Counties in Pennsylvania by unemployment rate

Forest County had the highest unemployment rate of 67 counties in January 2026, at 8%. Chester County had the lowest, at 3%. The median was 4.8% and the figure for Pennsylvania was 4.3%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Median4.867 counties
Pennsylvania4.3History

Top 40 counties, January 2026

CSVChart (SVG)

Forest CountyForest County: 8 %8Potter CountyPotter County: 7.1 %7.1Cameron CountyCameron County: 6.7 %6.7Fayette CountyFayette County: 6.1 %6.1Huntingdon CountyHuntingdon County: 6.1 %6.1Armstrong CountyArmstrong County: 5.7 %5.7Clinton CountyClinton County: 5.7 %5.7Lawrence CountyLawrence County: 5.6 %5.6Columbia CountyColumbia County: 5.5 %5.5McKean CountyMcKean County: 5.5 %5.5Juniata CountyJuniata County: 5.4 %5.4Luzerne CountyLuzerne County: 5.4 %5.4Pike CountyPike County: 5.4 %5.4Tioga CountyTioga County: 5.4 %5.4Philadelphia CountyPhiladelphia County: 5.3 %5.3Cambria CountyCambria County: 5.2 %5.2Indiana CountyIndiana County: 5.2 %5.2Northumberland CountyNorthumberland County: 5.2 %5.2Susquehanna CountySusquehanna County: 5.2 %5.2Bedford CountyBedford County: 5.1 %5.1Carbon CountyCarbon County: 5.1 %5.1Jefferson CountyJefferson County: 5.1 %5.1Schuylkill CountySchuylkill County: 5.1 %5.1Somerset CountySomerset County: 5.1 %5.1Venango CountyVenango County: 5.1 %5.1Wayne CountyWayne County: 5.1 %5.1Clarion CountyClarion County: 5 %5Monroe CountyMonroe County: 5 %5Warren CountyWarren County: 4.9 %4.9Wyoming CountyWyoming County: 4.9 %4.9Clearfield CountyClearfield County: 4.8 %4.8Erie CountyErie County: 4.8 %4.8Greene CountyGreene County: 4.8 %4.8Lackawanna CountyLackawanna County: 4.8 %4.8Lycoming CountyLycoming County: 4.8 %4.8Mercer CountyMercer County: 4.8 %4.8Beaver CountyBeaver County: 4.7 %4.7Crawford CountyCrawford County: 4.7 %4.7Sullivan CountySullivan County: 4.7 %4.7Lehigh CountyLehigh County: 4.6 %4.6
%. Source: BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Full ranking

RankCountiesJanuary 2026 (%)Change on January 2025
1Forest County8-0.2 pts
2Potter County7.1+0.4 pts
3Cameron County6.7-0.7 pts
4Fayette County6.1-0.6 pts
4Huntingdon County6.1-0.5 pts
6Armstrong County5.7-0.5 pts
6Clinton County5.7-0.4 pts
8Lawrence County5.6-0.8 pts
9Columbia County5.5-0.1 pts
9McKean County5.5+0.4 pts
11Juniata County5.4-1.3 pts
11Luzerne County5.4-0.1 pts
11Pike County5.40 pts
11Tioga County5.40 pts
15Philadelphia County5.3+0.1 pts
16Cambria County5.2-0.2 pts
16Indiana County5.2-0.5 pts
16Northumberland County5.2-0.1 pts
16Susquehanna County5.2-0.4 pts
20Bedford County5.1-0.3 pts
20Carbon County5.1+0.3 pts
20Jefferson County5.1-0.3 pts
20Schuylkill County5.1+0.3 pts
20Somerset County5.1-0.5 pts
20Venango County5.1+0.1 pts
20Wayne County5.1-0.7 pts
27Clarion County5-0.1 pts
27Monroe County50 pts
29Warren County4.9-0.1 pts
29Wyoming County4.9-0.5 pts
31Clearfield County4.8-0.7 pts
31Erie County4.8-0.2 pts
31Greene County4.8-0.6 pts
31Lackawanna County4.8-0.1 pts
31Lycoming County4.8-0.4 pts
31Mercer County4.8-0.2 pts
37Beaver County4.7-0.4 pts
37Crawford County4.7-0.2 pts
37Sullivan County4.7-1.1 pts
40Lehigh County4.60 pts
41Westmoreland County4.5-0.3 pts
42Berks County4.40 pts
42Elk County4.4-0.3 pts
42Northampton County4.4-0.1 pts
42Washington County4.4-0.3 pts
46Blair County4.3-0.2 pts
46Bradford County4.3-0.5 pts
46Dauphin County4.30 pts
46Fulton County4.3-0.2 pts
46Mifflin County4.3-0.3 pts
46Snyder County4.3-0.4 pts
52Union County4.2-0.1 pts
53Delaware County4.1+0.1 pts
53Perry County4.10 pts
55Allegheny County4-0.2 pts
55Butler County4-0.2 pts
57Bucks County3.90 pts
57York County3.9-0.1 pts
59Lebanon County3.7-0.1 pts
60Franklin County3.6-0.1 pts
61Montgomery County3.5-0.1 pts
62Adams County3.4-0.3 pts
62Montour County3.4-0.4 pts
64Cumberland County3.2-0.2 pts
65Lancaster County3.1-0.3 pts
66Centre County3-0.5 pts
66Chester County3-0.1 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 and counties. Other countries and the World: ILO modelled estimates published by the World Bank, aged 15 and over.

Survey-based. Available for Spain, regions, provinces, EU countries, US states and US counties, not Spanish municipalities. For municipalities use registered_unemployment_rate. US national and state rates are seasonally adjusted; county rates are not. Countries without a national or Eurostat series get the annual ILO modelled estimate, a model output rather than a survey result.

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

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/la/la.data.0.CurrentU25-29. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

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Questions

Which county has the highest unemployment rate?

Forest County, with 8% in January 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which county has the lowest unemployment rate?

Chester County, with 3% 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, Local Area Unemployment Statistics: unemployment rate by county, not seasonally adjusted. Retrieved 2026-10-08.

Unemployment rate: other rankings

Counties in Pennsylvania: more rankings