Rankings · Jobs

Highest government jobs by state

Share of workers employed by government.

This measure has no better end. The order describes the states, it does not rank them — see the other direction.

Federal, state and local government as a share of the civilian employed, including public school teachers and university staff. Steadies a local economy through downturns, and concentrates in state capitals, county seats, military towns and places built around a public university.

  1. 1District of Columbia26.3%
  2. 2Alaska25.9%
  3. 3New Mexico23.4%
  4. 4Maryland22.5%
  5. 5Wyoming22.0%
  6. 6Hawaii21.7%
  7. 7Virginia20.5%
  8. 8West Virginia20.3%
  9. 9Mississippi18.5%
  10. 10Oklahoma17.7%
  11. 11North Dakota17.3%
  12. 12Kansas16.7%
  13. 13Alabama16.6%
  14. 14Montana16.6%
  15. 15New York16.4%
  16. 16Louisiana16.0%
  17. 17Washington16.0%
  18. 18South Dakota15.8%
  19. 19Delaware15.7%
  20. 20Arkansas15.2%
  21. 21South Carolina15.2%
  22. 22Utah15.1%
  23. 23Idaho15.0%
  24. 24Nebraska15.0%
  25. 25Vermont15.0%
  26. 26California14.8%
  27. 27Kentucky14.6%
  28. 28Colorado14.5%
  29. 29Iowa14.5%
  30. 30Oregon14.5%
  31. 31Georgia14.3%
  32. 32New Jersey14.3%
  33. 33Maine14.1%
  34. 34Texas14.1%
  35. 35Arizona13.9%
  36. 36North Carolina13.8%
  37. 37Tennessee13.7%
  38. 38Illinois13.3%
  39. 39Missouri13.2%
  40. 40Connecticut13.1%
  41. 41New Hampshire13.1%
  42. 42Rhode Island13.1%
  43. 43Minnesota12.9%
  44. 44Ohio12.9%
  45. 45Wisconsin12.9%
  46. 46Massachusetts12.7%
  47. 47Nevada12.6%
  48. 48Florida11.7%
  49. 49Indiana11.7%
  50. 50Michigan11.6%
  51. 51Pennsylvania11.5%
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Source: U.S. Census Bureau. · How this is built