Walmart is by far the largest employer in the United States, employing over 1.5 million Americans. However, other companies are beginning to close in on Walmart’s lofty headcount. Of note is the country’s second largest employer, Amazon, which thanks to rampant growth and the acquisition of businesses such as Whole Foods, added 150,000 workers last year alone. The company now employs over 560,000 Americans.
Most state economies are relatively diverse, yet it is not uncommon for a single industry to have an outsized impact on a state’s economy and labor market. In many cases, a single company employs a significant share of the state’s workforce.
State governments tend to be the largest employers in each state. There are about 22.3 million government employees nationwide. In contrast, Walmart — by far the nation’s largest private employer — employs about 1.5 million full-time workers in the United States. When excluding public administrative bodies, Walmart is often the largest employer in a state, but a number of other organizations — often a state university or hospital network — also emerge as the biggest employer on the state level.
The size of these companies varies considerably. In Alaska, the Providence Health & Services network of hospitals employs around 4,000 people. In Washington state, Boeing employs 18 times as many people. In Texas, Walmart employed 168,403 at last count.
Based on the most recent available full- and part-time employee counts, these are the largest employers in each of the 50 states.
Click here to see the largest employer in every state.
Click here to see our detailed findings and methodology.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this piece listed MaineHealth as the largest employer in the state of Maine. In fact, the largest employer in the state is the EMHS network of hospitals.
Source: walmartcorporate / Flickr
1. Alabama
> Largest employer: Walmart
> Employee headcount: 37,207
> Industry: Retail
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Source: Wikimedia Commons
2. Alaska
> Largest employer: Providence Health & Services
> Employee headcount: ~4,500
> Industry: Hospitals
Source: Jen Meacham
3. Arizona
> Largest employer: Banner Health
> Employee headcount: 43,128
> Industry: Hospitals
Source: courtesy of Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
4. Arkansas
> Largest employer: Walmart
> Employee headcount: 52,367
> Industry: Retail
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Source: Bev Sykes-Wikimedia Commons
5. California
> Largest employer: University of California
> Employee headcount: 198,300+
> Industry: Public universities
Source: Thinkstock
6. Colorado
> Largest employer: Denver International Airport
> Employee headcount: 35,000
> Industry: Airports
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Source: healthcare-informatics.com
7. Connecticut
> Largest employer: Yale New Haven Health System
> Employee headcount: 22,193
> Industry: Hospitals
Source: Beebe Healthcare / Facebook
8. Delaware
> Largest employer: Beebe Medical Center
> Employee headcount: 30,000
> Industry: Hospitals
Source: Raysonho @ Open Grid Scheduler / Wikimedia Commons
9. Florida
> Largest employer: Walmart
> Employee headcount: 107,460
> Industry: Retail
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Source: Mike Kalasnik / Wikimedia Commons
10. Georgia
> Largest employer: Walmart
> Employee headcount: 60,002
> Industry: Retail
Source: Rachel / Wikimedia Commons
11. Hawaii
> Largest employer: University of Hawaii
> Employee headcount: 10,106
> Industry: Public universities
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Source: St. Luke's Health System / Facebook
12. Idaho
> Largest employer: St. Luke’s Health System
> Employee headcount: 14,538
> Industry: Hospitals
Source: Benchapple / Wikimedia Commons
13. Illinois
> Largest employer: Walmart
> Employee headcount: 53,687
> Industry: Retail
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
14. Indiana
> Largest employer: Walmart
> Employee headcount: 39,875
> Industry: Retail
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Source: KMSatoh202 / Wikimedia Commons
15. Iowa
> Largest employer: University of Iowa
> Employee headcount: 24,598
> Industry: Public universities
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
16. Kansas
> Largest employer: Walmart
> Employee headcount: 20,103
> Industry: Retail
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Source: Stu pendousmat / Wikimedia Commons
17. Kentucky
> Largest employer: Walmart
> Employee headcount: 29,554
> Industry: Retail
Source: MikeMozartJeepersMedia / Wikimedia Commons
18. Louisiana
> Largest employer: Walmart
> Employee headcount: 36,309
> Industry: Retail
Source: Courtesy of EMHS
19. Maine
> Largest employer: EMHS
> Employee headcount: 12,049
> Industry: Hospitals
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Source: DelmasLehman / iStock
20. Maryland
> Largest employer: Johns Hopkins Institutions
> Employee headcount: 51,725
> Industry: Hospitals
Source: Partners HealthCare / Facebook
21. Massachusetts
> Largest employer: Partners Healthcare
> Employee headcount: 68,000
> Industry: Hospitals
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Source: Scruggelgreen / Shutterstock.com
22. Michigan
> Largest employer: General Motors
> Employee headcount: 52,811
> Industry: Public universities
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Source: Jonathunder / Wikimedia Commons
23. Minnesota
> Largest employer: Mayo Clinic
> Employee headcount: 34,562
> Industry: Hospitals
Source: Maryland Pride / Wikimedia Commons
24. Mississippi
> Largest employer: Walmart
> Employee headcount: 24,180
> Industry: Retail
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Source: Aneekr / Wikimedia Commons
25. Missouri
> Largest employer: Walmart
> Employee headcount: 42,029
> Industry: Retail
Source: Famartin / Wikimedia Commons
26. Montana
> Largest employer: Walmart
> Employee headcount: 4,861
> Industry: Retail
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Source: Beatmastermatt / Wikimedia Commons
27. Nebraska
> Largest employer: University of Nebraska
> Employee headcount: 16,157
> Industry: Public universities
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Source: Wikimedia Commons
28. Nevada
> Largest employer: MGM Resorts International
> Employee headcount: 55,200
> Industry: Casino hotels
Source: Aled Betts / Wikimedia Commons
29. New Hampshire
> Largest employer: Walmart
> Employee headcount: 7,593
> Industry: Retail
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Source: Thinkstock
30. New Jersey
> Largest employer: Wakefern Food Corporation
> Employee headcount: 35,000
> Industry: Supermarkets
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
31. New Mexico
> Largest employer: University of New Mexico
> Employee headcount: 33,390
> Industry: Public universities
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Source: crz4mets2 / Wikimedia Commons
32. New York
> Largest employer: State University of New York system
> Employee headcount: 90,033
> Industry: Public universities
Source: Thinkstock
33. North Carolina
> Largest employer: University of North Carolina system
> Employee headcount: 74,079
> Industry: Public universities
Source: Dmytro Zinkevych / Shutterstock.com
34. North Dakota
> Largest employer: Sanford Health
> Employee headcount: 10,581
> Industry: Hospitals
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Source: Michael Rivera / Wikimedia Commons
35. Ohio
> Largest employer: Walmart
> Employee headcount: 50,186
> Industry: Retail
Source: Abras2010 / Wikimedia Commons
36. Oklahoma
> Largest employer: Walmart
> Employee headcount: 32,713
> Industry: Retail
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Source: M.O. Stevens / Wikimedia Commons
37. Oregon
> Largest employer: Providence Health & Services
> Employee headcount: 21,000+
> Industry: Hospitals
Source: Crazypaco / Wikimedia Commons
38. Pennsylvania
> Largest employer: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
> Employee headcount: 61,000
> Industry: Hospitals
Source: hasbrochildrenshospital.org
39. Rhode Island
> Largest employer: Lifespan System of Hospitals
> Employee headcount: 14,000
> Industry: Hospitals
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Source: walmartcorporate / Flickr
40. South Carolina
> Largest employer: Walmart
> Employee headcount: 32,165
> Industry: Retail
Source: AlexiusHoratius / Wikimedia Commons
41. South Dakota
> Largest employer: Avera Health
> Employee headcount: 12,187
> Industry: Hospitals
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Source: Raysonho @ Open Grid Scheduler / Grid Engine / Wikimedia Commons
42. Tennessee
> Largest employer: Walmart
> Employee headcount: 40,598
> Industry: Retail
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Source: Ben Schumin / Wikimedia Commons
43. Texas
> Largest employer: Walmart
> Employee headcount: 168,403
> Industry: Retail
Source: An Errant Knight / Wikimedia Commons
44. Utah
> Largest employer: Intermountain Healthcare
> Employee headcount: 38,000
> Industry: Hospitals
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Source: Gopats92 / Wikimedia Commons
45. Vermont
> Largest employer: The University of Vermont Medical Center
> Employee headcount: 7,860
> Industry: Public universities
Source: MikeMozartJeepersMedia / Wikimedia Commons
46. Virginia
> Largest employer: Walmart
> Employee headcount: 43,623
> Industry: Retail
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Source: Thinkstock
47. Washington
> Largest employer: Boeing
> Employee headcount: 71,036
> Industry: Manufacturing
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Source: Aneekr / Wikimedia Commons
48. West Virginia
> Largest employer: Walmart
> Employee headcount: 11,864
> Industry: Retail
Source: James Steakley / Wikimedia Commons
49. Wisconsin
> Largest employer: University of Wisconsin
> Employee headcount: 39,000
> Industry: Public universities
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Source: Mike Kalasnik from Fort Mill, USA / Wikimedia Commons
50. Wyoming
> Largest employer: Walmart
> Employee headcount: 4,648
> Industry: Retail
As the world’s largest retailer, Walmart has a uniquely large impact on many state economies, and it is the largest employer in 22 states. The 53,310 people Walmart employs in Arkansas — the retailer’s home state — account for about 30% of the state’s entire retail sector, and about 4% of the state’s total workforce.
Educational and medical institutions also frequently top a state’s list of employers. After Walmart, one of the more common largest employer across the 50 states is a state’s university system. The State University of New York, which operates 64 campuses across the state, employs over 90,000 faculty and staff.
Similarly, organizations operating in the health care sector that have multiple large campuses across the state are often major employers as well. In 14 states, a health care network is the largest employer, including Partners HealthCare in Massachusetts, which employs 68,000 people. Several of these health care networks are also part of a university system, such as the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, which employs 61,000 people in the state.
To determine the largest employer in each state, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed employment figures for nonprofits and private and publicly held companies from company press releases, government data, business journals, local media reports, as well as statements from company representatives. For the purposes of our analysis, we treated certain state government employers such as public universities as independent organizations, in keeping with how states frequently identify and compare company headcounts. Military bases were excluded from the list. In cases where a single university or health care system considered employees at its various colleges, laboratories, and medical centers as falling under one umbrella, employee counts were combined. In cases where a spokesperson from the medical centers or universities identified the organizations as distinct employers, they were counted separately.
This is the largest employer in every state.
To determine the largest employer in each state, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed employment figures for nonprofits and private and publicly held companies from company press releases, government data, business journals, local media reports, as well as statements from company representatives. For the purposes of our analysis, we treated some state government employers like public universities as independent organizations, in keeping with how states frequently identify and compare company headcounts. Military bases were excluded from the list. In many cases, employee counts for the various colleges, laboratories, and medical centers falling under a single university system were combined. This was because these systems frequently attribute employees from the university and medical centers together. However, when a spokesperson from the medical centers or universities identified the organizations as distinct employers, they were counted separately.
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