Rank the States.
Menu

Unemployment rate by state

In September 2026, South Dakota had the lowest unemployment rate, at 2.0%, and California and Connecticut the highest, at 5.1%. The national rate was 4.2%. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics, 2026.

These are the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ seasonally adjusted state estimates for the latest month. They are preliminary: BLS revises each month’s figures the following month and again each spring. Many neighboring states are within each other’s margins of error, so small differences in rank are not meaningful.

Data year: September 2026Source released Oct. 20, 2026Last updated Oct. 23, 2026LAUS LASST..03, September 2026 (SA)

50 ranked states; DC and Puerto Rico appear as reference rows where the source supplies them. Highest does not mean best. Ranks reflect point estimates; close values may not differ statistically.

Lowest state estimate 2.0% South Dakota
Highest state estimate 5.1% California and Connecticut
California: 5.1% Connecticut: 5.1% Michigan: 5.0% Oregon: 5.0% Arizona: 4.9% Washington: 4.8% Kentucky: 4.7% Nevada: 4.7% New Mexico: 4.7% Delaware: 4.6% Illinois: 4.6% Minnesota: 4.5% Florida: 4.4% Texas: 4.4% Alaska: 4.3% Massachusetts: 4.3% New York: 4.3% New Jersey: 4.2% Oklahoma: 4.2% Colorado: 4.1% Louisiana: 4.0% South Carolina: 4.0% West Virginia: 4.0% Arkansas: 3.9% Maryland: 3.9% Kansas: 3.8% Idaho: 3.6% Missouri: 3.6% Pennsylvania: 3.6% Rhode Island: 3.6% Virginia: 3.6% Alabama: 3.5% Utah: 3.5% Indiana: 3.4% North Carolina: 3.4% Ohio: 3.4% Tennessee: 3.4% Georgia: 3.3% Maine: 3.3% Mississippi: 3.3% Iowa: 3.2% Wisconsin: 3.2% Montana: 3.1% Wyoming: 3.0% Nebraska: 2.9% Hawaii: 2.8% New Hampshire: 2.6% Vermont: 2.6% North Dakota: 2.2% South Dakota: 2.0%
Each dot is a state. The scale runs from the lowest to highest estimate; intervals are not shown here. Read about uncertainty.

The 10 states with the lowest unemployment

  1. South Dakota: 2.0%
  2. North Dakota: 2.2%
  3. New Hampshire: 2.6%
  4. Vermont: 2.6%
  5. Hawaii: 2.8%
  6. Nebraska: 2.9%
  7. Wyoming: 3.0%
  8. Montana: 3.1%
  9. Iowa: 3.2%
  10. Wisconsin: 3.2%

The 10 states with the highest unemployment

  1. California: 5.1%
  2. Connecticut: 5.1%
  3. Michigan: 5.0%
  4. Oregon: 5.0%
  5. Arizona: 4.9%
  6. Washington: 4.8%
  7. Kentucky: 4.7%
  8. Nevada: 4.7%
  9. New Mexico: 4.7%
  10. Delaware: 4.6%

State distribution and comparisons

The middle of the 50-state distribution is 3.85%: the average of the 25th and 26th ordered state estimates. This treats each state equally, so it answers a different question from a population-weighted national estimate.

12 other states are statistically tied with California at 90% confidence: Connecticut, Michigan, Oregon, Arizona, Washington, Kentucky, Nevada, New Mexico, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota and Alaska. This is not a confidence interval for rank, and testing multiple pairs increases false-positive risk.

See the top ten estimates with their 90% margins of error1.5%6.06%CaliforniaConnecticutMichiganOregonArizonaWashingtonKentuckyNevadaNew MexicoDelaware

Shared axis spans the complete 50-state estimate ± MOE range. Intervals describe individual estimates; overlapping intervals alone are not our significance test.

Do states with low unemployment also have high participation?

These states’ ranks change the most between unemployment rate and labor force participation, ages 16–64. These comparisons identify different questions worth investigating; a rank gap does not measure a causal effect or a statistical difference between unlike units.

StateUnemployment rateLabor force participation, ages 16–64
South Dakota2.0% · #5082.4% · #1
North Dakota2.2% · #4981.8% · #4
Nebraska2.9% · #4582.0% · #3

Inspect these states, definitions and pairwise differences.

Values over time

Annual averages, not seasonally adjusted, as revised by BLS on April 8, 2026. The 2025 figure averages 11 months because October 2025 data were not collected during the federal government shutdown, so BLS cautions against comparing it strictly with earlier years. Ranks are recalculated among the same 50 states for each year.

The state-by-state view

Download table

Ranked among 50 states; District of Columbia shown for reference. Rank 1 = highest value.

Unemployment rate · September 2026 · Percent
RankState / jurisdictionValue90% margin of errorDifference from previous rank
1California5.1%± 0.38%Highest estimate
1Connecticut5.1%± 0.96%Not distinguishable at 90%
3Michigan5.0%± 0.75%Not distinguishable at 90%
3Oregon5.0%± 0.77%Not distinguishable at 90%
5Arizona4.9%± 0.77%Not distinguishable at 90%
6Washington4.8%± 0.63%Not distinguishable at 90%
7Kentucky4.7%± 0.89%Not distinguishable at 90%
7Nevada4.7%± 0.78%Not distinguishable at 90%
7New Mexico4.7%± 0.72%Not distinguishable at 90%
10Delaware4.6%± 0.8%Not distinguishable at 90%
10Illinois4.6%± 0.63%Not distinguishable at 90%
12Minnesota4.5%± 0.68%Not distinguishable at 90%
13Florida4.4%± 0.46%Not distinguishable at 90%
13Texas4.4%± 0.39%Not distinguishable at 90%
15Alaska4.3%± 0.81%Not distinguishable at 90%
15Massachusetts4.3%± 0.6%Not distinguishable at 90%
15New York4.3%± 0.48%Not distinguishable at 90%
18New Jersey4.2%± 0.67%Not distinguishable at 90%
18Oklahoma4.2%± 0.72%Not distinguishable at 90%
20Colorado4.1%± 0.77%Not distinguishable at 90%
21Louisiana4.0%± 0.71%Not distinguishable at 90%
21South Carolina4.0%± 0.7%Not distinguishable at 90%
21West Virginia4.0%± 0.74%Not distinguishable at 90%
24Arkansas3.9%± 0.68%Not distinguishable at 90%
24Maryland3.9%± 0.71%Not distinguishable at 90%
26Kansas3.8%± 0.66%Not distinguishable at 90%
27Idaho3.6%± 0.53%Not distinguishable at 90%
27Missouri3.6%± 0.64%Not distinguishable at 90%
27Pennsylvania3.6%± 0.45%Not distinguishable at 90%
27Rhode Island3.6%± 0.8%Not distinguishable at 90%
27Virginia3.6%± 0.55%Not distinguishable at 90%
32Alabama3.5%± 0.71%Not distinguishable at 90%
32Utah3.5%± 0.54%Not distinguishable at 90%
34Indiana3.4%± 0.69%Not distinguishable at 90%
34North Carolina3.4%± 0.55%Not distinguishable at 90%
34Ohio3.4%± 0.58%Not distinguishable at 90%
34Tennessee3.4%± 0.62%Not distinguishable at 90%
38Georgia3.3%± 0.53%Not distinguishable at 90%
38Maine3.3%± 0.77%Not distinguishable at 90%
38Mississippi3.3%± 0.65%Not distinguishable at 90%
41Iowa3.2%± 0.58%Not distinguishable at 90%
41Wisconsin3.2%± 0.64%Not distinguishable at 90%
43Montana3.1%± 0.56%Not distinguishable at 90%
44Wyoming3.0%± 0.68%Not distinguishable at 90%
45Nebraska2.9%± 0.51%Not distinguishable at 90%
46Hawaii2.8%± 0.62%Not distinguishable at 90%
47New Hampshire2.6%± 0.6%Not distinguishable at 90%
47Vermont2.6%± 0.56%Not distinguishable at 90%
49North Dakota2.2%± 0.41%Not distinguishable at 90%
50South Dakota2.0%± 0.5%Not distinguishable at 90%
Ref.District of ColumbiaNot ranked among states5.6%± 0.81%Reference jurisdiction

50 states plus 1 reference row.

Common questions

Which state has the lowest unemployment rate?

South Dakota, at 2.0% in September 2026, seasonally adjusted.

Which state has the highest unemployment rate?

California and Connecticut, at 5.1% in September 2026.

How often does this change?

BLS publishes state rates every month, about three weeks after the month ends. The table also shows annual averages for 2021–2025; the 2025 average covers 11 months because October 2025 data were not collected during the federal government shutdown.

What this ranking measures

Unemployed people as a percentage of the labor force in September 2026, seasonally adjusted. People are unemployed if they had no job, were available for work and had looked for work in the past four weeks.

Monthly state rates are model-based estimates and are preliminary for the latest month; BLS revises them the following month and again each year. People who have stopped looking for work are not counted as unemployed.

The size of the gap

The difference between the highest and lowest state estimates is 3.1 percentage points. The U.S. benchmark is 4.2%. It is not a simple average of the states. The U.S. rate comes from the national Current Population Survey (series LNS14000000).

17 states have point estimates above the U.S. benchmark and 31 below it, with 2 equal to it. These counts do not establish statistical significance.

How much should you read into a rank?

Margins are 90% intervals calculated as 1.645 × the model-based standard error BLS publishes for the latest month. For two different states, we flag a difference only when its absolute size exceeds the square root of the sum of their squared margins of error. The comparison tool applies this check to every selected pair.

Non-significance is not proof of equality. These pairwise tests are not adjusted for multiple comparisons and do not form ranking confidence intervals. Statistical method and limitations.

Ranks use the full precision of the source file, so only truly equal values share a rank (1, 2, 2, 4).

Keep exploring

Read the ranking methodology.

Explore the same states in a side-by-side comparison, or combine this measure with others in the custom ranking tool.

Source and method

Producer
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Product / file
Local Area Unemployment Statistics · LAUS LASST..03, September 2026 (SA)
Period
September 2026
Unit
Percent
Calculation
Published seasonally adjusted rate for September 2026 (measure 03 of each state LASST series). 90% MOE = 1.645 × the standard error of the rate (laexderr.xlsx). History: period M13 of the LAUST series. Rank = 1 + number of eligible jurisdictions with a higher value.
Coverage
The 50 states are ranked. Washington, D.C., can be added with the toggle above the table; Puerto Rico is shown for reference only, where the source covers it.
Cadence
Monthly; annual revision each spring. October 2026 state data: November 20, 2026 (revises September).
Independence
Rank the States is independent. The agencies that produce the source data do not endorse these rankings.

Download, cite, or embed

Download the default full table (CSV) or use the download above for the table’s current filter and order. Data dictionary and source metadata

Updates and corrections

Last updated Oct. 23, 2026. Earlier editions stay available on the data page, and every change is listed in the update log. If a number or definition looks wrong, report an error with the state, value, and source you checked.

Related rankings

State distributions: each mark is one state, from lowest to highest. Each row uses its own scale.

01

Labor force participation, ages 16–64

2024 · Census ACS

82.4% Minnesota and South Dakota · tied highest 02

Employment-to-population ratio, ages 16–64

2024 · Census ACS

80.0% North Dakota · highest estimate 03

GDP per capita

2025 · BEA + Census

$123,273 New York · highest estimate

What can we help you find?

Type at least two letters to start searching.

Browse guides Esc to close