U.S. States Ranked by Unemployment Rate
Which states have the lowest unemployment rates? This table orders all 50 states by percent of civilian labor force, using August 2026 observations.
Lowest state unemployment rates in August 2026
South Dakota ranks first at 2.0. The final rank is shared by California and Connecticut and Oregon, at 5.1. Equal displayed values share competition rank; alphabetical order within a tie does not establish a lead. These figures use the same period and definition.
Unemployment counts eligible jobseekers relative to the resident civilian labor force. A low rate does not establish high wages or high labor-force participation. The median of the 50 state observations is 3.8; this unweighted state median is not the national rate or total. The August 2026 source estimates are preliminary.
Complete ranking and historical periods
50 states · August 2026 · Percent of civilian labor force. Lowest values first; ties share a rank.
On narrow screens, scroll the table sideways to read every column.
| Rank | State | Value | Rank one year earlier |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Dakota | 2.0 | 1 |
| 2 | North Dakota | 2.2 | 3 |
| 3 | Vermont | 2.6 | 3 |
| 4 | Hawaii | 2.7 | 1 |
| 5 | New Hampshire | 2.8 | 7 |
| 6 | Nebraska | 2.9 | 6 |
| 7 | Wyoming | 3.0 | 9 |
| 8 | Georgia | 3.2 | 12 |
| 8 | Iowa | 3.2 | 15 |
| 8 | Maine | 3.2 | 9 |
| 8 | Montana | 3.2 | 12 |
| 8 | Wisconsin | 3.2 | 7 |
| 13 | Indiana | 3.3 | 19 |
| 13 | Ohio | 3.3 | 36 |
| 15 | Alabama | 3.4 | 5 |
| 15 | Mississippi | 3.4 | 19 |
| 15 | Tennessee | 3.4 | 15 |
| 18 | Missouri | 3.5 | 25 |
| 18 | North Carolina | 3.5 | 22 |
| 18 | Utah | 3.5 | 17 |
| 21 | Idaho | 3.6 | 17 |
| 21 | Virginia | 3.6 | 9 |
| 23 | Pennsylvania | 3.7 | 36 |
| 23 | Rhode Island | 3.7 | 32 |
| 25 | Kansas | 3.8 | 19 |
| 26 | Arkansas | 3.9 | 29 |
| 27 | Colorado | 4.0 | 22 |
| 27 | West Virginia | 4.0 | 32 |
| 29 | Maryland | 4.1 | 32 |
| 29 | South Carolina | 4.1 | 42 |
| 31 | Louisiana | 4.2 | 29 |
| 32 | Alaska | 4.3 | 42 |
| 32 | Massachusetts | 4.3 | 39 |
| 32 | New Jersey | 4.3 | 49 |
| 32 | New York | 4.3 | 39 |
| 32 | Oklahoma | 4.3 | 12 |
| 37 | Minnesota | 4.4 | 22 |
| 37 | Texas | 4.4 | 29 |
| 39 | Florida | 4.5 | 25 |
| 40 | Delaware | 4.7 | 46 |
| 40 | Illinois | 4.7 | 32 |
| 40 | Kentucky | 4.7 | 39 |
| 40 | New Mexico | 4.7 | 27 |
| 44 | Nevada | 4.8 | 47 |
| 45 | Arizona | 4.9 | 36 |
| 45 | Washington | 4.9 | 42 |
| 47 | Michigan | 5.0 | 45 |
| 48 | California | 5.1 | 49 |
| 48 | Connecticut | 5.1 | 27 |
| 48 | Oregon | 5.1 | 48 |
Change period · Download displayed data
District of Columbia: 5.7 percent of civilian labor force, shown separately and excluded from ranks.
Changing the period updates the table and export. The introductory analysis above concerns August 2026. All historical choices use the same acquired revised history.
What changed in the ranking?
South Dakota occupies position 1 in August 2026 and occupied position 1 in August 2025 within this acquired history. Compare the underlying levels before interpreting movement: other states’ changes can alter a rank even when a state’s own value barely changes. A change in rank is not itself a growth rate, and it cannot establish a policy cause.
What a low unemployment rate tells you
The rate concerns residents rather than the location of employers. Its denominator combines employed and unemployed people under labor-force rules. People outside the labor force are not simply included as unemployed, so a lower rate can coexist with a low participation rate.
For business research, a low rate can describe a tight labor market, while a higher rate can indicate more people seeking work. Neither direction has a universal effect for employers and workers. This page reports the ordering without turning it into a judgment about a state’s overall economy.
Treat close ranks as close estimates
The displayed rates are published to one decimal place. Equal values receive the same rank, followed by a skipped position under competition ranking. Alphabetical order within a tie is only a display choice. Filtering the table retains each state’s original national rank.
LAUS state estimates are model-based and subject to revisions and statistical uncertainty. A small difference in this table does not establish a statistically significant difference. The release’s significance tables and error measures are the appropriate evidence for that question; numerical rank alone is insufficient.
Months, seasonal adjustment and revision coverage
All states use the same reference month and seasonally adjusted series. Historical month selection changes the whole table together, avoiding comparisons of one state’s summer rate with another state’s winter rate. Annual averages would require a separate aggregation and are not represented by the final month of the year.
August 2026 figures are preliminary in the acquired release. The archive stores the September 30 acquisition and does not reconstruct what every earlier month’s rate looked like when first published. Later agency revisions may change ranks; cite the observation month and snapshot together.
Sources, formula and ranking methodology
Measure: BLS LAUS state series, seasonally adjusted. Method: Published state U-3 unemployment rate. Lowest to highest; equal one-decimal rates share competition rank. The display and rank use 1 decimal place. Equal values receive competition rank; missing values are omitted from the ranked universe and reported in the table status. Filtering preserves national ranks.
Source file publication: September 18, 2026. Site acquisition: September 30, 2026. The annual GDP/income files contain 2025 observations; the price-parity file contains 2024 observations; labor series contain August 2026. These dates must not be relabeled as one current-month dashboard. Revised estimates in this acquisition are distinct from a historical release-vintage archive.
BEA state GDP methods · BEA state personal income · BEA regional price-parity methods · BLS state employment release and statistical notes · Files, dictionary and source checksums.