Where the fewest people are out of work.
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Rankings · Highest Unemployment by State
Connecticut Has the Highest Unemployment of Any State (2026)
Highest Unemployment by State, read from the other end of our lowest unemployment by state list. Same readings, same sources, all 50 states.
By The Honest Local · 49 states · every value links to its public source
5.1%Connecticut leads with the highest jobless rate of all 50 statesThe share of people who want work and can't find it, straight from the tape.
The top five states
No. 1Connecticut5.1%unemployment rate
No. 2California5.1%unemployment rate
No. 3Michigan5.0%unemployment rate
No. 4Washington4.9%unemployment rate
No. 5Arizona4.9%unemployment rate
Highest Unemployment by State on the map
Jobless Rate, states
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Highest Unemployment by State, all 49
The full ranking
| Place | unemployment rate | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Connecticut | 5.1% |
| 2 | California | 5.1% |
| 3 | Michigan | 5.0% |
| 4 | Washington | 4.9% |
| 5 | Arizona | 4.9% |
| 6 | Nevada | 4.8% |
| 7 | Delaware | 4.7% |
| 8 | Kentucky | 4.7% |
| 9 | New Mexico | 4.7% |
| 10 | Illinois | 4.7% |
| 11 | Florida | 4.5% |
| 12 | Texas | 4.4% |
| 13 | Minnesota | 4.4% |
| 14 | New York | 4.3% |
| 15 | Oklahoma | 4.3% |
| 16 | New Jersey | 4.3% |
| 17 | Massachusetts | 4.3% |
| 18 | Alaska | 4.3% |
| 19 | Louisiana | 4.2% |
| 20 | Maryland | 4.1% |
| 21 | South Carolina | 4.1% |
| 22 | West Virginia | 4.0% |
| 23 | Colorado | 4.0% |
| 24 | Arkansas | 3.9% |
| 25 | Kansas | 3.8% |
| 26 | Pennsylvania | 3.7% |
| 27 | Rhode Island | 3.7% |
| 28 | Idaho | 3.6% |
| 29 | Virginia | 3.6% |
| 30 | Missouri | 3.5% |
| 31 | North Carolina | 3.5% |
| 32 | Utah | 3.5% |
| 33 | Alabama | 3.4% |
| 34 | Tennessee | 3.4% |
| 35 | Mississippi | 3.4% |
| 36 | Indiana | 3.3% |
| 37 | Ohio | 3.3% |
| 38 | Iowa | 3.2% |
| 39 | Wisconsin | 3.2% |
| 40 | Maine | 3.2% |
| 41 | Georgia | 3.2% |
| 42 | Montana | 3.2% |
| 43 | Wyoming | 3.0% |
| 44 | Nebraska | 2.9% |
| 45 | New Hampshire | 2.8% |
| 46 | Hawaii | 2.7% |
| 47 | Vermont | 2.6% |
| 48 | North Dakota | 2.2% |
| 49 | South Dakota | 2.0% |
Sources and method
- BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics · 2026-08
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 Shutterstock/UladzikKryhin · Shutterstock.