Washington DC, Washington, DC Has the Slowest Job Growth of Any Big City in America (2026)

Name: Fastest job growth by city and state, The Honest Local
Creator: The Honest Local
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Slowest Job Growth by City, read from the other end of our fastest job growth 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

-2.0%Washington DC, Washington, DC leads with the lowest job growth in a year of 107 big cities

The top five cities job growth in a year

No. 1Washington DC, Washington, DC-2.0%job growth in a year
No. 2Vancouver, Washington-1.5%job growth in a year
No. 3Portland, Oregon-1.5%job growth in a year
No. 4Rochester, New York-1.3%job growth in a year
No. 5Indianapolis, Indiana-1.1%job growth in a year

Slowest Job Growth by City on the map

Fastest job growth by city and state, cities hover for the numbers, click for every one

Loading the numbers…

Total nonfarm jobs, the latest month against the same month a year earlier, from the BLS Current Employment Statistics; fastest growth first.

Slowest Job Growth by City, all 107

The full ranking job growth in a year

	Place	job growth in a year
1	Washington DC, Washington, DCbig city	-2.0%
2	Vancouver, Washington	-1.5%
3	Portland, Oregonbig city	-1.5%
4	Rochester, New York	-1.3%
5	Indianapolis, Indianabig city	-1.1%
6	Madison, Wisconsinbig city	-0.9%
7	Poughkeepsie, New York	-0.8%
8	Richmond, Virginia	-0.8%
9	Toledo, Ohiobig city	-0.7%
10	Virginia Beach, Virginiabig city	-0.6%
11	Spokane, Washington	-0.6%
12	Albuquerque, New Mexicobig city	-0.5%
13	Des Moines, Iowa	-0.5%
14	Oxnard, California	-0.5%
15	Syracuse, New York	-0.5%
16	Baltimore, Marylandbig city	-0.5%
17	Atlanta, Georgiabig city	-0.5%
18	Memphis, Tennesseebig city	-0.5%
19	Stockton, Californiabig city	-0.4%
20	Ogden, Utah	-0.3%
21	Milwaukee, Wisconsinbig city	-0.3%
22	Augusta, Georgia	-0.2%
23	Detroit, Michiganbig city	-0.2%
24	Honolulu, Hawaiibig city	-0.1%
25	Bakersfield, Californiabig city	-0.1%
26	Akron, Ohio	-0.1%
27	Louisville, Kentuckybig city	-0.1%
28	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvaniabig city	0.0%
29	Buffalo, New Yorkbig city	0.0%
30	Jacksonville, Floridabig city	0.1%
31	Columbus, Ohiobig city	0.1%
32	Denver, Coloradobig city	0.1%
33	Jackson, Mississippi	0.1%
34	Jacksonville, Floridabig city	0.1%
35	Chicago, Illinoisbig city	0.2%
36	Providence, Rhode Island	0.2%
37	Boston, Massachusettsbig city	0.2%
38	Tulsa, Oklahomabig city	0.3%
39	Dayton, Ohio	0.3%
40	Knoxville, Tennessee	0.3%
41	New Orleans, Louisianabig city	0.3%
42	Cincinnati, Ohiobig city	0.3%
43	Tucson, Arizonabig city	0.4%
44	Chattanooga, Tennessee	0.4%
45	Miami, Floridabig city	0.4%
46	Colorado Springs, Coloradobig city	0.4%
47	Albany, New York	0.4%
48	Cleveland, Ohiobig city	0.4%
49	San Antonio, Texasbig city	0.5%
50	New York, New Yorkbig city	0.5%
51	Melbourne, Florida	0.5%
52	Durham, North Carolinabig city	0.5%
53	Cape Coral, Florida	0.5%
54	San Francisco, Californiabig city	0.6%
55	Los Angeles, Californiabig city	0.6%
56	Grand Rapids, Michigan	0.7%
57	Oklahoma City, Oklahomabig city	0.7%
58	Riverside, Californiabig city	0.7%
59	Asheville, North Carolina	0.7%
60	St. Louis, Missouribig city	0.7%
61	Nashville, Tennesseebig city	0.7%
62	Portland, Maine	0.7%
63	San Diego, Californiabig city	0.7%
64	Kansas City, Missouribig city	0.7%
65	Orlando, Floridabig city	0.8%
66	Sacramento, Californiabig city	0.8%
67	Reno, Nevadabig city	0.8%
68	Philadelphia, Pennsylvaniabig city	0.8%
69	Harrisburg, Pennsylvania	0.8%
70	Fresno, Californiabig city	0.8%
71	Savannah, Georgia	0.8%
72	Phoenix, Arizonabig city	0.9%
73	Hartford, Connecticut	0.9%
74	Birmingham, Alabama	0.9%
75	Columbia, South Carolina	0.9%
76	Daytona Beach, Florida	0.9%
77	El Paso, Texasbig city	0.9%
78	Greensboro, North Carolinabig city	0.9%
79	Tampa, Floridabig city	0.9%
80	Seattle, Washingtonbig city	0.9%
81	New Haven, Connecticut	1.0%
82	McAllen, Texas	1.0%
83	Dallas, Texasbig city	1.0%
84	Sarasota, Florida	1.0%
85	Provo, Utah	1.0%
86	Little Rock, Arkansas	1.1%
87	Boise, Idaho	1.1%
88	Austin, Texasbig city	1.2%
89	Omaha, Nebraskabig city	1.2%
90	Bridgeport, Connecticut	1.2%
91	Allentown, Pennsylvania	1.3%
92	Lakeland, Florida	1.3%
93	Winston-Salem, North Carolinabig city	1.3%
94	Houston, Texasbig city	1.3%
95	Minneapolis, Minnesotabig city	1.4%
96	Charleston, South Carolina	1.4%
97	Las Vegas, Nevadabig city	1.5%
98	Charlotte, NCbig city	1.5%
99	San Jose, Californiabig city	1.6%
100	Huntsville, AL	1.8%
101	Greenville, SC	1.9%
102	Worcester, Massachusetts	1.9%
103	Fayetteville, Arkansas	2.2%
104	Raleigh, North Carolinabig city	2.2%
105	Wichita, Kansasbig city	2.3%
106	Salt Lake City, Utah	2.5%
107	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	3.2%

Sources and method

BLS Current Employment Statistics (via tape_readings) · 2026-08

How we got this. Job growth comes from tape_readings, which src/tape/job-growth.ts refreshes monthly from the BLS Current Employment Statistics: total nonfarm employment, not seasonally adjusted, the latest month against the same month a year earlier, in percent. A metro reads its own CES series (Vancouver, Washington shares Portland's, the way BLS publishes it); a state reads its statewide series. Cities and states each rank on their own list, fastest growth first. It refreshes monthly.

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 Oregon Essential · https://www.flickr.com/photos/dougtone/, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons · More Than Just Parks.