National ranking · Top 100 · data updated July 2026

The 100 Cities with the Lowest Labor Force Participation

Ranking the top 100 US cities by labor force participation, drawn straight from U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates (2023).

100
Cities ranked
#1
Fort Dix
6.7%
Labor Force Participation

Data updated July 2026

The headline finding

Fort Dix, NJ tops this list at 6.7% labor force participation, making the top 100 requires at least 31.7%.

Fort Dix, NJ
#1 · 6.7%
31.7%
#100 cutoff
100
cities in this ranking

Every figure here is read live from the same U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates (2023) data rendered in the table below.

These 100 cities span 27 states. Florida has the most entries on this list: 21 (21% of the total). Florida state page.

How we calculate the state breakdown

The state count and leader above are a live tally of this list's own 100 rows, grouped by state. See the methodology page for the full source-to-figure lineage.

Which states show up most

State tally of this list's own rows

Cities on this list

What this shows Florida leads with 21 of the 100 spots on this list.

Source PlainCities tally of this ranking's own rows As of July 2026
Rank City Labor Force Participation
1 Fort Dix , NJ 6.7%
2 Camp Pendleton Mainside , CA 8.0%
3 Leakesville , MS 9.3%
4 Air Force Academy , CO 10.5%
5 The Villages , FL 11.4%
6 On Top of the World , FL 11.4%
7 Sun City West , AZ 12.5%
8 Fort Riley , KS 12.6%
9 Fort Campbell North , KY 12.7%
10 Fort Lee , VA 12.7%
11 Green Valley , AZ 14.6%
12 Desert Palms , CA 14.6%
13 Bangor Base , WA 14.6%
14 North Fort Lewis , WA 14.8%
15 Fort Bliss , TX 15.2%
16 Fort Hood , TX 15.5%
17 Fort Carson , CO 15.7%
18 Sayre , OK 15.8%
19 Binghamton University , NY 16.0%
20 Schofield Barracks , HI 16.6%
21 Cusseta-Chattahoochee County unified government , GA 16.8%
22 Saddlebrooke , AZ 16.9%
23 Cresaptown , MD 16.9%
24 Sun , AZ 17.4%
25 Lemoore Station , CA 17.5%
26 Fort Lewis , WA 17.6%
27 Kaneohe Base , HI 17.6%
28 Tellico , TN 18.1%
29 Lackland AFB , TX 18.1%
30 Leisure World , MD 18.2%
31 Westville , IN 18.6%
32 Fairfield Glade , TN 19.2%
33 Pelican Bay , FL 19.7%
34 Quantico Base , VA 19.9%
35 Sun Lakes , AZ 20.0%
36 Fort Rucker , AL 20.6%
37 Gatesville , TX 20.7%
38 St. Louis , MI 20.7%
39 Crestwood , NJ 21.0%
40 University at Buffalo , NY 21.2%
41 Laguna Woods , CA 21.4%
42 Longboat Key , FL 21.4%
43 Florence , AZ 21.5%
44 Calipatria , CA 21.6%
45 West Point , NY 21.7%
46 Rusk , TX 21.9%
47 Citrus Hills , FL 22.6%
48 Fort Leonard Wood , MO 23.4%
49 St. James , NC 23.4%
50 Fort Polk South , LA 23.8%
51 Fort Stewart , GA 24.5%
52 Fort Drum , NY 24.6%
53 Camp Pendleton South , CA 24.8%
54 Fort Belvoir , VA 24.8%
55 Fort Knox , KY 25.1%
56 Aguadilla zona urbana , PR 25.2%
57 Jessup , MD 25.4%
58 Fort Irwin , CA 25.7%
59 Guánica zona urbana , PR 25.9%
60 Holiday City-Berkeley , NJ 26.1%
61 University of California-Davis , CA 26.1%
62 Grafton , OH 26.3%
63 Sun City Center , FL 26.4%
64 Utuado zona urbana , PR 26.5%
65 Rainbow Springs , FL 26.5%
66 Rotonda , FL 26.6%
67 West Livingston , TX 26.7%
68 Clemson University , SC 26.7%
69 Corcoran , CA 27.2%
70 Eloy , AZ 27.2%
71 Juana Díaz zona urbana , PR 27.2%
72 San Germán zona urbana , PR 27.3%
73 Manatí zona urbana , PR 27.5%
74 California Polytechnic State University , CA 27.8%
75 Englewood , FL 28.2%
76 The Meadows , FL 28.3%
77 West Vero Corridor , FL 29.2%
78 Crescent City , CA 29.2%
79 Hillsboro , IL 29.6%
80 Marco Island , FL 29.7%
81 Paradise , CA 29.7%
82 Venice , FL 29.8%
83 Sugarmill Woods , FL 29.8%
84 Micco , FL 29.9%
85 South Pasadena , FL 30.0%
86 Pine Ridge CDP (Citrus County) , FL 30.1%
87 Siesta Key , FL 30.4%
88 Blythe , CA 30.8%
89 Jacksonville , NC 30.9%
90 Susanville , CA 31.0%
91 Gold Canyon , AZ 31.0%
92 Arroyo zona urbana , PR 31.0%
93 Stony Brook University , NY 31.3%
94 Punta Gorda , FL 31.4%
95 Tehachapi , CA 31.4%
96 Hernando , FL 31.4%
97 McRae-Helena , GA 31.4%
98 Oakdale , LA 31.5%
99 Williamson , AZ 31.5%
100 Palm Beach , FL 31.7%

According to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (2023 vintage, released December 2024), the underlying dataset behind this ranking spans 28,702 U.S. incorporated places and census-designated places nationally; this page shows the top 100 by labor force participation. See our methodology for the full data-collection process.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates (2023), Table S2301. Verify directly with the source agency: U.S. Census Bureau, FBI UCR, NOAA, NCES.

What to do with the cities with the lowest labor force participation list

Use this ranking to narrow the field, then dig into the specific places you're considering.

  • Fort Dix, NJ leads this list at 6.7% -- see its full profile before drawing conclusions from the rank alone. Fort Dix profile
  • Put two specific cities side by side across every tracked metric, not just this one ranking. Compare cities
  • See every ranked city in New Jersey together, not just how Fort Dix compares nationally. New Jersey state page

This ranking reflects the single labor force participation metric only -- it is not a composite of everything that makes a city a good fit.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES.

Related

Browse all city profiles → | Explore city rankings →
Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCities

Verify with U.S. Census Bureau →

Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.