2026 Competitiveness Redbook | Page 31

Union Membership – Public vs. Private( 2024)
Rank
Public Percent
Private Percent
Rank
1 New York
65.1 %
11.4 %
2
2 Connecticut
61.2 %
8.2 %
11
3 Hawaii
61.0 %
15.2 %
1
4 New Jersey
59.3 %
9.7 %
6
5 Massachusetts
59.2 %
7.7 %
16
6 Rhode Island
53.6 %
8.5 %
10
7 Minnesota
50.9 %
8.6 %
9
8 Oregon
49.6 %
9.7 %
5
9 California
49.4 %
7.9 %
13
10 Illinois
48.4 %
7.8 %
15
11 Pennsylvania
48.1 %
6.8 %
20
12 Vermont
43.9 %
8.0 %
12
13 Washington
43.7 %
10.1 %
4
14 Maine
43.6 %
7.6 %
18
15 Alaska
43.3 %
9.1 %
7
16 Ohio
39.0 %
7.9 %
14
17 New Hampshire
38.6 %
4.7 %
27
18 Michigan
37.7 %
10.4 %
3
19 Montana
37.2 %
6.6 %
21
20 Delaware
36.6 %
3.4 %
35
21 Nevada
31.8 %
9.0 %
8
22 Maryland
28.8 %
5.2 %
24
23 Nebraska
28.3 %
3.1 %
37
24 Florida
23.0 %
2.7 %
41
25 West Virginia
22.6 %
5.5 %
23
26 Colorado
22.0 %
4.7 %
26
27 Indiana
21.4 %
7.2 %
19
28 Missouri
20.7 %
6.4 %
22
29 Iowa
19.6 %
4.2 %
29
30 Alabama
19.2 %
4.4 %
28
31 Wisconsin
18.1 %
4.8 %
25
32 Kentucky
17.2 %
7.6 %
17
33 Kansas
17.1 %
4.0 %
32
34 New Mexico
16.9 %
4.2 %
31
35 Oklahoma
16.1 %
2.5 %
42
36 Idaho
16.0 %
3.0 %
38
37 Texas
15.6 %
2.7 %
40
38 Virginia
14.0 %
2.7 %
39
39 Georgia
12.9 %
2.2 %
46
40 Tennessee
12.9 %
3.2 %
36
41 North Dakota
12.5 %
3.4 %
34
42 Arizona
12.3 %
2.4 %
44
43 Louisiana
11.7 %
2.4 %
45
44 Utah
11.5 %
2.1 %
47
45 South Dakota
11.2 %
1.3 %
50
46 Wyoming
10.9 %
3.8 %
33
47 Mississippi
9.7 %
4.2 %
30
48 South Carolina
9.6 %
1.5 %
49
49 Arkansas
9.0 %
2.5 %
43
50 North Carolina
7.2 %
1.6 %
48
Dist. of Columbia
21.1 %
6.6 %
United States
32.2 %
5.9 %
TABLE 23
Source: Barry T. Hirsch, David A. Macpherson, and William E. Even
Public sector union membership is much greater than private sector union membership in every state.