States that ban or limit collective bargaining rights for government workers have fewer union members: Collective bargaining rights and the share of full-time state and local government workers ages 18–64 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 | 7.1% |
| NC | B | B | B | B | B | 7.5% |
| AR | P→B | P | P | P→B | P→B | 9.8% |
| VA | B→P | B→P | B→P | B→P | B | 14.1% |
| MS | P | P | P | P | P | 14.8% |
| LA | P | P | P | P | P | 14.9% |
| WY | P | P | R | P | P | 15.4% |
| SD | R | R | R | R | R | 15.4% |
| GA | B | B | P | B | B | 17.0% |
| ID | R | P | R | P | P | 18.7% |
| AZ | P | P | P | P | P | 19.0% |
| TX | B | R | R | B | B | 19.1% |
| TN | R | B | B | B | B | 19.4% |
| ND | R | P | P | P | P | 21.9% |
| UT | P | P | R | P | P | 22.4% |
| KY | P | R | R | P | P | 22.6% |
| CO | P | P | P | P | B→P | 23.6% |
| OK | R | R | R | P | B | 24.5% |
| AL | P | P | P | P | P | 24.6% |
| WI | B | R | R | B | B | 24.7% |
| MO | R | R | R | R | R | 25.8% |
| NM | R | R | R | R | R | 26.0% |
| WV | P | P | P | P | P | 26.1% |
| KS | R | R | R | R | R | 26.8% |
| FL | R→P | R | R | R→P | R→P | 27.7% |
| IA | P | R | R | P | P | 29.7% |
| IN | R | R | R | R | B | 31.0% |
| NE | R | R | R | R | R | 34.4% |
| DC | R | R | R | R | R | 37.9% |
| DE | R | R | R | R | R | 39.4% |
| MT | R | R | R | R | R | 45.5% |
| MD | R | P | P | P | R | 46.6% |
| NV | R | R | R | R | R | 46.8% |
| MI | R | R | R | R | R | 52.4% |
| AK | R | R | R | R | R | 52.7% |
| OH | R | R | R | R | R | 53.4% |
| NH | R | R | R | R | R | 56.6% |
| IL | R | R | R | R | R | 58.1% |
| ME | R | R | R | R | R | 59.0% |
| VT | R | R | R | R | R | 59.5% |
| WA | R | R | R | R | R | 60.5% |
| OR | R | R | R | R | R | 60.5% |
| PA | R | R | R | R | R | 61.4% |
| MN | R | R | R | R | R | 61.6% |
| CA | R | R | R | R | R | 62.4% |
| MA | R | R | R | R | R | 66.3% |
| RI | R | R | R | R | R | 69.3% |
| NJ | R | R | R | R | R | 70.1% |
| CT | R | R | R | R | R | 74.1% |
| NY | R | R | R | R | R | 75.5% |
| HI | R | R | R | R | R | 75.5% |
Note: Union density is the share of full-time (35+ hour) state and local government workers, ages 18–64, who belong to a union or are covered by a union contract. “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.
Sources: Union density is based on the authors’ analysis of U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata, September 2020–August 2025 (Flood et al. 2025). 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.).