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US Counties With the Lowest Labour Force

3,219 US counties ranked by labour force, from lowest to highest. First are Chattahoochee County, GA (133.86), East Carroll Parish, LA (173.45) and McDowell County, WV (196.22). The middle one of the 3,219 has 467.01.

What this measures

Everyone who is working or actively looking for work. People who have stopped looking are not included. So a falling unemployment rate can mean either more jobs or fewer people looking. Source: BLS LAUS.

This is a count, so it is ranked per 1,000 residents. Ranked by the raw total, it would just list the biggest counties.

For most measures, a national ranking mostly sorts places by income and by how urban they are. Each county’s own page compares it with the 50 counties most like it instead, which is often the fairer view.

The 100 lowest counties

RankCountyPer 1,000 residents
1Chattahoochee County, GA133.86
2East Carroll Parish, LA173.45
3McDowell County, WV196.22
4Greene County, MS215.01
5Forest County, PA228.15
6Lake County, TN232.55
7Martin County, KY233.70
8Wolfe County, KY234.89
9Todd County, SD239.00
10Sumter County, FL242.81
11Alpine County, CA243.07
12Telfair County, GA247.33
13Utuado Municipio, PR254.45
14Lincoln County, AR255.21
15Elliott County, KY256.95
16Lassen County, CA258.72
17Issaquena County, MS259.36
18San Germán Municipio, PR261.85
19Union County, FL263.91
20Guayama Municipio, PR267.74
21Ciales Municipio, PR271.25
22Adjuntas Municipio, PR277.72
23Catron County, NM278.70
24Arroyo Municipio, PR279.20
25Mineral County, NV279.79
26Wahkiakum County, WA280.34
27Kusilvak Census Area, AK281.02
28Garza County, TX281.51
29Apache County, AZ282.43
30Harlan County, KY283.41
31Corson County, SD284.01
32Lee County, AR284.34
33Maricao Municipio, PR284.78
34Jayuya Municipio, PR285.61
35Stewart County, GA285.66
36Perry County, AL286.72
37Oglala Lakota County, SD286.89
38Clay County, KY288.09
39Orocovis Municipio, PR292.02
40Piute County, UT294.43
41Guánica Municipio, PR294.74
42Izard County, AR295.40
43Tensas Parish, LA295.84
44Wilkinson County, MS296.80
45Maunabo Municipio, PR297.46
46Mayagüez Municipio, PR297.48
47Sutton County, TX299.15
48Hancock County, GA299.30
49Mingo County, WV299.75
50Perry County, TN299.96
51Hamilton County, FL300.33
52Jackson County, SD300.78
53Breathitt County, KY301.53
54McCreary County, KY302.40
55Crowley County, CO303.10
56Lincoln County, CO303.18
57Yazoo County, MS303.83
58Greene County, AL304.12
59Ponce Municipio, PR304.30
60Taylor County, FL304.78
61Noble County, OH304.80
62Jackson County, KY304.93
63Oscoda County, MI305.71
64Guayanilla Municipio, PR306.64
65Patillas Municipio, PR306.86
66Phillips County, AR307.54
67Lajas Municipio, PR307.79
68Las Marías Municipio, PR307.96
69Hudspeth County, TX308.02
70Claiborne County, MS309.05
71Morgan County, KY309.94
72Fremont County, CO310.22
73Quitman County, GA310.23
74Baker County, GA310.25
75Sabana Grande Municipio, PR310.63
76Marlboro County, SC311.17
77Yabucoa Municipio, PR311.84
78Bell County, KY312.30
79Bent County, CO312.45
80Manatí Municipio, PR315.03
81Coryell County, TX315.13
82Buchanan County, VA315.66
83Calhoun County, GA316.21
84Concho County, TX316.57
85Claiborne Parish, LA316.78
86Cibola County, NM317.31
87Naranjito Municipio, PR317.41
88Tyler County, TX317.72
89Zapata County, TX318.37
90Knott County, KY318.38
91Comerío Municipio, PR318.51
92Holmes County, MS319.20
93Humphreys County, MS319.55
94Aguadilla Municipio, PR319.64
95Hidalgo County, NM319.99
96Bee County, TX320.55
97Nevada County, AR321.22
98Hickory County, MO321.26
99Chicot County, AR321.30
100Marion County, AR321.91

Every state, lowest first

Each state’s own published figure, not an average of its counties.

RankStatePer 1,000 residents
1Puerto Rico369.17
2Mississippi423.83
3West Virginia442.04
4Louisiana450.25
5Kentucky456.09
6New Mexico457.03
7Arkansas457.09
8Alabama458.03
9Hawaii470.71
10South Carolina478.67
11Alaska487.34
12Tennessee487.41
13Oklahoma492.21
14New York495.66
15Ohio495.81
16Georgia496.43
17California497.29
18Michigan497.82
19North Carolina498.13
20Florida502.62
21Indiana502.70
22Missouri503.65
23Maine504.10
24Pennsylvania505.06
25Wyoming506.36
26Arizona506.58
27Delaware506.82
28Oregon511.90
29Nevada512.07
30Idaho513.82
31Illinois514.13
32Texas514.43
33Montana517.85
34Maryland518.24
35Kansas519.85
36Washington520.26
37Virginia524.98
38New Jersey526.52
39Wisconsin530.43
40Connecticut530.58
41Rhode Island530.83
42South Dakota533.48
43Iowa534.46
44North Dakota536.62
45Utah539.66
46Vermont541.62
47Nebraska541.83
48Minnesota543.87
49Massachusetts546.89
50New Hampshire549.19
51Colorado555.88
52District of Columbia602.83

More on labour force

A ranking describes places, not the people in them, and a high or low place does not by itself say why. All US rankings.