The Largest Employer in Each State

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Wal-Mart employed nearly 34,000 Alabama residents as of February 2015, more than any other company in the state. Of the 138 retail stores Wal-Mart operates in Alabama, 99 are supercenters. According to the company, the average wage for full-time hourly associates was $12.57 an hour.

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2. Alaska

Ted Stevens Anchorage Airport is the largest employer in Alaska with more than 9,000 employees. The airport ranks second in the nation for landed weight of cargo aircraft, and is the largest and most used floatplane base globally.

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3. Arizona

Excluding state and local government employment, Wal-Mart was the largest employer in Arizona with 32,373 employees as of the beginning of this year. As in most states where Wal-Mart is the top employer, there are well over 100 Wal-Mart locations throughout the state, 79 of which are supercenters. The average hourly wage of a Wal-Mart employee in the state was less than $13.00 last year.

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4. Arkansas

Headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, Wal-Mart is also the largest employer in the state, with 50,000 employees. Wal-Mart has about 2.2 million employees worldwide, operating nearly 11,000 stores in 27 countries. Wal-Mart’s net sales in its 2014 fiscal year were $473.1 billion.

 

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5. California

With 10 campuses and five medical centers, the University of California System is the largest employer in California with nearly 200,000 employees. The UC System enrolled more than 238,000 students in this school year and contributes an estimated $32.8 billion to California’s gross state product.