The public sector — federal, state, and local government — employs about 20.2 million people, measuring almost 15% of the total American workforce. Educational instruction and library jobs, however, account for fully 74% of all government employment, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (See the states paying teachers most and least.)
While a total of 136,000 government jobs, at all levels, were added in March, 125,600 of those were in state or local education, reflecting a transition back towards in-person learning for students nationwide. Nonetheless, state and local public education is still down 863,200 jobs since February 2020, according to an Economic Policy Institute (EPI) report on jobs and unemployment.
The EPI believes that the positive growth that has been seen in the public sector has been “likely due at least in part to the impact of the state and local government aid in the ARP (American Rescue Plan).” Increased availability of COVID-19 vaccines has probably also been a contributing factor.
The pandemic affected all segments of the public sector badly, not just education. In May of last year, the Urban Institute reported that almost a million state and local government jobs had been lost in April 2020 alone, and that public employment in all 50 states had decreased since the beginning of the crisis by rates ranging from 2% in Alabama to 14% in Wisconsin.
Click here to see the state with the most public workers.
To identify the states with the most public sector workers, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed public employment totals as a percentage of total employment in every state using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment Statistics program. Occupational data is for 2019. The median household income for each state was obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2019 American Community Survey.
As those jobs come back today, there remains a considerable variation in the extent of public employment from state to state. Fewer than 12% of workers in Massachusetts, for instance, hold government positions, while more than 27% do in Wyoming. (These are the highest paid public employees in every state.)
Correction: Due to a transcription error, a previous version of this article listed all public sector employment percentages as belonging to Wyoming instead of their respective states. The error has been corrected.
50. Wyoming
> Wyoming workers employed in public sector: 27.2%
> Total public sector workers: 65,061 — 5th fewest
> Median household income: $65,003 — 19th highest
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49. New Mexico
> New Mexico workers employed in public sector: 26.8%
> Total public sector workers: 199,017 — 19th fewest
> Median household income: $51,945 — 6th lowest
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48. Alaska
> Alaska workers employed in public sector: 25.7%
> Total public sector workers: 72,083 — 7th fewest
> Median household income: $75,463 — 12th highest
47. Hawaii
> Hawaii workers employed in public sector: 25.6%
> Total public sector workers: 129,987 — 13th fewest
> Median household income: $83,102 — 4th highest
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46. Maryland
> Maryland workers employed in public sector: 25.1%
> Total public sector workers: 674,913 — 7th most
> Median household income: $86,738 — the highest
45. Virginia
> Virginia workers employed in public sector: 22.5%
> Total public sector workers: 834,882 — 5th most
> Median household income: $76,456 — 10th highest
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44. Maine
> Maine workers employed in public sector: 20.4%
> Total public sector workers: 113,341 — 11th fewest
> Median household income: $58,924 — 16th lowest
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43. Montana
> Montana workers employed in public sector: 19.6%
> Total public sector workers: 82,218 — 8th fewest
> Median household income: $57,153 — 11th lowest
42. Oklahoma
> Oklahoma workers employed in public sector: 19.2%
> Total public sector workers: 288,327 — 25th fewest
> Median household income: $54,449 — 8th lowest
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41. West Virginia
> West Virginia workers employed in public sector: 19.0%
> Total public sector workers: 126,621 — 12th fewest
> Median household income: $48,850 — 2nd lowest
40. Louisiana
> Louisiana workers employed in public sector: 18.1%
> Total public sector workers: 304,950 — 25th most
> Median household income: $51,073 — 4th lowest
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39. North Dakota
> North Dakota workers employed in public sector: 18.0%
> Total public sector workers: 60,918 — 3rd fewest
> Median household income: $64,577 — 20th highest
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38. Vermont
> Vermont workers employed in public sector: 17.7%
> Total public sector workers: 46,815 — the fewest
> Median household income: $63,001 — 25th lowest
37. Washington
> Washington workers employed in public sector: 17.6%
> Total public sector workers: 565,169 — 13th most
> Median household income: $78,687 — 7th highest
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36. Mississippi
> Mississippi workers employed in public sector: 17.3%
> Total public sector workers: 179,107 — 15th fewest
> Median household income: $45,792 — the lowest
35. Utah
> Utah workers employed in public sector: 17.2%
> Total public sector workers: 241,158 — 22nd fewest
> Median household income: $75,780 — 11th highest
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34. Kansas
> Kansas workers employed in public sector: 16.9%
> Total public sector workers: 217,184 — 20th fewest
> Median household income: $62,087 — 24th lowest
33. New York
> New York workers employed in public sector: 16.9%
> Total public sector workers: 1,279,183 — 3rd most
> Median household income: $72,108 — 14th highest
32. Oregon
> Oregon workers employed in public sector: 16.7%
> Total public sector workers: 282,884 — 24th fewest
> Median household income: $67,058 — 18th highest
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31. Kentucky
> Kentucky workers employed in public sector: 16.6%
> Total public sector workers: 280,309 — 23rd fewest
> Median household income: $52,295 — 7th lowest
30. Alabama
> Alabama workers employed in public sector: 16.5%
> Total public sector workers: 313,257 — 24th most
> Median household income: $51,734 — 5th lowest
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29. Iowa
> Iowa workers employed in public sector: 16.5%
> Total public sector workers: 230,784 — 21st fewest
> Median household income: $61,691 — 21st lowest
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28. Colorado
> Colorado workers employed in public sector: 16.4%
> Total public sector workers: 406,332 — 16th most
> Median household income: $77,127 — 9th highest
27. South Carolina
> South Carolina workers employed in public sector: 16.4%
> Total public sector workers: 333,822 — 22nd most
> Median household income: $56,227 — 10th lowest
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26. Nebraska
> Nebraska workers employed in public sector: 16.3%
> Total public sector workers: 144,931 — 14th fewest
> Median household income: $63,229 — 25th highest
25. Delaware
> Delaware workers employed in public sector: 16.1%
> Total public sector workers: 68,203 — 6th fewest
> Median household income: $70,176 — 16th highest
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24. Arkansas
> Arkansas workers employed in public sector: 15.9%
> Total public sector workers: 184,419 — 17th fewest
> Median household income: $48,952 — 3rd lowest
23. Ohio
> Ohio workers employed in public sector: 15.9%
> Total public sector workers: 762,977 — 6th most
> Median household income: $58,642 — 15th lowest
22. California
> California workers employed in public sector: 15.6%
> Total public sector workers: 2,354,657 — the most
> Median household income: $80,440 — 5th highest
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21. Idaho
> Idaho workers employed in public sector: 15.4%
> Total public sector workers: 112,618 — 10th fewest
> Median household income: $60,999 — 20th lowest
20. Minnesota
> Minnesota workers employed in public sector: 15.4%
> Total public sector workers: 387,487 — 17th most
> Median household income: $74,593 — 13th highest
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19. Georgia
> Georgia workers employed in public sector: 15.3%
> Total public sector workers: 638,027 — 8th most
> Median household income: $61,980 — 22nd lowest
18. New Jersey
> New Jersey workers employed in public sector: 15.2%
> Total public sector workers: 567,949 — 12th most
> Median household income: $85,751 — 3rd highest
17. South Dakota
> South Dakota workers employed in public sector: 15.0%
> Total public sector workers: 57,698 — 2nd fewest
> Median household income: $59,533 — 18th lowest
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16. Texas
> Texas workers employed in public sector: 14.9%
> Total public sector workers: 1,733,846 — 2nd most
> Median household income: $64,034 — 22nd highest
15. Nevada
> Nevada workers employed in public sector: 14.9%
> Total public sector workers: 180,044 — 16th fewest
> Median household income: $63,276 — 24th highest
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14. Wisconsin
> Wisconsin workers employed in public sector: 14.6%
> Total public sector workers: 379,240 — 19th most
> Median household income: $64,168 — 21st highest
13. Tennessee
> Tennessee workers employed in public sector: 14.3%
> Total public sector workers: 382,690 — 18th most
> Median household income: $56,071 — 9th lowest
12. Arizona
> Arizona workers employed in public sector: 14.3%
> Total public sector workers: 414,557 — 15th most
> Median household income: $62,055 — 23rd lowest
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11. North Carolina
> North Carolina workers employed in public sector: 14.1%
> Total public sector workers: 583,766 — 11th most
> Median household income: $57,341 — 12th lowest
10. Missouri
> Missouri workers employed in public sector: 14.0%
> Total public sector workers: 354,086 — 20th most
> Median household income: $57,409 — 13th lowest
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9. New Hampshire
> New Hampshire workers employed in public sector: 13.8%
> Total public sector workers: 86,758 — 9th fewest
> Median household income: $77,933 — 8th highest
8. Rhode Island
> Rhode Island workers employed in public sector: 13.8%
> Total public sector workers: 62,685 — 4th fewest
> Median household income: $71,169 — 15th highest
7. Florida
> Florida workers employed in public sector: 13.5%
> Total public sector workers: 1,103,050 — 4th most
> Median household income: $59,227 — 17th lowest
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6. Connecticut
> Connecticut workers employed in public sector: 12.9%
> Total public sector workers: 196,755 — 18th fewest
> Median household income: $78,833 — 6th highest
5. Michigan
> Michigan workers employed in public sector: 12.4%
> Total public sector workers: 492,883 — 14th most
> Median household income: $59,584 — 19th lowest
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4. Illinois
> Illinois workers employed in public sector: 12.3%
> Total public sector workers: 636,737 — 9th most
> Median household income: $69,187 — 17th highest
3. Indiana
> Indiana workers employed in public sector: 11.7%
> Total public sector workers: 332,370 — 23rd most
> Median household income: $57,603 — 14th lowest
2. Pennsylvania
> Pennsylvania workers employed in public sector: 11.7%
> Total public sector workers: 622,046 — 10th most
> Median household income: $63,463 — 23rd highest
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1. Massachusetts
> Massachusetts workers employed in public sector: 11.7%
> Total public sector workers: 349,461 — 21st most
> Median household income: $85,843 — 2nd highest
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