How Many People Work For The Government In Tennessee?

Tennessee Has The 12th lowest Share Of All States For The Percentage Of The Workforce Employed By The Government. States With A Larger Than Typical Share Of Public Sector Workers Often Have Higher Than Average Government Spending On A Per Capita Basis — And Vise-versa. Tennessee Is No Exception.

Photo: Nashville, Tennessee, USA downtown skyline on the Cumberland River.

Photo Credit: Derrick Brutel / CC

Published June 8, 2021

By Samuel Stebbins [24/7 Wall St. via The Center Square] –

The Biden administration has proposed a $6 trillion budget aimed at improving infrastructure, education, and health care. If passed, it would push federal spending to its highest level since World War II. It could also usher in the reversal of a long term-trend of declining government employment.

Over the last decade, the number of Americans employed by governments at the local, state, and federal levels has fallen from 22.5 million in 2010 to 21.9 million in 2020, a 2.6% drop. Nationwide, the public sector accounts for 15.4% of all employment. Government employment is not evenly distributed across the country, however. Depending on the state, the share of all jobs in the public sector ranges from less than 13% to over 25%.

*** Click Here to Support Conservative Journalism in Tennessee. We can’t can’t bring you informative articles like this without your support!***

In Tennessee, 14.4% of the workforce are employed by the government — either at the state, local, or federal level — the 12th lowest share of all states. Breaking with the national trend, the number of government workers in Tennessee has increased in recent years. There are currently 432,500 public sector workers in the state, up 0.4% from 2010.

States with a larger than typical share of public sector workers often have higher than average government spending on a per capita basis — and vise-versa. Tennessee is no exception. Per capita state and local government spending in the state totaled $7,409 in 2019, compared to the $10,131 national average.

Data on government employment and total employment are from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 24/7 Wall St. calculated the share of government employment. Preliminary data on direct state and local government expenditure in 2019 came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances with figures was adjusted for population using data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. 

These are the states where the most people work for the government:

Rank	State	Government as share of total employment (%)	State & local annual government spending per capita ($)	Total government employment
1	Alaska	25.5	18,455	76,800
2	Wyoming	24.4	14,779	66,600
3	New Mexico	22.6	10,769	180,400
4	West Virginia	22.0	9,357	148,400
5	Hawaii	21.7	11,216	120,800
6	Oklahoma	21.3	7,886	345,600
7	Mississippi	21.3	9,034	236,100
8	Alabama	19.4	8,740	384,600
9	Maryland	19.3	10,820	498,400
10	North Dakota	19.3	12,016	79,300
11	Montana	19.0	9,201	89,100
12	Kansas	18.5	9,608	250,900
13	Virginia	18.5	9,357	712,100
14	Vermont	18.4	11,880	52,800
15	South Dakota	18.0	8,125	76,700
16	South Carolina	17.6	8,855	366,300
17	Louisiana	17.3	9,518	318,000
18	Washington	17.1	10,750	561,400
19	Nebraska	17.0	9,482	168,400
20	Arkansas	16.8	8,421	208,200
21	Iowa	16.7	10,157	252,100
22	Colorado	16.7	9,704	441,000
23	Idaho	16.5	7,436	124,300
24	New York	16.4	15,677	1,443,500
25	Maine	16.4	9,392	97,800
26	North Carolina	16.3	8,460	714,000
27	Kentucky	16.3	8,907	298,300
28	Texas	16.0	8,715	1,964,900
29	Utah	16.0	9,342	245,100
30	Oregon	15.6	12,075	284,700
31	Georgia	15.4	7,148	680,200
32	California	15.4	12,970	2,487,100
33	Missouri	15.3	8,198	424,700
34	New Jersey	15.0	10,675	578,600
35	Delaware	14.9	11,589	65,600
36	Minnesota	14.6	11,159	406,400
37	Arizona	14.5	7,149	412,500
38	Ohio	14.5	9,648	759,200
39	Tennessee	14.4	7,409	432,500
40	Michigan	14.4	9,343	581,500
41	Connecticut	14.3	9,927	223,800
42	Illinois	13.8	9,832	785,800
43	Indiana	13.8	8,959	412,400
44	Rhode Island	13.8	11,043	63,200
45	Wisconsin	13.7	9,545	386,200
46	New Hampshire	13.4	8,610	85,400
47	Florida	13.0	7,946	1,108,900
48	Massachusetts	13.0	11,976	437,800
49	Nevada	12.5	8,057	159,600
50	Pennsylvania	12.2	10,841	685,000