U.S. Unemployment Rate by State (Live Tracker)

National unemployment rate · June 2026
4.2%
Lowest: South Dakota (2.0%) · Highest: District of Columbia (6.0%)

Key Takeaways

  • National rate is 4.2%. As of June 2026 the U.S. unemployment rate fell to 4.2% (seasonally adjusted). This page updates automatically each month.
  • South Dakota has the lowest. South Dakota has the lowest unemployment in the country at 2.0%, with the Plains and Mountain West generally tightest.
  • District of Columbia has the highest. District of Columbia tops the list at 6.0%. The West Coast and a few Northeast states tend to run above the national rate.
  • The state split. 22 states are above the national rate and 27 are below it — the gap between the tightest and loosest state labor markets is several points wide.

Unemployment varies widely across the United States. This page maps the latest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for every state from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and refreshes automatically each month when new data is released.

Unemployment rate by state

Map of US unemployment rate by state
Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate by state, June 2026. Darker = higher. Source: BLS.

Highest and lowest unemployment states

District of Columbia currently has the highest unemployment rate at 6.0%, while South Dakota has the lowest at 2.0%. The chart below ranks the states furthest above and below the national rate of 4.2%.

Bar chart of highest and lowest state unemployment rates
States ranked relative to the national rate, June 2026. Source: BLS LAUS.

National trend

How the national unemployment rate has moved over the past two years:

US national unemployment rate two-year trend line
U.S. unemployment rate, last 24 months (seasonally adjusted). Source: BLS.

Full table: unemployment rate by state

All 50 states and the District of Columbia, sortable and searchable.

RankStateUnemployment rate (%)
1District of Columbia6.0
2California5.2
3Connecticut5.2
4Oregon5.2
5Washington5.2
6Illinois5.1
7Nevada5.1
8Michigan5.0
9Arizona4.9
10Delaware4.9
11New Mexico4.8
12Florida4.7
13Kentucky4.7
14New York4.6
15New Jersey4.5
16Alaska4.4
17Louisiana4.4
18Massachusetts4.4
19Minnesota4.4
20South Carolina4.4
21Texas4.4
22Maryland4.3
23Oklahoma4.2
24West Virginia4.2
25Arkansas4.1
26Pennsylvania4.1
27Rhode Island4.1
28Colorado3.9
29Kansas3.8
30Mississippi3.8
31Idaho3.7
32Missouri3.7
33Virginia3.7
34North Carolina3.6
35Ohio3.6
36Utah3.6
37Tennessee3.5
38Georgia3.4
39Indiana3.3
40Montana3.3
41Wisconsin3.3
42Alabama3.2
43Iowa3.2
44Wyoming3.2
45Maine3.1
46Nebraska2.9
47New Hampshire2.9
48Hawaii2.6
49Vermont2.6
50North Dakota2.3
51South Dakota2.0

About the data

Figures are seasonally adjusted unemployment rates from the BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program for states, and the national rate from the Current Population Survey. State data is typically released about three weeks after the reference month; this page updates automatically when it does.