Cities in New York by unemployment rate, August 2026

Rochester, NY had the highest unemployment rate of 39 cities in August 2026, at 6.1%. Port Chester, NY had the lowest, at 3.2%. The median was 4.7% and the figure for New York was 4.3%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest6.1Rochester, NY
Median4.739 cities
New York4.3History

All cities, August 2026

Rochester, NY: 6.1 %Rochester, NY6.1Utica, NY: 5.9 %Utica, NY5.9Buffalo, NY: 5.8 %Buffalo, NY5.8Niagara Falls, NY: 5.5 %Niagara Falls, NY5.5Syracuse, NY: 5.5 %Syracuse, NY5.5Elmira, NY: 5.3 %Elmira, NY5.3New York, NY: 5.3 %New York, NY5.3Newburgh, NY: 5.3 %Newburgh, NY5.3Schenectady, NY: 5.3 %Schenectady, NY5.3Jamestown, NY: 5.2 %Jamestown, NY5.2Troy, NY: 5.2 %Troy, NY5.2Middletown, NY: 5.1 %Middletown, NY5.1Albany, NY: 4.9 %Albany, NY4.9Binghamton, NY: 4.9 %Binghamton, NY4.9Lockport, NY: 4.9 %Lockport, NY4.9Mount Vernon, NY: 4.9 %Mount Vernon, NY4.9Yonkers, NY: 4.9 %Yonkers, NY4.9Freeport, NY: 4.7 %Freeport, NY4.7Ithaca, NY: 4.7 %Ithaca, NY4.7Poughkeepsie, NY: 4.7 %Poughkeepsie, NY4.7Auburn, NY: 4.6 %Auburn, NY4.6Lindenhurst, NY: 4.6 %Lindenhurst, NY4.6Hempstead, NY: 4.5 %Hempstead, NY4.5North Tonawanda, NY: 4.5 %North Tonawanda, NY4.5Watertown, NY: 4.4 %Watertown, NY4.4Rome, NY: 4.3 %Rome, NY4.3New Rochelle, NY: 4.2 %New Rochelle, NY4.2Valley Stream, NY: 4.1 %Valley Stream, NY4.1Kiryas Joel, NY: 3.9 %Kiryas Joel, NY3.9Harrison, NY: 3.8 %Harrison, NY3.8Ossining, NY: 3.8 %Ossining, NY3.8Peekskill, NY: 3.7 %Peekskill, NY3.7White Plains, NY: 3.7 %White Plains, NY3.7Glen Cove, NY: 3.6 %Glen Cove, NY3.6Rockville Centre, NY: 3.6 %Rockville Centre, NY3.6Saratoga Springs, NY: 3.5 %Saratoga Springs, NY3.5Spring Valley, NY: 3.5 %Spring Valley, NY3.5Long Beach, NY: 3.4 %Long Beach, NY3.4Port Chester, NY: 3.2 %Port Chester, NY3.2
%. Source: BLS, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCitiesAugust 2026 (%)Change on August 2025
1Rochester, NY Provisional6.1+0.3 pts
2Utica, NY Provisional5.9+0.4 pts
3Buffalo, NY Provisional5.8+0.2 pts
4Niagara Falls, NY Provisional5.5-0.2 pts
4Syracuse, NY Provisional5.5+0.3 pts
6Elmira, NY Provisional5.3+0.1 pts
6New York, NY Provisional5.3-0.7 pts
6Newburgh, NY Provisional5.3-0.2 pts
6Schenectady, NY Provisional5.3+0.1 pts
10Jamestown, NY Provisional5.2+0.4 pts
10Troy, NY Provisional5.2+0.1 pts
12Middletown, NY Provisional5.1+0.2 pts
13Albany, NY Provisional4.9+0.3 pts
13Binghamton, NY Provisional4.9+0.1 pts
13Lockport, NY Provisional4.9+0.1 pts
13Mount Vernon, NY Provisional4.90 pts
13Yonkers, NY Provisional4.9+0.3 pts
18Freeport, NY Provisional4.7+0.1 pts
18Ithaca, NY Provisional4.7-0.1 pts
18Poughkeepsie, NY Provisional4.7+0.1 pts
21Auburn, NY Provisional4.6-0.1 pts
21Lindenhurst, NY Provisional4.6+0.2 pts
23Hempstead, NY Provisional4.5-0.1 pts
23North Tonawanda, NY Provisional4.5+0.2 pts
25Watertown, NY Provisional4.40 pts
26Rome, NY Provisional4.3-0.4 pts
27New Rochelle, NY Provisional4.2+0.3 pts
28Valley Stream, NY Provisional4.1+0.1 pts
29Kiryas Joel, NY Provisional3.9-0.1 pts
30Harrison, NY Provisional3.80 pts
30Ossining, NY Provisional3.8+0.3 pts
32Peekskill, NY Provisional3.70 pts
32White Plains, NY Provisional3.7+0.2 pts
34Glen Cove, NY Provisional3.6-0.1 pts
34Rockville Centre, NY Provisional3.6+0.1 pts
36Saratoga Springs, NY Provisional3.5+0.4 pts
36Spring Valley, NY Provisional3.50 pts
38Long Beach, NY Provisional3.4+0.1 pts
39Port Chester, NY Provisional3.20 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force, using the survey definition of unemployment: without work, available and looking for work. Spain: EPA, aged 16 and over. EU: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74. United States: civilian labour force aged 16 and over, from the Current Population Survey for the nation and from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics models, consistent with that survey, for states, counties and cities. United Kingdom regions: Labour Force Survey, aged 16 and over, seasonally adjusted. Canada: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 and over, seasonally adjusted, for the country and the provinces. Australia: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 and over, seasonally adjusted, for the nation and the six states; the ABS publishes no seasonally adjusted series for the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory. New Zealand: Household Labour Force Survey, aged 15 and over, seasonally adjusted for the country and not seasonally adjusted for regional council areas. Norway: Statistics Norway Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74, seasonally adjusted monthly figures. Sweden: Labour Force Survey, aged 15 to 74, seasonally adjusted and smoothed (the series Statistics Sweden gives in its monthly release), national. Switzerland: Swiss Labour Force Survey (SLFS), ILO definition, permanent resident population aged 15 and over, seasonally adjusted quarterly averages, national. For other countries, the source may be OECD survey-based rates, annual survey-based rates compiled by the ILO in ILOSTAT, or annual ILO modelled estimates published by the World Bank. ILO modelled estimates cover ages 15 and over. The World series uses those ILO modelled estimates.

Survey-based for national and Eurostat series. Available for Spain, regions, provinces, EU countries, US states, US counties, US cities (those of 25,000 or more and smaller New England cities), United Kingdom regions, Canadian provinces, Australia and its six states, New Zealand with 10 of its regions, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland (national), not Spanish municipalities. For Spanish municipalities use registered_unemployment_rate.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the cities are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. 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). Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03) (Cities in New York by unemployment rate, 2026-08) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29

MLA 9

Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03), Cities in New York by unemployment rate, 2026-08. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 Sept. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/new-york-cities. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). Cities in New York by unemployment rate, 2026-08. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/new-york-cities.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03), Cities in New York by unemployment rate, 2026-08 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/new-york-cities (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_cities_in_new_york_2026,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03): Cities in New York by unemployment rate, 2026-08}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/new-york-cities. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03): Cities in New York by unemployment rate, 2026-08
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/new-york-cities
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unemployment-rate/new-york-cities.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which city has the highest unemployment rate?

Rochester, NY, with 6.1% in August 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which city has the lowest unemployment rate?

Port Chester, NY, with 3.2% 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, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, cities and towns, not seasonally adjusted: unemployment rate (measure 03). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Unemployment rate: other rankings

Cities in New York: more rankings