States With the Lowest Unemployment Rates

Nationally, 5.2% of the civilian labor force is unemployed. North Dakota posts the country's lowest state unemployment rate at 2.8%, while Nevada sits at the other end at 7.0%. The table ranks every state from lowest to highest unemployment, alongside the labor-force participation that gives the rate its context.

10 Lowest Unemployment Rates

2.8%

2.9%

3.0%

3.3%

3.4%

3.6%

3.7%

The lowest unemployment consistently shows up in two kinds of states: small, agricultural-and-energy economies of the northern Plains — where North Dakota and South Dakota lead the table — and states with tight, diversified labor markets. An unemployment rate only counts people actively looking for work, so it is best read next to the labor-force participation rate: a state can post low unemployment simply because discouraged workers have stopped searching and dropped out of the count.

One methodological note: these figures come from the Census Bureau's ACS 5-Year Estimates, which average five years of household survey responses. They will not match the monthly headline numbers published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics — the ACS figure describes the recent period as a whole, which makes it better for comparing places and worse for tracking this month's economy. Unemployment also tracks hardship imperfectly; for that, see the poverty rate ranking.

Full Rankings

#	State	Unemployment	Labor Force Participation	Median Income	Poverty
1	North Dakota	2.8%	68.6%	$76,657	10.8%
2	South Dakota	2.9%	67.2%	$75,081	11.9%
3	Nebraska	3.0%	68.6%	$76,475	10.6%
4	Wisconsin	3.3%	65.3%	$77,485	10.5%
5	New Hampshire	3.4%	66.3%	$99,031	7.2%
6	Vermont	3.6%	64.6%	$81,203	10.1%
7	Utah	3.6%	69.6%	$95,166	8.5%
8	Iowa	3.6%	66.4%	$75,059	11.1%
9	Montana	3.6%	62.9%	$72,509	11.5%
10	Wyoming	3.7%	65.1%	$76,176	10.5%
11	Idaho	3.7%	63.0%	$77,800	10.6%
12	Maine	3.8%	61.7%	$74,733	10.8%
13	Kansas	3.9%	66.1%	$74,275	11.3%
14	Missouri	4.0%	63.1%	$70,702	12.6%
15	Minnesota	4.1%	68.1%	$89,062	9.3%
16	Virginia	4.3%	65.3%	$93,170	9.9%
17	Indiana	4.3%	63.8%	$71,957	12.3%
18	Colorado	4.6%	68.6%	$95,470	9.4%
19	Tennessee	4.7%	62.4%	$69,595	13.8%
20	Alabama	4.7%	58.3%	$63,999	15.6%
21	North Carolina	4.7%	62.8%	$72,388	13.0%
22	Ohio	4.8%	63.1%	$71,389	13.3%
23	Florida	4.8%	59.8%	$74,568	12.6%
24	Kentucky	4.9%	59.7%	$63,726	16.1%
25	South Carolina	4.9%	60.5%	$69,324	14.1%
26	Maryland	4.9%	67.1%	$103,678	9.4%
27	Hawaii	4.9%	63.7%	$100,389	10.0%
28	Arkansas	4.9%	58.4%	$60,773	16.0%
29	Oklahoma	5.0%	61.2%	$65,039	15.3%
30	Arizona	5.1%	60.6%	$79,964	12.5%
31	Washington	5.1%	64.5%	$98,141	9.9%
32	Delaware	5.1%	62.1%	$84,954	10.4%
33	Georgia	5.1%	63.8%	$77,353	13.4%
34	Massachusetts	5.1%	67.0%	$103,960	10.0%
35	Pennsylvania	5.3%	62.7%	$77,971	11.7%
36	Texas	5.3%	65.3%	$78,476	13.8%
37	Oregon	5.4%	62.3%	$83,011	11.9%
38	West Virginia	5.4%	53.8%	$59,608	16.7%
39	Connecticut	5.6%	65.9%	$95,781	10.0%
40	Michigan	5.7%	61.3%	$72,875	13.2%
41	Mississippi	5.8%	57.4%	$56,447	18.9%
42	Rhode Island	5.8%	65.0%	$87,796	11.2%
43	Illinois	5.8%	65.0%	$83,390	11.8%
44	Alaska	5.9%	66.3%	$92,788	10.1%
45	New Mexico	6.0%	57.8%	$64,059	17.8%
46	Louisiana	6.3%	59.3%	$60,756	18.9%
47	New Jersey	6.3%	66.4%	$103,556	9.7%
48	District of Columbia	6.3%	71.6%	$109,870	15.4%
49	New York	6.4%	62.7%	$85,974	14.0%
50	California	6.6%	63.8%	$99,122	12.0%
51	Nevada	7.0%	63.2%	$78,260	12.4%

The District of Columbia is included for comparison, although it is not a state.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates.

About This Ranking

All figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, the Bureau's most reliable dataset for state and local statistics. Because estimates pool five years of survey responses, they describe a recent period rather than a single moment, and small differences between closely ranked entries may fall within the survey's margin of error. Learn more about the data on our methodology page or at data.census.gov.

More National Rankings

Richest States Median household income States by Population All 50 states ranked by size Most Expensive States Median home value Most Affordable States Home price vs. local income Most Educated States Bachelor's degree rate Oldest States Median age, oldest to youngest Poverty Rate by State Lowest to highest Homeownership by State Owner-occupied share Most Diverse States Racial & ethnic diversity index Largest US Cities Top 100 by population Richest US Cities Median income, 50k+ population Most Expensive Cities Median home value, 50k+ population Most Educated Cities Bachelor's rate, 50k+ population Salary Needed to Buy a Home Income required for the median home Labor Force Participation Share of adults working or job-seeking Households Earning $100k+ Six-figure household share Richest US Counties Median household income Largest US Counties Top 100 by population Most Diverse Cities Diversity index, 50k+ population Highest Homeownership Cities Owner-occupied share, 50k+ population

Frequently Asked Questions

What state has the lowest unemployment rate?

North Dakota has the lowest unemployment rate in the US at 2.8%, followed by South Dakota at 2.9%, based on ACS 5-Year Estimates.

What state has the highest unemployment rate?

Nevada has the highest state unemployment rate at 7.0%, against a national rate of 5.2%.

Why do these rates differ from the monthly BLS numbers?

This ranking uses the Census Bureau's ACS 5-Year Estimates, which pool five years of household responses to produce reliable state and local comparisons. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a separate monthly estimate from a different survey; it moves with the current economy, while the ACS figure describes the recent period as a whole.