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Labor force participation, bachelor's or higher: U.S. states ranked

Measure: Labor force participation, bachelor's or higher. All 50 states and District of Columbia with data in Unemployment and labor force participation by education, by state, ranked from highest to lowest. Reference period: 2025.

Licence: Public domain (U.S. federal government work).
Data last updated: 2026-10-30

Download full table CSV Source: U.S. Census Bureau (opens in a new tab)

National value: 88.2 (United States).

Small states, hard to see on the map:

DC 93.6 %
RI 92.1 %
DE 87 %
CT 89.2 %
NJ 89.3 %
MD 90.5 %
MA 90 %
VT 90.6 %
NH 90.5 %

Lowest: 84.9 to 86.7 %
Group 2: 86.7 to 87.7 %
Group 3: 87.7 to 89 %
Group 4: 89 to 90 %
Highest: 90 to 93.6 %

The map is a visual summary; every value is in the table below, which is the keyboard and screen-reader path. Groups are quintiles of the values shown (a derived grouping). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain), simplified. Alaska and Hawaii are shown as insets, not to scale.

Rank is derived by Quadranac: 1 = highest value; ties share a rank. Values are as published in the source table.


1	District of Columbia	93.6
2	Rhode Island	92.1
3	North Dakota	91.6
4	Minnesota	90.6
4	South Dakota	90.6
4	Vermont	90.6
7	Maryland	90.5
7	New Hampshire	90.5
9	Iowa	90.4
10	Nebraska	90.2
11	Massachusetts	90
11	Pennsylvania	90
13	Illinois	89.5
13	Indiana	89.5
15	New Jersey	89.3
15	Wisconsin	89.3
17	Connecticut	89.2
17	Ohio	89.2
19	New York	89.1
20	Colorado	89
20	Virginia	89
22	Kansas	88.9
23	Maine	88.6
24	Missouri	88.3
25	Georgia	88.1
25	Wyoming	88.1
27	Louisiana	88
27	Michigan	88
29	Hawaii	87.9
30	Tennessee	87.8
31	Oregon	87.7
32	Kentucky	87.6
32	Montana	87.6
34	Washington	87.5
35	California	87.3
35	North Carolina	87.3
35	Texas	87.3
38	Delaware	87
38	Utah	87
40	Oklahoma	86.9
41	Arkansas	86.7
42	Alaska	86.3
43	South Carolina	86.2
44	Florida	86.1
44	Nevada	86.1
44	New Mexico	86.1
47	Arizona	86
48	Alabama	85.9
49	Mississippi	85.6
49	West Virginia	85.6
51	Idaho	84.9

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, Table S2301: Employment Status. Reference period: 2025.

Cite this ranking

U.S. states ranked by labor force participation, bachelor's or higher (2025). Data: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, ACS 1-year estimates, Table S2301; rank derived by Quadranac. Data last updated 2026-10-30. https://quadranac.com/rankings/us-states-by-labor-force-participation-bachelors-or-higher/

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