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)
Bakersfield, California has the highest unemployment of the 106 US cities we rank, at 8.4% (BLS, August 2026). Fresno, California is next, at 7.8%.
By The Honest Local · 106 cities · every value links to its public source
8.4%Bakersfield, California leads on the list, the highest reading of 106 citiesThe share of people who want work and can't find it, straight from the tape.
The top five cities
- No. 1Bakersfield, California8.4%unemployment rate
No. 2Fresno, California7.8%unemployment rate
No. 3Stockton, California6.5%unemployment rate
No. 4McAllen, Texas6.3%unemployment rate
No. 5Riverside, California5.9%unemployment rate
Highest Unemployment by City on the map
Jobless Rate, cities
Loading the numbers…
Highest Unemployment by City, all 106
The full ranking
| Place | unemployment rate | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bakersfield, Californiabig city | 8.4% |
| 2 | Fresno, Californiabig city | 7.8% |
| 3 | Stockton, Californiabig city | 6.5% |
| 4 | McAllen, Texas | 6.3% |
| 5 | Riverside, Californiabig city | 5.9% |
| 6 | Detroit, Michiganbig city | 5.7% |
| 6 | Tucson, Arizonabig city | 5.7% |
| 8 | Lakeland, Florida | 5.6% |
| 9 | Daytona Beach, Florida | 5.3% |
| 10 | Cape Coral, Florida | 5.2% |
| 10 | Chicago, Illinoisbig city | 5.2% |
| 10 | Sacramento, Californiabig city | 5.2% |
| 13 | Houston, Texasbig city | 5.0% |
| 13 | Oxnard, California | 5.0% |
| 15 | New Haven, Connecticut | 4.9% |
| 15 | Phoenix, Arizonabig city | 4.9% |
| 15 | Portland, Oregonbig city | 4.9% |
| 15 | San Diego, Californiabig city | 4.9% |
| 15 | Sarasota, Florida | 4.9% |
| 15 | Vancouver, Washington | 4.9% |
| 21 | Albuquerque, New Mexicobig city | 4.8% |
| 21 | Hartford, Connecticut | 4.8% |
| 21 | Jacksonville, Floridabig city | 4.8% |
| 21 | Las Vegas, Nevadabig city | 4.8% |
| 21 | Los Angeles, Californiabig city | 4.8% |
| 21 | Melbourne, Florida | 4.8% |
| 21 | Seattle, Washingtonbig city | 4.8% |
| 28 | Colorado Springs, Coloradobig city | 4.7% |
| 28 | Minneapolis, Minnesotabig city | 4.7% |
| 28 | New York, New Yorkbig city | 4.7% |
| 28 | Tampa, Floridabig city | 4.7% |
| 32 | Denver, Coloradobig city | 4.6% |
| 32 | El Paso, Texasbig city | 4.6% |
| 32 | Memphis, Tennesseebig city | 4.6% |
| 32 | Orlando, Floridabig city | 4.6% |
| 32 | San Francisco, Californiabig city | 4.6% |
| 32 | Wichita, Kansasbig city | 4.6% |
| 38 | Bridgeport, Connecticut | 4.5% |
| 38 | Buffalo, New Yorkbig city | 4.5% |
| 38 | San Antonio, Texasbig city | 4.5% |
| 38 | Worcester, Massachusetts | 4.5% |
| 42 | Dallas, Texasbig city | 4.4% |
| 42 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvaniabig city | 4.4% |
| 44 | Allentown, Pennsylvania | 4.3% |
| 44 | San Jose, Californiabig city | 4.3% |
| 44 | Toledo, Ohiobig city | 4.3% |
| 47 | Columbia, South Carolina | 4.2% |
| 47 | Grand Rapids, Michigan | 4.2% |
| 47 | Providence, Rhode Island | 4.2% |
| 47 | Rochester, New York | 4.2% |
| 47 | Spokane, Washington | 4.2% |
| 52 | Augusta, Georgia | 4.1% |
| 52 | Boston, Massachusettsbig city | 4.1% |
| 52 | Louisville, Kentuckybig city | 4.1% |
| 52 | Poughkeepsie, New York | 4.1% |
| 52 | Provo, Utah | 4.1% |
| 52 | Syracuse, New York | 4.1% |
| 52 | Tulsa, Oklahomabig city | 4.1% |
| 59 | Greensboro, North Carolinabig city | 4.0% |
| 60 | Austin, Texasbig city | 3.9% |
| 60 | Baltimore, Marylandbig city | 3.9% |
| 60 | Greenville, South Carolina | 3.9% |
| 60 | Kansas City, Missouribig city | 3.9% |
| 60 | New Orleans, Louisianabig city | 3.9% |
| 60 | Oklahoma City, Oklahomabig city | 3.9% |
| 60 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvaniabig city | 3.9% |
| 60 | St. Louis, Missouribig city | 3.9% |
| 68 | Albany, New York | 3.8% |
| 68 | Milwaukee, Wisconsinbig city | 3.8% |
| 68 | Washington, DCbig city | 3.8% |
| 71 | Akron, Ohio | 3.7% |
| 71 | Charleston, South Carolina | 3.7% |
| 71 | Charlotte, North Carolinabig city | 3.7% |
| 71 | Dayton, Ohio | 3.7% |
| 71 | Des Moines, Iowa | 3.7% |
| 71 | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 3.7% |
| 71 | Miami, Floridabig city | 3.7% |
| 71 | Salt Lake City, Utah | 3.7% |
| 71 | Virginia Beach, Virginiabig city | 3.7% |
| 71 | Winston-Salem, North Carolinabig city | 3.7% |
| 81 | Cincinnati, Ohiobig city | 3.6% |
| 81 | Little Rock, Arkansas | 3.6% |
| 81 | Ogden, Utah | 3.6% |
| 81 | Richmond, Virginia | 3.6% |
| 85 | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | 3.5% |
| 85 | Reno, Nevadabig city | 3.5% |
| 87 | Atlanta, Georgiabig city | 3.4% |
| 87 | Birmingham, Alabama | 3.4% |
| 87 | Chattanooga, Tennessee | 3.4% |
| 90 | Boise, Idaho | 3.3% |
| 90 | Columbus, Ohiobig city | 3.3% |
| 90 | Durham, North Carolinabig city | 3.3% |
| 90 | Indianapolis, Indianabig city | 3.3% |
| 94 | Knoxville, Tennessee | 3.2% |
| 95 | Asheville, North Carolina | 3.1% |
| 95 | Cleveland, Ohiobig city | 3.1% |
| 95 | Nashville, Tennesseebig city | 3.1% |
| 95 | Raleigh, North Carolinabig city | 3.1% |
| 99 | Huntsville, Alabama | 3.0% |
| 99 | Jackson, Mississippi | 3.0% |
| 99 | Omaha, Nebraskabig city | 3.0% |
| 102 | Fayetteville, Arkansas | 2.9% |
| 102 | Honolulu, Hawaiibig city | 2.9% |
| 102 | Madison, Wisconsinbig city | 2.9% |
| 102 | Savannah, Georgia | 2.9% |
| 106 | Portland, Maine | 2.7% |
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 More Than Just Parks · Theunderratedtaco, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.