Total nonfarm jobs, the latest month against the same month a year earlier, from the BLS Current Employment Statistics; fastest growth first.
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Rankings · Slowest Job Growth by State
The US Virgin Islands Has the Slowest Job Growth of Any State or Territory (2026)
The US Virgin Islands has the slowest job growth of the 51 states and territories we rank, with jobs down 2.7% in a year (BLS, August 2026). Montana is next, with jobs down 1.0% in a year.
By The Honest Local · 51 states · every value links to its public source
-2.7%the US Virgin Islands leads on the list, the lowest reading of 51 states and territories
The top five states
No. 1the US Virgin Islands-2.7%job growth in a year
No. 2Montana-1.0%job growth in a year
No. 3Virginia-0.8%job growth in a year
No. 4Indiana-0.5%job growth in a year- No. 5Oregon-0.5%job growth in a year
Slowest Job Growth by State on the map
Fastest job growth by city and state, states
Loading the numbers…
Slowest Job Growth by State, all 51
The full ranking
| Place | job growth in a year | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | the US Virgin Islands | -2.7% |
| 2 | Montana | -1.0% |
| 3 | Virginia | -0.8% |
| 4 | Indiana | -0.5% |
| 5 | Oregon | -0.5% |
| 6 | Maryland | -0.2% |
| 7 | West Virginia | -0.2% |
| 8 | Georgia | -0.2% |
| 9 | Vermont | -0.2% |
| 10 | Iowa | -0.1% |
| 11 | Kentucky | 0.0% |
| 12 | Colorado | 0.1% |
| 13 | Nebraska | 0.1% |
| 14 | New Jersey | 0.1% |
| 15 | Illinois | 0.1% |
| 16 | Hawaii | 0.1% |
| 17 | Maine | 0.1% |
| 18 | Rhode Island | 0.1% |
| 19 | Delaware | 0.2% |
| 20 | Wyoming | 0.2% |
| 21 | Mississippi | 0.2% |
| 22 | Ohio | 0.2% |
| 23 | Michigan | 0.3% |
| 24 | South Dakota | 0.3% |
| 25 | New York | 0.4% |
| 26 | Tennessee | 0.4% |
| 27 | New Hampshire | 0.4% |
| 28 | Massachusetts | 0.4% |
| 29 | Kansas | 0.5% |
| 30 | Arizona | 0.5% |
| 31 | Washington | 0.6% |
| 32 | North Dakota | 0.6% |
| 33 | Florida | 0.6% |
| 34 | Wisconsin | 0.6% |
| 35 | California | 0.7% |
| 36 | Oklahoma | 0.7% |
| 37 | Alaska | 0.8% |
| 38 | Arkansas | 0.8% |
| 39 | Pennsylvania | 0.8% |
| 40 | Idaho | 1.0% |
| 41 | Alabama | 1.0% |
| 42 | Texas | 1.0% |
| 43 | Connecticut | 1.1% |
| 44 | Utah | 1.2% |
| 45 | Missouri | 1.2% |
| 46 | North Carolina | 1.2% |
| 47 | New Mexico | 1.3% |
| 48 | Nevada | 1.3% |
| 49 | Louisiana | 1.5% |
| 50 | Minnesota | 1.5% |
| 51 | South Carolina | 1.8% |
Sources and method
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 Shutterstock.