Idaho0.7Oklahoma: 0.7 %Oklahoma0.7Pennsylvania: 0.7 %Pennsylvania0.7Arizona: 0.6 %Arizona0.6North Dakota: 0.6 %North Dakota0.6Wisconsin: 0.6 %Wisconsin0.6Wyoming: 0.6 %Wyoming0.6Arkansas: 0.5 %Arkansas0.5Florida: 0.5 %Florida0.5Tennessee: 0.5 %Tennessee0.5Washington: 0.5 %Washington0.5Kansas: 0.4 %Kansas0.4Mississippi: 0.4 %Mississippi0.4South Dakota: 0.4 %South Dakota0.4Colorado: 0.3 %Colorado0.3Massachusetts: 0.3 %Massachusetts0.3Ohio: 0.3 %Ohio0.3Illinois: 0.2 %Illinois0.2Nebraska: 0.2 %Nebraska0.2New Hampshire: 0.2 %New Hampshire0.2Delaware: 0.1 %Delaware0.1Hawaii: 0.1 %Hawaii0.1Michigan: 0.1 %Michigan0.1Iowa: 0 %Iowa0New York: 0 %New York0Rhode Island: 0 %Rhode Island0Maine: -0.1 %Maine-0.1Georgia: -0.2 %Georgia-0.2Kentucky: -0.2 %Kentucky-0.2New Jersey: -0.2 %New Jersey-0.2West Virginia: -0.2 %West Virginia-0.2Maryland: -0.3 %Maryland-0.3Vermont: -0.3 %Vermont-0.3Indiana: -0.5 %Indiana-0.5Oregon: -0.6 %Oregon-0.6Virginia: -0.8 %Virginia-0.8Montana: -1 %Montana-1District of Columbia: -3.6 %District of Columbia-3.6Louisiana: 1.7 %Louisiana1.7South Carolina: 1.7 %South Carolina1.7Minnesota: 1.5 %Minnesota1.5New Mexico: 1.4 %New Mexico1.4Nevada: 1.3 %Nevada1.3North Carolina: 1.3 %North Carolina1.3Missouri: 1.2 %Missouri1.2Alaska: 1.1 %Alaska1.1Texas: 1.1 %Texas1.1Utah: 1.1 %Utah1.1Alabama: 1 %Alabama1Connecticut: 0.9 %Connecticut0.9California: 0.7 %California0.7Idaho: 0.7 %Idaho0.7Oklahoma: 0.7 %Oklahoma0.7Pennsylvania: 0.7 %Pennsylvania0.7Arizona: 0.6 %Arizona0.6North Dakota: 0.6 %North Dakota0.6Wisconsin: 0.6 %Wisconsin0.6Wyoming: 0.6 %Wyoming0.6Arkansas: 0.5 %Arkansas0.5Florida: 0.5 %Florida0.5Tennessee: 0.5 %Tennessee0.5Washington: 0.5 %Washington0.5Kansas: 0.4 %Kansas0.4Mississippi: 0.4 %Mississippi0.4South Dakota: 0.4 %South Dakota0.4Colorado: 0.3 %Colorado0.3Massachusetts: 0.3 %Massachusetts0.3Ohio: 0.3 %Ohio0.3Illinois: 0.2 %Illinois0.2Nebraska: 0.2 %Nebraska0.2New Hampshire: 0.2 %New Hampshire0.2Delaware: 0.1 %Delaware0.1Hawaii: 0.1 %Hawaii0.1Michigan: 0.1 %Michigan0.1Iowa: 0 %Iowa0New York: 0 %New York0Rhode Island: 0 %Rhode Island0Maine: -0.1 %Maine-0.1Georgia: -0.2 %Georgia-0.2Kentucky: -0.2 %Kentucky-0.2New Jersey: -0.2 %New Jersey-0.2West Virginia: -0.2 %West Virginia-0.2Maryland: -0.3 %Maryland-0.3Vermont: -0.3 %Vermont-0.3Indiana: -0.5 %Indiana-0.5Oregon: -0.6 %Oregon-0.6Virginia: -0.8 %Virginia-0.8Montana: -1 %Montana-1District of Columbia: -3.6 %District of Columbia-3.6
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-20.

Full ranking

RankStatesAugust 2026 (%)Change on August 2025
1Louisiana1.7+1.9 pts
1South Carolina1.7+0.4 pts
3Minnesota1.5+1.2 pts
4New Mexico1.4+1.2 pts
5Nevada1.3-1 pts
5North Carolina1.3+0.6 pts
7Missouri1.2+1.5 pts
8Alaska1.1+0.3 pts
8Texas1.1+0.2 pts
8Utah1.1-0.5 pts
11Alabama1+0.8 pts
12Connecticut0.9+0.6 pts
13California0.7+0.3 pts
13Idaho0.7-0.9 pts
13Oklahoma0.7+0.5 pts
13Pennsylvania0.7+0.3 pts
17Arizona0.6+0.6 pts
17North Dakota0.6+1 pts
17Wisconsin0.6+0.8 pts
17Wyoming0.6+1.3 pts
21Arkansas0.5-0.2 pts
21Florida0.5+0.2 pts
21Tennessee0.5+0.6 pts
21Washington0.5+0.3 pts
25Kansas0.4+0.3 pts
25Mississippi0.40 pts
25South Dakota0.40 pts
28Colorado0.3+0.4 pts
28Massachusetts0.3+1.1 pts
28Ohio0.3-0.1 pts
31Illinois0.2+0.1 pts
31Nebraska0.2-0.1 pts
31New Hampshire0.2+0.7 pts
34Delaware0.1-0.7 pts
34Hawaii0.1-0.4 pts
34Michigan0.1+0.3 pts
37Iowa0+1 pts
37New York0-0.6 pts
37Rhode Island0-0.2 pts
40Maine-0.1+0.1 pts
41Georgia-0.2-0.6 pts
41Kentucky-0.2+0.1 pts
41New Jersey-0.2-0.6 pts
41West Virginia-0.2-0.2 pts
45Maryland-0.3+0.7 pts
45Vermont-0.3+0.3 pts
47Indiana-0.5-1.1 pts
48Oregon-0.60 pts
49Virginia-0.8-1.4 pts
50Montana-1-1.1 pts
51District of Columbia-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 2026-10-20.

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 20, 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, 20 Oct. 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=2026-08. Accessed 20 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 20, 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=2026-08.

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?period=2026-08 (Accessed: 20 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 = {2026-10-20},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/payroll-job-growth/us-states?period=2026-08. 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 2026-10-20.},
}
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  - 2026/10/20
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=2026-08
Y2  - 2026/10/20
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/payroll-job-growth/us-states?period=2026-08.
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 2026-10-20.
ER  -
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Questions

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

Louisiana, with 1.7% 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 2026-10-20.

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