States that ban or limit collective bargaining rights for government workers have fewer union members: Collective bargaining rights and the share of state and local government workers belonging to a union, states ranked in order from lowest to highest by union density
| State | Teachers | Police | Firefighters | Other local |
Other state |
Public- sector union density |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SC | B | B | B | B | B | 6.3% |
| NC | B | B | B | B | B | 8.5% |
| AR | P→B | P | P | P→B | P→B | 9.9% |
| VA | B→P | B→P | B→P | B→P | B | 13.5% |
| MS | P | P | P | P | P | 15.7% |
| LA | P | P | P | P | P | 15.7% |
| WY | P | P | R | P | P | 16.0% |
| GA | B | B | P | B | B | 16.6% |
| SD | R | R | R | R | R | 17.6% |
| TX | B | R | R | B | B | 19.1% |
| ID | R | P | R | P | P | 19.2% |
| TN | R | B | B | B | B | 19.7% |
| KY | P | R | R | P | P | 21.7% |
| ND | R | P | P | P | P | 22.9% |
| UT | P | P | R | P | P | 23.5% |
| AZ | P | P | P | P | P | 23.7% |
| CO | P | P | P | P | B→P | 24.0% |
| AL | P | P | P | P | P | 24.4% |
| WI | B | R | R | B | B | 25.6% |
| WV | P | P | P | P | P | 25.7% |
| OK | R | R | R | P | B | 25.7% |
| MO | R | R | R | R | R | 26.4% |
| NM | R | R | R | R | R | 26.8% |
| FL | R→P | R | R | R→P | R→P | 28.5% |
| KS | R | R | R | R | R | 29.2% |
| IA | P | R | R | P | P | 30.0% |
| IN | R | R | R | P | B | 31.4% |
| NE | R | R | R | R | R | 33.9% |
| DC | R | R | R | R | R | 35.0% |
| DE | R | R | R | R | R | 38.7% |
| MT | R | R | R | R | R | 46.3% |
| MD | R | P | P | P | R | 46.4% |
| NV | R | R | R | R | R | 48.9% |
| AK | R | R | R | R | R | 52.1% |
| OH | R | R | R | R | R | 53.9% |
| MI | R | R | R | R | R | 53.9% |
| ME | R | R | R | R | R | 57.3% |
| NH | R | R | R | R | R | 58.1% |
| VT | R | R | R | R | R | 59.2% |
| IL | R | R | R | R | R | 60.3% |
| OR | R | R | R | R | R | 60.9% |
| WA | R | R | R | R | R | 62.2% |
| MN | R | R | R | R | R | 62.3% |
| MA | R | R | R | R | R | 62.7% |
| CA | R | R | R | R | R | 63.1% |
| PA | R | R | R | R | R | 63.8% |
| NJ | R | R | R | R | R | 70.9% |
| RI | R | R | R | R | R | 73.1% |
| HI | R | R | R | R | R | 74.1% |
| NY | R | R | R | R | R | 75.7% |
| CT | R | R | R | R | R | 77.8% |
Note: Union density is the share of full-time (35+ hour) state and local government workers, ages 18-64, who belong to a union. “B” (“Banned”) denotes states where the specified groups of government workers are barred from bargaining collectively over pay. “P” (“Permitted”) denotes states where these workers may engage in bargaining, but there is no statewide mandate to bargain over pay. “R” (“Required”) denotes states where employers have a duty to bargain with these workers over pay. This table was corrected on January 22, 2026.
Sources: Union density is based on the authors’ analysis of U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey microdata, pooled sample for the pandemic and post-pandemic period (March 2020–February 2024) (Flood et al. 2020). The strength of collective bargaining rights for this period is based on the authors’ analysis of Valletta and Freeman (1988); Rueben (1996); Dippel and Sauers (2019) Sanes and Schmitt (2014); Frandsen and Webb (2017); NCTQ (2019); Han (2019); Brannick (2019); NEA (2020); AFSCME (n.d.) cited in McNicholas et al. (2020); Commonwealth Foundation (2021); García and Han (2021); Brannick and Holman (2022); New Mexico Public Employee Labor Relations Board (2023); NCSL (n.d.(a)); IAFF (n.d.).
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