Markets with the Nation’s Lowest and Highest Unemployment Rates

As of December 2025, the nation’s unemployment rate averaged 4.1% after rising 30 basis points (bps) year-over-year, according to non-seasonally adjusted data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Ten of the nation’s 50 largest markets had rates below 3.5%, while 10 markets had rates above 4.5%. Meanwhile, 38 of the nation’s 50 largest markets saw unemployment rise from December 2024 to December 2025, while only eight markets saw unemployment fall during the year and four markets recorded no change in the rate.

Among major markets, Indianapolis and Miami claimed the nation’s lowest unemployment rates in December, both at 2.5%. While Miami’s rate crept up 10 basis point (bps) year-over-year, Indianapolis posted a 120-bps decline, the nation’s best performance. Nashville had the third-lowest unemployment rate in December at 2.9%, just under the 3% rate recorded a year earlier. The fourth-lowest unemployment rate was in Raleigh/Durham at 3%, up 20 bps for the year.

Tying for the nation’s fifth lowest unemployment rate of 3.2% in December were Austin and Milwaukee, after year-over-year increases of 10 bps and 20 bps, respectively. Atlanta and Richmond both recorded December unemployment at 3.3%, tying for the seventh-lowest rate nationally. Over the past year, unemployment was unchanged in Atlanta, while unemployment increased in Richmond (+70 bps). Cleveland and Salt Lake City tied with the 9th lowest unemployment rate of 3.4% in December, after rising 10 bps and 50 bps, respectively.

On the flip side, Las Vegas continued to record the nation’s highest unemployment rate of 5.2% in December 2025, though that was a 70-bps improvement from a year earlier. Riverside and neighboring Los Angeles claimed the second- and third-highest rates nationally, at 5.1% and 5%, respectively. While unemployment in Riverside rose 20 bps year-over-year, the rate in Los Angeles declined 70 bps.

Other West region markets with the highest unemployment rates in December included Portland and Seattle (both at 4.9%), followed closely by Sacramento (4.8%). New York (4.8%) was the only East region market with unemployment above 4.5%, while Detroit (4.7%) was the only Midwest market with unemployment above 4.5%. Two South region markets, Jacksonville and Tampa (both at 4.6%) rounded out the list of 10 markets with the highest unemployment rates in December.

Only eight markets nationwide posted improved unemployment rates last year. Indianapolis posted the most improved unemployment rate in December, with a 120-bps decrease. The West region markets of Denver (-100 bps), Las Vegas (-70 bps) and Los Angeles (-70 bps) also posted improvement of more than 50 bps. Only four other markets recorded a decline in unemployment. Two were in the Midwest – Cincinnati (-50 bps) and Columbus (-30 bps) – and two were in the South – Memphis (-20 bps) and Nashville (-10 bps).

On the other hand, eight of the nation’s 50 largest markets saw unemployment weaken by more than 100 bps. Five of those markets were in Florida, with rates in Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and West Palm Beach climbing 130 bps to 140 bps. However, the largest increase in unemployment was in Minneapolis, with the rate rising 160 bps to 4% in December.