US Staffing Statistics Per State: A Guide For Recruiters

US staffing agencies assign millions of workers to jobs every day throughout the United States (US). The US is a huge place, and each state should be treated as a separate country due to different employment laws and cultures.

If you are a recruiter considering making placements within the US staffing industry, you should initially focus on one state and build out your proposition from there when you start building traction.

Before you decide what area to start recruiting in there are a number of key elements to research such as reviewing staffing agency demand in each state and the margin potential. That’s why we’re sharing the US national average benchmarks for the main elements you should be researching before making placements in the US, along with a breakdown of US staffing statistics per state.

The following data is based on the American Staffing Association’s (ASA) national benchmarks, state economic census analysis by ASA, and, labor statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. We will also be incorporating PGC’s internal data.

ASA National Average US Staffing Statistics Benchmark

The table below is ASA’s national average staffing statistics for the US. You can refer to this throughout this article when reviewing which states are above or below the national average in terms of demand for staffing services.

US National Average Weekly Contract Workers	US National Average Staffing Tenure	US National Annual Staffing Employment	US National Temp/Contract Staffing Sales	Estimated Number of Staffing Offices in the US
2.7 million	10 weeks	14.1 million	$144.2 billion	37,000

ASA Staffing Statistics by State

The following table breaks down the economic contribution of the US staffing industry at a state level, according to the last available information from the American Staffing Association.

The table is ranked from the highest average weekly temporary/contract workers per week to the lowest, to give you an idea of popular states for temporary recruitment in the US. We provide a deeper overview of the states ranking the highest in each category after you review the full table.

State	Average weekly temp workers	Annual employment	Average annual wage	Total estimated annual sales	Estimated staffing offices
California	376,400	1,938,400	$46,900	$41.4 Billion	4,060
Texas	261,200	1,344,900	$41,900	$16.6 Billion	3,250
Illinois	166,000	855,100	$42,100	$9.5 Billion	1,580
Florida	149,900	722,000	$45,200	$11.3 Billion	2,090
Georgia	123,700	636,800	$41,000	$7.4 Billion	1,480
Pennsylvania	105,900	545,300	$44,000	$6.4 Billion	1,450
Ohio	113,600	585,200	$39,800	$6.2 Billion	1,430
New York	100,000	514,800	$59,300	$11.8 Billion	1,490
North Carolina	106,200	546,800	$44,500	$6.5 Billion	1,320
New Jersey	99,100	510,200	$46,500	$6.8 Billion	1,120
Michigan	96,900	499,100	$44,600	$6.7 Billion	1,250
Tennessee	94,100	484,800	$35,500	$3.6 Billion	990
Indiana	74,700	384,400	: $36,700	$3.6 Billion	780
Virginia	64,100	330,200	$48,300	$4.3 Billion	960
South Carolina	68,800	354,400	$37,000	$3 Billion	600
Arizona	54,800	282,200	$43,900	$2.8 Billion	720
Wisconsin	53,400	275,100	$42,200	$3.2 Billion	980
Massachusetts	53,700	276,500	$56,300	$4.6 Billion	920
Minnesota	53,600	275,800	$49,500	$3.9 Billion	800
Alabama	53,500	275,400	: $29,400	$2 Billion	560
Washington	49,900	257,000	: $55,600	$2.7 Billion	840
Kentucky	49,100	253,000	$37,100	$1.9 Billion	510
Missouri	43,900	226,300	$41,600	$2.3 Billion	630
Maryland	40,700	209,700	$49,200	$4.1 Billion	740
Colorado	39,800	204,800	$49,400	$2.9 Billion	820
Oregon	31,600	162,500	$49,500	$1.6 Billion	550
Utah	27,300	140,800	$40,400	$1.1 Billion	320
Mississippi	29,300	150,900	$33,600	$809.4 Million	290
Louisiana	24,800	127,600	$38,200	$1.7 Billion	490
Connecticut	24,900	128,200	$50,700	$1.4 Billion	450
Arkansas	26,400	135,700	$33,100	$960.1 Million	260
Kansas	25,900	133,100	$40,800	$1.2 Billion	400
Nevada	22,100	113,600	$39,700	$998.2 Million	360
Oklahoma	22,500	116,000	$39,900	$1.4 Billion	450
Iowa	22,500	116,000	$40,300	$1 Billion	330
Nebraska	13,400	69,100	$42,300	$1.6 Billion	230
Delaware	9,100	47,100	$60,900	$418.5 Million	170
Idaho	9,300	47,700	$39,700	$325.3 Million	170
New Hampshire	8,600	44,500	$47,400	$865.3 Million	210
District of Columbia	7,300	37,400	$59,500	$599.6 Million	170
New Mexico	8,600	44,500	$50,800	$333.6 Million	150
Rhode Island	8,500	43,700	$39,400	$369.3 Million	130
West Virginia	8,000	40,900	$33,000	$356.2 Million	150
Maine	8,200	42,000	$42,100	$279.5 Million	140
Hawaii	4,200	21,400	47,000	$622.9 Million	90
Montana	3,500	18,100	$45,000	$101.3 Million	130
North Dakota	3,000	15,600	$44,800	$179.2 Million	90
Vermont	2,600	13,100	$55,100	$59.3 Million	60
South Dakota	2,400	12,500	$42,400	$87.2 Million	80
Wyoming	2,400	12,200	$37,400	$67.5 Million	70
Alaska	700	3,800	$53,100	$82.3 Million	60

Top 5 States for Staffing Revenue

The heatmap below is based on ASA’s US staffing statistics on the highest annual estimated staffing revenue per state. The green-colored state's total estimated annual sales range from $1 billion to $41.4 billion, with the brighter greens representing the areas at the top end of the scale.

 You should take into consideration, that since ASA’s latest research, it is likely that these states are now generating considerably higher revenue from the growth experienced in the US staffing industry in 2022 and raised revenue projections for 2023.

1) California - According to ASA US staffing statistics, the total estimated annual sales revenue for staffing in California is $41.4 Billion. This makes California the number one destination for generating recruitment revenue in the US. However, this could be contributed to it being the state with the highest concentration of temporary workers employed weekly and annually.

2) Texas - The total estimated annual sales revenue for staffing in Texas is $16.6 Billion Similar to California, the sheer size of Texas as a state and the number of workers contribute to this higher revenue.

3) New York - The total estimated annual sales revenue for staffing in New York is $11.8 Billion.

4) Florida - The total estimated annual sales revenue for staffing in Florida is $11.3 Billion.

5) Illinois - The total estimated annual sales revenue for staffing in Illinois is: $9.5 Billion.

Top 5 States for Temporary Staffing Employment

The top 5 states for temporary staffing employment are based on the last available US staffing statistics research per state available from the American Staffing Association.

1) California - On average, 376,400 temporary workers are employed weekly and [EO1] 1,938,400 annually by staffing firms in California.

2) Texas - On average, 261,200 temporary workers are employed weekly and 1,344,900 annually by staffing firms in Texas.

3) Illinois - On average, 166,000  temporary workers are employed weekly and : 855,100 annually by staffing firms in Illinois.

4) Florida - On average, 1149,900 temporary workers are employed weekly and 772,000 annually by staffing firms in Florida.

5) Georgia - On average, 123,700 temporary workers are employed weekly and 636,800 annually by staffing firms weekly in Georgia.

PGC Internal US Staffing Statistics

Here at PGC, our employer of record solution for payroll and employment compliance enables international recruitment agencies to make contract placements anywhere in the US.

Our own internal US staffing statistics highlighted the top states our international clients made contract placements in 2022. The majority of these areas are similar to ASA’s US staffing statistics, but with a few other prominent states knocking the likes of Illinois off the top 3 spot.

1) California

2) Texas

3) New York

4) Florida

5)  New Jersey

It's no surprise that California, Texas, and New York have continued to be the top destinations for PGC’s recruitment client's worker onboards. Some emerging US temporary recruitment trends we witnessed based on our best states for business 2023 included:

• Texas has overtaken New York as the second most popular state for workers.

• Florida has replaced New Jersey as the fourth most popular worker onboard location in the US.

• Tennessee soared to the 11th most popular state for contract placements, from number 20, in 2021. We believe this is a state to watch out for as, since January 2021, personal income tax no longer existed in Tennessee. Consequently, the state is attracting high-quality workers from this change.

Take a look at our heatmap below on the top states for temporary recruitment and check out our blog on the best states for business 2023.

5 States With the Highest Wages for Workers Employed by Staffing Firms

1) District of Columbia - The average annual wage for workers employed by staffing firms in the District of Columbia is $59,500.

2) New York - The average annual wage for workers employed by staffing firms in New York is $59,300.

3) Massachusetts - The average annual wage for workers employed by staffing firms in Massachusetts is $56,300.

4) Washington - The average annual wage for workers employed by staffing firms in Washington is $55,600.

5) Vermont - The average annual wage for workers employed by staffing firms in Vermont is $55,100.

PGC Internal Pay Rate Data

It is important to note that the above annual wage information is based on the last staffing research per state available from the American Staffing Association. Here at PGC, as an employer of record for international recruitment agencies in the US, we have witnessed much higher annual wages for workers employed by staffing firms in the US.

According to our own 2022 internal data, the average pay rate for US contractors has consistently increased since 2020.

• The average hourly contract pay rate for our clients in the first half of 2022 was $67 per hour.

• The average annual salary for US contract workers according to our data was $130,958 per year.

Most of the contract roles we engage on behalf of recruitment agencies making placements in the US are white-collared office-based roles. The predominant industries we have witnessed traction in are IT, life sciences, marketing, and finance.

Considerations Before Making Contract Placements in a New State

We hope the US staffing statistics we shared provide a good indication of where staffing agencies are in demand to fill temporary vacancies across the US. The table above can help you figure out which states offer high wages and profit potential.  

However, it is important to note that the staffing demand in certain states may have risen since the last available data from ASA was collected, hence why we supplemented the statistics per state with further PGC internal client data.

 Additionally, if you are deciding to physically expand to a new state, there are several other factors to consider and budget for, including:

• Personal income tax

• The average wage in that state

• The cost of living and taxes charged by local and state governments.

• Income tax

• Real estate taxes

• Corporate taxes, and much more. 

Ready to Explore the Opportunities in the US Staffing Industry? 

If you want to gain a deeper insight into why expanding within the US staffing market could be the next growth stage for your recruitment business, you can schedule a US strategy call with us to find out how you can easily start making contract placements in the US by using an employer of record solution. 

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Disclaimer: All information written here is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional and/or legal services.