Which States Have the Most Manufacturing Jobs? The 2026 Ranking, and Where Factories Matter Most

Ask which state is America's factory floor and most people say Michigan or Ohio. By headcount, the answer is California. But headcount isn't the whole story. Some smaller states depend on manufacturing far more than the big two. Here is the latest ranking, built from Bureau of Labor Statistics state payroll data for September 2026, released October 20, 2026.

Which states have the most manufacturing jobs?

BLS State and Metro Area Employment (CES) series [ST]MFG, e.g. CAMFG, TXMFG, OHMFG. Released October 20, 2026.

Source: BLS via FRED (CAMFG, TXMFG, OHMFG, MIMFG, ILMFG, PAMFG, INMFG, WIMFG, NCMFG, FLMFG, GAMFG, NYMFG, TNMFG)

View the data

State	Manufacturing jobs (thousands)
California	1,199.8
Texas	990.6
Ohio	686.6
Michigan	583.8
Illinois	571.1
Pennsylvania	559.2
Indiana	520.8
Wisconsin	457.8
North Carolina	448.5
Florida	428.9
Georgia	426.8
New York	397.6
Tennessee	354.1

California leads with about 1,199,800 manufacturing jobs, followed by Texas with about 990,600 and Ohio with about 686,600. Michigan (583,800) and Illinois (571,100) round out the top five.

Those five states together hold about 4.03 million factory jobs, or roughly 32% of the national total of 12,652,000. Add Pennsylvania, Indiana, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Florida, and the top ten hold about 6.45 million jobs, roughly 51% of the national total.

The list is a mix of old and new industrial geography:

• The Great Lakes belt (Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania) still holds six of the top eight spots.
• The Sun Belt (Texas, North Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee) claims five of the top 13, with New York at No. 12.
• California is in a class of its own because of sheer size: it has about 18.2 million payroll jobs in total, roughly 3.7 million more than Texas.

Explore makers from the leaders: made in California, made in Texas, made in Ohio and made in Michigan.

Which states depend most on manufacturing?

Raw counts favor big states. To see where factories matter most to the local economy, divide manufacturing jobs by all nonfarm payroll jobs.

Our calculation from BLS data: e.g. Indiana 520.8 thousand manufacturing jobs ÷ 3,257.3 thousand total nonfarm jobs. U.S.: MANEMP ÷ PAYEMS.

Source: BLS via FRED (INMFG/INNA, WIMFG/WINA, MIMFG/MINA, OHMFG/OHNA, TXMFG/TXNA, CAMFG/CANA, MANEMP/PAYEMS)

View the data

Area	Manufacturing share of jobs (%)
Indiana	16.0%
Wisconsin	15.0%
Michigan	13.0%
Ohio	12.1%
United States	8.0%
Texas	6.9%
California	6.6%

By that measure the picture flips. The ranking below simply divides each state's September manufacturing count by its total payroll count, so you can check the math yourself:

• Indiana: 520,800 manufacturing jobs out of 3,257,300 total, about 16.0%.
• Wisconsin: 457,800 out of 3,043,300, about 15.0%.
• Michigan: 583,800 out of 4,487,400, about 13.0%.
• Ohio: 686,600 out of 5,688,300, about 12.1%.

Nationally, manufacturing is about 8.0% of payroll jobs (12,652,000 of 159,044,000). Texas (about 6.9%) and California (about 6.6%) are both below that average, even though they have the most factory workers. Their economies are simply much bigger and more diverse, so even a very large factory workforce is a smaller slice of all jobs there. In Indiana, by contrast, about one payroll job in six is in manufacturing; in Wisconsin it's roughly one in seven.

Are manufacturing jobs growing or shrinking by state?

Month-to-month changes in state data are small and noisy, but recent readings show a mixed picture:

• California: 1,206,400 in May, 1,203,800 in August and 1,199,800 in September, a gradual decline.
• Texas: 976,300 in May, 985,900 in August and 990,600 in September, steady gains.
• Ohio: 681,200 in May, 688,400 in August and 686,600 in September.
• Indiana: 517,300 in August, rising to 520,800 in September.
• Pennsylvania: 555,600 in May and 559,200 in September.

Texas has added jobs while California has drifted lower, a slow version of the long Sun Belt shift. Keep in mind that September figures are preliminary: BLS revises state estimates the following month and benchmarks them each year.

Why does California have the most factory jobs?

Size is most of the answer. California has about 18.2 million payroll jobs, well ahead of Texas, so even a 6.6% share yields the biggest factory workforce in the country. One familiar example: Huy Fong Foods makes its Sriracha in Irwindale.

Texas follows the same logic, with about 14.5 million payroll jobs. Pace picante sauce, for example, is made in Paris, Texas.

How is this data collected?

The numbers come from the BLS Current Employment Statistics (CES) payroll survey, which asks employers how many people are on their payrolls. A few things to know:

1. It counts jobs, not people. Someone with two jobs counts twice, and self-employed people aren't counted.
2. It's seasonally adjusted, which removes predictable swings like summer plant shutdowns.
3. Location is where the job is, not where the worker lives.
4. Manufacturing means establishments that make things, from bakeries to auto plants. A company's headquarters or sales office in a state isn't counted as manufacturing there.

For the national, long-run story of factory employment, see U.S. manufacturing jobs since 1939, and for pay, factory wages vs. private-sector wages.

How can you support factory jobs in these states?

Buying products made in these states supports their manufacturing workers directly. A few pantry staples from three of the top-ranked states:

Red Gold tomatoes are canned in Elwood, Indiana, the most manufacturing-dependent state in our comparison. Browse made in Indiana, made in Wisconsin, or the full grocery category.