US states by union membership rate, 2025

Hawaii had the highest union membership rate of 51 states in 2025, at 24.8%. South Dakota had the lowest, at 2.3%. The median was 8.5% and the figure for the United States was 10%. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest24.8Hawaii

Lowest2.3South Dakota

Median8.551 states

United States10History

Map of states, 2025

Under 4.5
4.5 to 6.1
6.1 to 8.5
8.5 to 12
12 to 15
15 and over

%, 2025. Source: BLS, Union affiliation data from the Current Population Survey: members of unions, percent of employed wage and salary workers, nation and states (LUU0204899600 and LUU02048996<state FIPS>). Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2025

%. Source: BLS, Union affiliation data from the Current Population Survey: members of unions, percent of employed wage and salary workers, nation and states (LUU0204899600 and LUU02048996<state FIPS>). Retrieved 2026-10-18.

Full ranking

Rank	States	2025 (%)	Change on 2024
1	Hawaii	24.8	-1.7 pts
2	New York	21.3	+0.7 pts
3	Alaska	18.1	+0.4 pts
4	Washington	18	+2 pts
5	Connecticut	16.1	-0.4 pts
5	Rhode Island	16.1	+1.6 pts
7	Oregon	15.1	-0.8 pts
8	California	14.9	+0.4 pts
9	New Jersey	14.7	-1.5 pts
10	Massachusetts	14.5	-0.1 pts
11	Minnesota	14.1	-0.1 pts
12	Illinois	13.1	0 pts
12	Vermont	13.1	-1.2 pts
14	Michigan	13	-0.4 pts
14	Nevada	13	+0.9 pts
16	Maryland	12.7	+1.3 pts
17	Maine	11.9	-1.2 pts
18	Ohio	11.6	-0.5 pts
19	Montana	11.2	-0.7 pts
20	Pennsylvania	10.9	-0.8 pts
21	Delaware	10.4	+1.9 pts
22	Missouri	9.8	+1.2 pts
23	District of Columbia	9.2	-1.4 pts
24	Kentucky	8.9	+0.1 pts
24	New Hampshire	8.9	-0.3 pts
26	West Virginia	8.5	-0.3 pts
27	Indiana	8.3	-0.7 pts
28	Iowa	6.8	+0.4 pts
29	Nebraska	6.6	-0.2 pts
30	Wisconsin	6.4	0 pts
31	Alabama	6.3	-0.3 pts
32	Kansas	6.2	-0.1 pts
33	New Mexico	6.1	-1.4 pts
33	Oklahoma	6.1	+0.8 pts
35	North Dakota	6	+1 pts
35	Wyoming	6	+0.4 pts
37	Colorado	5.9	-1.8 pts
38	Florida	5.4	+0.3 pts
38	Virginia	5.4	+0.2 pts
40	Georgia	5.1	+1.3 pts
41	Texas	4.9	+0.4 pts
42	Tennessee	4.8	+0.1 pts
43	Louisiana	4.4	+0.5 pts
44	Mississippi	4.2	-1 pts
45	Arizona	4.1	+0.4 pts
45	Idaho	4.1	-0.9 pts
47	Utah	3.8	+0.1 pts
48	Arkansas	2.8	-0.7 pts
49	South Carolina	2.7	-0.1 pts
50	North Carolina	2.5	+0.1 pts
51	South Dakota	2.3	-0.4 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Union members as a percent of employed wage and salary workers, annual average, from the Current Population Survey of the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (series LUU0204899600 for the nation).

Union members are members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union. Annual averages of the monthly Current Population Survey, a household survey, so the figures carry sampling error, which is larger for small states. Wage and salary workers exclude the incorporated and unincorporated self employed. State figures are by state of residence. The 2025 averages cover 11 months: October 2025 was not collected during the federal government shutdown. For workers covered by a union contract, members or not, use union_representation_rate.

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. Union affiliation data from the Current Population Survey: members of unions, percent of employed wage and salary workers, nation and states (LUU0204899600 and LUU02048996<state FIPS>). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/lu/lu.data.1.AllData. Retrieved 2026-10-18.

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). Union affiliation data from the Current Population Survey: members of unions, percent of employed wage and salary workers, nation and states (LUU0204899600 and LUU02048996<state FIPS>) (US states by union membership rate, 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/lu/lu.data.1.AllData

MLA 9

Union affiliation data from the Current Population Survey: members of unions, percent of employed wage and salary workers, nation and states (LUU0204899600 and LUU02048996<state FIPS>), US states by union membership rate, 2025. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 18 Feb. 2026, https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/lu/lu.data.1.AllData. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/union-membership-rate/us-states. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Union affiliation data from the Current Population Survey: members of unions, percent of employed wage and salary workers, nation and states (LUU0204899600 and LUU02048996<state FIPS>). US states by union membership rate, 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/lu/lu.data.1.AllData. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/union-membership-rate/us-states.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Union affiliation data from the Current Population Survey: members of unions, percent of employed wage and salary workers, nation and states (LUU0204899600 and LUU02048996<state FIPS>), US states by union membership rate, 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/lu/lu.data.1.AllData, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/union-membership-rate/us-states (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{bureau_us_states_by_union_2025,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Union affiliation data from the Current Population Survey: members of unions, percent of employed wage and salary workers, nation and states (LUU0204899600 and LUU02048996<state FIPS>): US states by union membership rate, 2025}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/lu/lu.data.1.AllData},
  urldate = {2026-10-18},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/union-membership-rate/us-states. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Union affiliation data from the Current Population Survey: members of unions, percent of employed wage and salary workers, nation and states (LUU0204899600 and LUU02048996<state FIPS>). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/lu/lu.data.1.AllData. Retrieved 2026-10-18.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Union affiliation data from the Current Population Survey: members of unions, percent of employed wage and salary workers, nation and states (LUU0204899600 and LUU02048996<state FIPS>): US states by union membership rate, 2025
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/02/18
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/lu/lu.data.1.AllData
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/union-membership-rate/us-states
Y2  - 2026/10/18
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/union-membership-rate/us-states.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Union affiliation data from the Current Population Survey: members of unions, percent of employed wage and salary workers, nation and states (LUU0204899600 and LUU02048996<state FIPS>). https://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/lu/lu.data.1.AllData. Retrieved 2026-10-18.
ER  -

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Questions

Which state has the highest union membership rate?

Hawaii, with 24.8% in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest union membership rate?

South Dakota, with 2.3% in 2025.

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, Union affiliation data from the Current Population Survey: members of unions, percent of employed wage and salary workers, nation and states (LUU0204899600 and LUU02048996<state FIPS>). Retrieved 2026-10-18.