Employment - Labor force participation rate (2017) To resort data: click column headings. To download data: click here. Name Labor force participation rate 2011-2015 Rank Labor force participation rate 2011-2015 North Dakota 1 70.6% Alaska 2 70.1% Nebraska 3 69.9% Minnesota 4 69.9% South Dakota 5 68.7% Colorado 6 68.2% Maryland 7 68.1% Utah 8 67.9% New Hampshire 9 67.9% Iowa 10 67.6% Wyoming 11 67.6% Massachusetts 12 67.3% Wisconsin 13 66.9% Connecticut 14 66.7% Kansas 15 66.7% Virginia 16 66.1% Vermont 17 65.9% New Jersey 18 65.6% Illinois 19 65.3% Rhode Island 20 65.2% Hawaii 21 65.1% Texas 22 64.6% Washington 23 64.3% Nevada 24 63.9% Indiana 25 63.8% Montana 26 63.6% California 27 63.5% New York 28 63.3% Ohio 29 63.2% Missouri 30 63.2% Maine 31 63.1% Georgia 32 62.9% Pennsylvania 33 62.6% North Carolina 34 62.6% Idaho 35 62.5% Delaware 36 62.2% Oregon 37 62.2% Oklahoma 38 61.4% Michigan 39 61.2% Tennessee 40 61.2% South Carolina 41 60.7% Louisiana 42 60.0% Arizona 43 59.5% Kentucky 44 59.4% Florida 45 58.7% New Mexico 46 58.5% Arkansas 47 58.1% Mississippi 48 57.7% Alabama 49 57.6% West Virginia 50 53.6% Source: 2010-2017: U.S. Bureau of the Census, American Community Survey, American Factfinder, (http://factfinder2.census.gov); DATE LAST UPDATED: December 6, 2018.