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News Release Information

25-204-PHI
Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Union Members in Virginia — 2024

In 2024, union members accounted for 5.2 percent of wage and salary workers in Virginia, compared with 4.3 percent in 2023, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that the union membership rate for the state was at its peak in 1992, when it averaged 9.3 percent, and at its low point in 2007 and 2022 at 3.7 percent. (See chart 1 and table A.) Nationwide, union members accounted for 9.9 percent of employed wage and salary workers in 2024, little changed from the previous year. Since 1989, when comparable state data became available, union membership rates in Virginia have been below the U.S. average.

Virginia had 207,000 union members in 2024. In addition to these members, another 22,000 wage and salary workers in Virginia were represented by a union on their main job or covered by an employee association or contract while not union members themselves.

Table A. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers in Virginia, annual averages, 2014–2024 (numbers in thousands)
Year Total employed Members of unions (1) Represented by unions (2)
Total Percent of employed Total Percent of employed

2014

3,665 179 4.9 228 6.2

2015

3,736 202 5.4 258 6.9

2016

3,748 160 4.3 226 6.0

2017

3,801 176 4.6 222 5.8

2018

3,875 168 4.3 213 5.5

2019

3,881 156 4.0 201 5.2

2020

3,703 164 4.4 201 5.4

2021

3,685 176 4.8 240 6.5

2022

3,906 146 3.7 175 4.5

2023

4,042 176 4.3 226 5.6

2024

3,997 207 5.2 229 5.7

Footnotes:
(1) Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
(2) Data refer to both union members and workers who report no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.

Note: Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time wage and salary workers. All self-employed workers are excluded, both those with incorporated businesses as well as those with unincorporated businesses. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

In 2024, 16.0 million wage and salary workers were represented by a union, little changed from 2023. Workers represented by a union include both union members (14.3 million) and workers who report no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union contract (1.8 million).

In 2024, 30 states had union membership rates below the U.S. average (9.9 percent), while 20 states and the District of Columbia had rates above it. (See table 1.) Ten states had union membership rates below 5.0 percent in 2024. North Carolina had the lowest rate (2.4 percent). The next lowest rates were in South Dakota (2.7 percent) and South Carolina (2.8 percent). Two states had union membership rates over 20.0 percent in 2024: Hawaii (26.5 percent) and New York (20.6 percent). (See map 1.)

Map 1. Union membership rates by state, 2024 annual averages

(U.S. rate = 9.9%)


Technical Note

The estimates in this release are obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), which provides basic information on the labor force, employment, and unemployment. The survey is conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau from a scientifically selected national sample of about 60,000 eligible households. The union membership data are tabulated from one-quarter of the CPS monthly sample and are limited to wage and salary workers. All self-employed workers are excluded.

This release preserves the long-time practice of highlighting the state union membership rates and levels regardless of their statistical significance. More information is available in the Union Members Technical Note.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers by state, 2023-2024 annual averages (numbers in thousands)
State 2023 2024
Total
employed
Members of unions(1) Represented by
unions(2)
Total
employed
Members of unions(1) Represented by
unions(2)
Total Percent
of
employed
Total Percent
of
employed
Total Percent
of
employed
Total Percent
of
employed

Alabama

2,088 156 7.5 180 8.6 2,110 140 6.6 165 7.8

Alaska

307 45 14.8 47 15.2 300 53 17.7 58 19.5

Arizona

3,164 133 4.2 152 4.8 3,183 118 3.7 144 4.5

Arkansas

1,217 62 5.1 71 5.8 1,265 45 3.5 56 4.4

California

16,349 2,514 15.4 2,769 16.9 16,399 2,381 14.5 2,678 16.3

Colorado

2,730 189 6.9 235 8.6 2,671 206 7.7 214 8.0

Connecticut

1,610 255 15.9 272 16.9 1,634 269 16.5 291 17.8

Delaware

436 38 8.8 44 10.1 435 37 8.5 39 8.9

District of Columbia

347 32 9.1 36 10.4 362 38 10.6 42 11.7

Florida

9,453 442 4.7 578 6.1 9,086 462 5.1 569 6.3

Georgia

4,626 211 4.6 250 5.4 4,619 174 3.8 203 4.4

Hawaii

573 138 24.1 147 25.6 556 147 26.5 153 27.5

Idaho

810 37 4.5 44 5.5 850 43 5.0 50 5.9

Illinois

5,537 708 12.8 755 13.6 5,615 734 13.1 798 14.2

Indiana

3,054 245 8.0 278 9.1 2,999 271 9.0 313 10.4

Iowa

1,490 107 7.2 131 8.8 1,437 93 6.4 119 8.3

Kansas

1,360 120 8.9 144 10.6 1,309 83 6.3 105 8.0

Kentucky

1,719 152 8.8 194 11.3 1,761 156 8.8 197 11.2

Louisiana

1,765 76 4.3 91 5.2 1,741 69 3.9 86 5.0

Maine

566 52 9.2 61 10.8 585 77 13.1 89 15.3

Maryland

2,822 302 10.7 362 12.8 2,851 325 11.4 382 13.4

Massachusetts

3,267 412 12.6 443 13.6 3,397 496 14.6 531 15.6

Michigan

4,409 564 12.8 623 14.1 4,346 581 13.4 639 14.7

Minnesota

2,673 356 13.3 378 14.1 2,668 379 14.2 394 14.8

Mississippi

1,081 75 7.0 106 9.8 1,129 59 5.2 90 7.9

Missouri

2,734 255 9.3 286 10.4 2,734 234 8.6 255 9.3

Montana

470 56 11.8 61 13.0 474 56 11.9 62 13.1

Nebraska

940 68 7.3 88 9.4 913 62 6.8 74 8.1

Nevada

1,382 171 12.4 201 14.5 1,367 166 12.1 183 13.4

New Hampshire

668 62 9.3 73 10.9 678 62 9.2 72 10.6

New Jersey

4,211 679 16.1 729 17.3 4,197 682 16.2 730 17.4

New Mexico

805 60 7.5 73 9.1 834 63 7.5 73 8.8

New York

8,300 1,711 20.6 1,787 21.5 8,278 1,706 20.6 1,814 21.9

North Carolina

4,623 125 2.7 152 3.3 4,555 108 2.4 142 3.1

North Dakota

359 22 6.2 27 7.5 366 18 5.0 23 6.3

Ohio

5,108 641 12.5 691 13.5 5,147 621 12.1 685 13.3

Oklahoma

1,705 115 6.8 132 7.7 1,713 91 5.3 106 6.2

Oregon

1,808 255 14.1 270 15.0 1,835 292 15.9 321 17.5

Pennsylvania

5,786 749 12.9 822 14.2 5,706 666 11.7 708 12.4

Rhode Island

507 62 12.3 67 13.2 500 73 14.5 77 15.3

South Carolina

2,130 49 2.3 63 3.0 2,163 61 2.8 89 4.1

South Dakota

425 15 3.6 18 4.2 431 12 2.7 16 3.7

Tennessee

2,981 178 6.0 205 6.9 2,923 136 4.7 164 5.6

Texas

13,019 586 4.5 701 5.4 13,345 603 4.5 716 5.4

Utah

1,584 65 4.1 134 8.4 1,558 58 3.7 122 7.8

Vermont

301 43 14.3 46 15.4 297 42 14.3 47 15.8

Virginia

4,042 176 4.3 226 5.6 3,997 207 5.2 229 5.7

Washington

3,491 576 16.5 632 18.1 3,432 548 16.0 627 18.3

West Virginia

691 60 8.7 70 10.1 699 61 8.8 70 10.0

Wisconsin

2,761 205 7.4 232 8.4 2,819 180 6.4 196 6.9

Wyoming

256 14 5.6 17 6.6 249 14 5.6 17 6.7

Footnotes
(1) Data refer to members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a union.
(2) Data refer to both union members and workers who report no union affiliation but whose jobs are covered by a union or an employee association contract.

Note: Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time wage and salary workers. All self-employed workers are excluded, both those with incorporated businesses as well as those with unincorporated businesses. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, February 11, 2025