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Union membership rates highest in Hawaii and New York, lowest in North Carolina in 2024

January 31, 2025

The union membership rate in the United States (the percentage of wage and salary workers who were members of unions) was 9.9 percent in 2024, little changed from the prior year. The number of wage and salary workers belonging to unions, at 14.3 million, also showed little movement over the year. In 1983, the first year for which comparable data are available, the union membership rate was 20.1 percent and there were 17.7 million union members.

Thirty states had union membership rates below the U.S. average, while 20 states and the District of Columbia had rates above it. Hawaii and New York had the highest union membership rates, 26.5 percent and 20.6 percent, respectively. States with the lowest membership rates in 2024 were North Carolina (2.4 percent), South Dakota (2.7 percent), and South Carolina (2.8 percent).

Union membership rates of employed wage and salary workers by state, 2024 annual averages
State Union membership rate (percent) Total union members Total employed wage and salary workers

United States

9.9 14,255,000 144,522,000

Alabama

6.6 140,000 2,110,000

Alaska

17.7 53,000 300,000

Arizona

3.7 118,000 3,183,000

Arkansas

3.5 45,000 1,265,000

California

14.5 2,381,000 16,399,000

Colorado

7.7 206,000 2,671,000

Connecticut

16.5 269,000 1,634,000

Delaware

8.5 37,000 435,000

District of Columbia

10.6 38,000 362,000

Florida

5.1 462,000 9,086,000

Georgia

3.8 174,000 4,619,000

Hawaii

26.5 147,000 556,000

Idaho

5.0 43,000 850,000

Illinois

13.1 734,000 5,615,000

Indiana

9.0 271,000 2,999,000

Iowa

6.4 93,000 1,437,000

Kansas

6.3 83,000 1,309,000

Kentucky

8.8 156,000 1,761,000

Louisiana

3.9 69,000 1,741,000

Maine

13.1 77,000 585,000

Maryland

11.4 325,000 2,851,000

Massachusetts

14.6 496,000 3,397,000

Michigan

13.4 581,000 4,346,000

Minnesota

14.2 379,000 2,668,000

Mississippi

5.2 59,000 1,129,000

Missouri

8.6 234,000 2,734,000

Montana

11.9 56,000 474,000

Nebraska

6.8 62,000 913,000

Nevada

12.1 166,000 1,367,000

New Hampshire

9.2 62,000 678,000

New Jersey

16.2 682,000 4,197,000

New Mexico

7.5 63,000 834,000

New York

20.6 1,706,000 8,278,000

North Carolina

2.4 108,000 4,555,000

North Dakota

5.0 18,000 366,000

Ohio

12.1 621,000 5,147,000

Oklahoma

5.3 91,000 1,713,000

Oregon

15.9 292,000 1,835,000

Pennsylvania

11.7 666,000 5,706,000

Rhode Island

14.5 73,000 500,000

South Carolina

2.8 61,000 2,163,000

South Dakota

2.7 12,000 431,000

Tennessee

4.7 136,000 2,923,000

Texas

4.5 603,000 13,345,000

Utah

3.7 58,000 1,558,000

Vermont

14.3 42,000 297,000

Virginia

5.2 207,000 3,997,000

Washington

16.0 548,000 3,432,000

West Virginia

8.8 61,000 699,000

Wisconsin

6.4 180,000 2,819,000

Wyoming

5.6 14,000 249,000

In 2024, about 29 percent of the 14.3 million union members lived in just two states, California (2.4 million) and New York (1.7 million). However, these two states accounted for 17 percent of all wage and salary employment nationally.

These data are from the Current Population Survey. To learn more, see "Union Members — 2024." The union membership rate is calculated by dividing the number of union members by the number of wage and salary workers. Union membership data do not include self-employed workers. 

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Union membership rates highest in Hawaii and New York, lowest in North Carolina in 2024 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2025/union-membership-rates-highest-in-hawaii-and-new-york-lowest-in-north-carolina-in-2024.htm (visited February 11, 2025).

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