Where the fewest people are out of work.
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Rankings · Highest Unemployment by City
Bakersfield, California Has the Highest Unemployment of Any Big City in America (2026)
Highest Unemployment by City, read from the other end of our lowest unemployment by city list. Same readings, same sources, 107 cities, the 100 largest metro areas and every city we cover.
By The Honest Local · 107 cities · every value links to its public source
8.6%Bakersfield, California leads with the highest jobless rate of 107 big citiesThe share of people who want work and can't find it, straight from the tape.
The top five cities
- No. 1Bakersfield, California8.6%unemployment rate
No. 2Fresno, California7.7%unemployment rate
No. 3McAllen, Texas6.8%unemployment rate
No. 4Stockton, California6.4%unemployment rate
No. 5New Haven, Connecticut5.9%unemployment rate
Highest Unemployment by City on the map
Jobless Rate, cities
Loading the numbers…
Highest Unemployment by City, all 107
The full ranking
| Place | unemployment rate | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bakersfield, Californiabig city | 8.6% |
| 2 | Fresno, Californiabig city | 7.7% |
| 3 | McAllen, Texas | 6.8% |
| 4 | Stockton, Californiabig city | 6.4% |
| 5 | New Haven, Connecticut | 5.9% |
| 6 | Lakeland, Florida | 5.8% |
| 7 | Hartford, Connecticut | 5.8% |
| 8 | Detroit, Michiganbig city | 5.7% |
| 9 | Riverside, Californiabig city | 5.7% |
| 10 | Tucson, Arizonabig city | 5.6% |
| 11 | Albuquerque, New Mexicobig city | 5.5% |
| 12 | Bridgeport, Connecticut | 5.5% |
| 13 | Daytona Beach, Florida | 5.4% |
| 14 | Las Vegas, Nevadabig city | 5.4% |
| 15 | Cape Coral, Florida | 5.2% |
| 16 | Houston, Texasbig city | 5.1% |
| 17 | Sacramento, Californiabig city | 5.0% |
| 18 | Los Angeles, Californiabig city | 5.0% |
| 19 | Sarasota, Florida | 5.0% |
| 20 | Portland, Oregonbig city | 4.9% |
| 21 | Vancouver, Washington | 4.9% |
| 22 | Chicago, Illinoisbig city | 4.9% |
| 23 | Melbourne, Florida | 4.9% |
| 24 | Jacksonville, Floridabig city | 4.9% |
| 25 | Jacksonville, Floridabig city | 4.9% |
| 26 | Phoenix, Arizonabig city | 4.8% |
| 27 | Worcester, Massachusetts | 4.8% |
| 28 | El Paso, Texasbig city | 4.8% |
| 29 | Seattle, Washingtonbig city | 4.8% |
| 30 | Tampa, Floridabig city | 4.8% |
| 31 | Louisville, Kentuckybig city | 4.8% |
| 32 | Oxnard, California | 4.7% |
| 33 | Orlando, Floridabig city | 4.7% |
| 34 | San Diego, Californiabig city | 4.7% |
| 35 | Memphis, Tennesseebig city | 4.7% |
| 36 | San Antonio, Texasbig city | 4.7% |
| 37 | Tulsa, Oklahomabig city | 4.6% |
| 38 | Dallas, Texasbig city | 4.6% |
| 39 | New Orleans, Louisianabig city | 4.5% |
| 40 | Wichita, Kansasbig city | 4.5% |
| 41 | San Francisco, Californiabig city | 4.4% |
| 42 | Buffalo, New Yorkbig city | 4.4% |
| 43 | Minneapolis, Minnesotabig city | 4.4% |
| 44 | Boston, Massachusettsbig city | 4.3% |
| 45 | Colorado Springs, Coloradobig city | 4.3% |
| 46 | New York, New Yorkbig city | 4.3% |
| 47 | Grand Rapids, Michigan | 4.3% |
| 48 | Oklahoma City, Oklahomabig city | 4.3% |
| 49 | Rochester, New York | 4.2% |
| 50 | Little Rock, Arkansas | 4.2% |
| 51 | Baltimore, Marylandbig city | 4.2% |
| 52 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvaniabig city | 4.2% |
| 53 | Providence, Rhode Island | 4.2% |
| 54 | Syracuse, New York | 4.1% |
| 55 | Denver, Coloradobig city | 4.1% |
| 56 | San Jose, Californiabig city | 4.1% |
| 57 | Allentown, Pennsylvania | 4.1% |
| 58 | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | 4.1% |
| 59 | Greensboro, North Carolinabig city | 4.1% |
| 60 | Columbia, South Carolina | 4.0% |
| 61 | Augusta, Georgia | 4.0% |
| 62 | Austin, Texasbig city | 4.0% |
| 63 | Reno, Nevadabig city | 4.0% |
| 64 | Washington DC, Washington, DCbig city | 4.0% |
| 65 | Toledo, Ohiobig city | 4.0% |
| 66 | Poughkeepsie, New York | 4.0% |
| 67 | Virginia Beach, Virginiabig city | 3.9% |
| 68 | Kansas City, Missouribig city | 3.8% |
| 69 | Milwaukee, Wisconsinbig city | 3.8% |
| 70 | Richmond, Virginia | 3.8% |
| 71 | Winston-Salem, North Carolinabig city | 3.8% |
| 72 | St. Louis, Missouribig city | 3.8% |
| 73 | Greenville, SC | 3.7% |
| 74 | Albany, New York | 3.7% |
| 75 | Provo, Utah | 3.7% |
| 76 | Charlotte, NCbig city | 3.7% |
| 77 | Cincinnati, Ohiobig city | 3.7% |
| 78 | Miami, Floridabig city | 3.7% |
| 79 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvaniabig city | 3.7% |
| 80 | Charleston, South Carolina | 3.7% |
| 81 | Akron, Ohio | 3.6% |
| 82 | Jackson, Mississippi | 3.6% |
| 83 | Spokane, Washington | 3.5% |
| 84 | Fayetteville, Arkansas | 3.5% |
| 85 | Birmingham, Alabama | 3.5% |
| 86 | Dayton, Ohio | 3.5% |
| 87 | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 3.5% |
| 88 | Ogden, Utah | 3.5% |
| 89 | Salt Lake City, Utah | 3.5% |
| 90 | Des Moines, Iowa | 3.4% |
| 91 | Indianapolis, Indianabig city | 3.4% |
| 92 | Durham, North Carolinabig city | 3.4% |
| 93 | Chattanooga, Tennessee | 3.3% |
| 94 | Asheville, North Carolina | 3.3% |
| 95 | Boise, Idaho | 3.3% |
| 96 | Knoxville, Tennessee | 3.2% |
| 97 | Atlanta, Georgiabig city | 3.2% |
| 98 | Columbus, Ohiobig city | 3.2% |
| 99 | Raleigh, North Carolinabig city | 3.2% |
| 100 | Huntsville, AL | 3.1% |
| 101 | Omaha, Nebraskabig city | 3.1% |
| 102 | Nashville, Tennesseebig city | 3.0% |
| 103 | Madison, Wisconsinbig city | 2.9% |
| 104 | Honolulu, Hawaiibig city | 2.8% |
| 105 | Savannah, Georgia | 2.7% |
| 106 | Portland, Maine | 2.5% |
| 107 | Cleveland, Ohiobig city | 1.8% |
Sources and method
- BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics · 2026-07
How we got this. The jobless rate is the Bureau of Labor Statistics' metro rate for cities and its state rate for states, refreshed monthly. Cities and states each rank on their own list, lowest rate first, and places tied at the same rate share a rank. The US Virgin Islands has no series, so it's left off. It refreshes monthly, when the BLS publishes.
Rankings by The Honest Local from public data, one page per list, refreshed on each source’s own cycle. Places with no reading are left out rather than estimated. Every value on this page carries its source in the page’s structured data.
Photos More Than Just Parks · Theunderratedtaco, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.