New York Unemployment Rates — Counties, Cities & Metro Areas — May 2026

Data: BLS LAUS  Updated: May 2026  • National rate: 4.3%

4.6%
Area Average
8.5%
Highest Rate
3.0%
Lowest Rate
4.3%
US National

Unemployment Snapshot: New York — May 2026

Across 157 tracked locations in New York, the average unemployment rate stands at 4.6% as of May 2026. This is 0.3 pp above the national average of 4.3%.

Highest Unemployment

  1. Hamilton County, NY — 8.5%
  2. Niagara Falls, NY — 7.2%
  3. Lewis County, NY — 6.8%

Lowest Unemployment

  1. Clifton Park, NY — 3.0%
  2. Pittsford, NY — 3.0%
  3. Bethlehem, NY — 3.2%

Employment has softened this month: 153 locations recorded a month-over-month increase versus 3 that decreased. Arrows indicate change from previous month.

Interactive Unemployment Heat Map: New York Counties & Cities

Click or hover a location on the map to see unemployment details. Use the buttons in the table below to zoom to a specific area.

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Unemployment Rates for Selected Locations in New York
Location Current
May 2026
Prev.
Month
6 Months
Ago
1 Year
Ago
Albany, NY 4.2%4.1%4.4%3.7%
Albany County, NY 4.0%3.7%3.8%3.4%
Allegany County, NY 5.9%6.0%4.3%4.7%
Amherst, NY 3.8%3.6%3.7%3.3%
Auburn, NY 5.2%4.7%4.2%4.6%
Babylon, NY 4.4%3.9%4.0%3.7%
Bethlehem, NY 3.2%2.8%3.1%2.7%
Binghamton, NY 4.9%4.9%4.5%4.4%
Brighton, NY 3.3%2.9%3.2%2.9%
Brookhaven, NY 4.5%4.1%3.8%3.7%
Broome County, NY 5.2%4.9%4.3%4.4%
Buffalo, NY 5.6%5.3%5.3%4.9%
Carmel, NY 3.9%3.2%3.2%3.1%
Cattaraugus County, NY 5.5%5.3%4.1%4.6%
Cayuga County, NY 4.7%4.3%3.6%4.3%
Chautauqua County, NY 5.7%5.4%4.3%4.7%
Cheektowaga, NY 5.0%4.7%4.1%4.3%
Chemung County, NY 4.7%4.2%3.9%4.2%
Chenango County, NY 4.8%4.5%3.5%4.1%
Chili, NY 4.2%3.9%3.9%3.5%
Cicero, NY 4.0%3.8%3.3%3.3%
Clarence, NY 4.1%3.7%3.2%3.3%
Clarkstown, NY 4.2%3.3%3.3%3.2%
Clay, NY 3.8%3.5%3.4%3.2%
Clifton Park, NY 3.0%2.7%2.9%2.7%
Clinton County, NY 5.0%4.6%3.9%4.4%
Colonie, NY 3.7%3.4%3.4%3.1%
Columbia County, NY 4.4%4.0%3.3%3.7%
Cortland County, NY 5.7%5.6%4.0%4.6%
Cortlandt, NY 3.8%3.6%3.6%3.3%
De Witt, NY 3.9%3.7%3.5%3.5%
Delaware County, NY 5.6%5.3%4.2%4.6%
Dutchess County, NY 3.9%3.6%3.6%3.4%
East Fishkill, NY 3.7%3.4%3.3%3.2%
Eastchester, NY 3.6%3.0%3.4%2.8%
Elmira, NY 5.6%5.0%4.9%4.8%
Erie County, NY 4.9%4.5%4.1%4.2%
Essex County, NY 5.1%4.8%3.2%4.4%
Franklin County, NY 5.3%4.9%3.9%4.9%
Freeport, NY 5.2%4.7%4.2%4.3%
Fulton County, NY 5.5%5.1%4.1%4.5%
Gates, NY 4.6%4.3%3.9%3.8%
Genesee County, NY 4.7%4.3%3.2%3.9%
Glen Cove, NY 4.8%4.4%3.8%3.7%
Glenville, NY 3.9%3.5%3.4%3.2%
Greece, NY 4.6%4.3%4.0%3.9%
Greenburgh, NY 3.9%3.3%3.4%3.1%
Greene County, NY 4.8%4.3%3.8%4.0%
Guilderland, NY 3.4%3.2%3.5%3.0%
Hamburg, NY 5.0%4.4%3.7%3.9%
Hamilton County, NY 8.5%7.7%3.8%6.7%
Harrison, NY 3.6%3.4%3.8%3.2%
Haverstraw, NY 5.1%4.7%3.9%4.1%
Hempstead, NY 5.4%5.0%4.3%4.5%
Hempstead town, NY, NY 4.1%3.7%3.8%3.5%
Henrietta, NY 3.6%3.3%3.9%3.1%
Herkimer County, NY 5.9%5.4%3.9%4.8%
Huntington, NY 3.7%3.4%3.4%3.2%
Irondequoit, NY 4.3%3.8%3.8%3.7%
Islip, NY 4.4%3.9%3.7%3.6%
Ithaca, NY 3.8%3.7%4.6%3.4%
Jamestown, NY 6.1%5.7%4.9%4.8%
Jefferson County, NY 6.3%5.8%4.1%5.2%
Lancaster, NY 4.1%3.8%3.3%3.5%
Lewis County, NY 6.8%6.2%3.4%5.6%
Lindenhurst, NY 4.2%3.9%4.0%3.6%
Livingston County, NY 5.1%4.8%3.7%4.2%
Lockport, NY 6.2%5.4%4.2%5.0%
Long Beach, NY 3.4%3.1%3.4%3.1%
Madison County, NY 5.3%4.9%3.9%4.4%
Mamaroneck, NY 3.4%3.0%3.0%2.8%
Manlius, NY 3.6%3.4%3.1%3.1%
Middletown, NY 5.0%4.6%4.9%4.5%
Monroe, NY 4.1%3.6%4.1%3.1%
Monroe County, NY 4.6%4.2%4.1%3.8%
Montgomery County, NY 5.7%5.3%4.2%4.7%
Mount Pleasant, NY 4.1%3.8%3.3%3.3%
Mount Vernon, NY 5.3%4.6%4.5%4.0%
Nassau County, NY 3.9%3.5%3.6%3.3%
New Rochelle, NY 5.1%4.5%3.8%3.7%
New Windsor, NY 4.7%4.2%4.1%3.5%
New York, NY 4.9%6.0%-999.0%4.6%
Newburgh, NY 4.8%4.4%4.0%4.1%
Newburgh, NY 5.3%5.0%5.3%4.7%
Niagara County, NY 5.8%5.3%4.2%4.8%
Niagara Falls, NY 7.2%7.0%5.7%5.7%
North Hempstead, NY 3.5%3.2%3.4%3.1%
North Tonawanda, NY 5.0%4.5%3.9%4.2%
Oneida County, NY 4.6%4.4%4.1%4.1%
Onondaga County, NY 4.3%4.0%3.9%3.6%
Ontario County, NY 4.4%4.1%3.4%3.9%
Orange County, NY 4.5%4.1%4.2%3.9%
Orangetown, NY 3.9%3.3%3.3%3.0%
Orchard Park, NY 3.8%3.5%3.3%3.4%
Orleans County, NY 5.4%5.2%3.7%4.6%
Ossining, NY 3.6%3.2%3.3%3.4%
Ossining, NY 3.7%3.3%3.1%3.4%
Oswego County, NY 5.5%5.3%4.2%4.6%
Otsego County, NY 5.6%5.5%4.3%4.8%
Oyster Bay, NY 3.7%3.3%3.5%3.2%
Penfield, NY 4.0%3.6%3.6%3.2%
Perinton, NY 3.6%3.2%3.2%3.1%
Pittsford, NY 3.0%2.7%3.5%2.8%
Port Chester, NY 3.8%3.5%2.9%3.6%
Poughkeepsie, NY 3.8%3.5%3.8%3.2%
Poughkeepsie, NY 4.5%4.7%4.4%4.0%
Putnam County, NY 3.8%3.3%3.2%3.2%
Queensbury, NY 4.4%3.9%3.2%3.8%
Ramapo, NY 3.4%3.1%3.7%3.0%
Rensselaer County, NY 4.5%4.1%3.7%3.7%
Riverhead, NY 6.6%6.0%3.8%5.2%
Rochester, NY 6.0%5.6%5.4%4.8%
Rockland County, NY 4.0%3.4%3.5%3.2%
Rockville Centre, NY 3.4%3.3%3.5%3.2%
Rome, NY 4.8%4.3%4.6%4.4%
Rotterdam, NY 4.1%3.7%3.5%3.6%
Rye, NY 3.8%3.6%3.0%3.5%
Salina, NY 4.0%3.7%3.6%3.4%
Saratoga County, NY 3.7%3.3%3.1%3.2%
Saratoga Springs, NY 3.2%2.8%3.1%3.1%
Schenectady, NY 5.4%5.0%4.9%4.6%
Schenectady County, NY 4.5%4.1%4.0%3.8%
Schoharie County, NY 6.0%5.5%3.7%4.6%
Schuyler County, NY 6.3%5.9%3.4%5.4%
Seneca County, NY 4.9%4.6%3.6%4.3%
Smithtown, NY 3.4%3.0%3.4%2.9%
Southampton, NY 5.4%5.0%3.2%4.5%
Spring Valley, NY 3.3%3.1%3.3%2.9%
St. Lawrence County, NY 5.6%5.5%4.7%5.2%
Steuben County, NY 5.6%5.0%3.9%4.5%
Suffolk County, NY 4.4%4.0%3.7%3.7%
Sullivan County, NY 4.8%4.4%3.6%3.9%
Syracuse, NY 5.4%5.0%5.1%4.4%
Tioga County, NY 4.8%4.3%3.5%4.1%
Tompkins County, NY 3.8%3.6%4.0%3.3%
Tonawanda, NY 4.2%4.0%3.6%3.7%
Troy, NY 5.2%4.9%4.8%4.4%
Ulster County, NY 4.5%4.1%3.8%3.8%
Union, NY 4.8%4.5%4.0%4.1%
Utica, NY 5.1%4.9%5.1%4.5%
Valley Stream, NY 4.1%3.5%3.9%3.4%
Vestal, NY 4.8%4.7%5.6%4.1%
Wallkill, NY 4.6%4.1%4.5%3.8%
Wappinger, NY 4.1%3.7%3.6%3.3%
Warren County, NY 5.2%4.9%3.5%4.5%
Warwick, NY 4.0%3.8%3.6%3.5%
Washington County, NY 4.9%4.4%3.3%4.1%
Watertown, NY 4.9%4.4%4.3%4.2%
Wayne County, NY 4.8%4.4%3.5%4.0%
Webster, NY 3.7%3.4%3.3%3.3%
West Seneca, NY 4.7%4.3%3.6%4.0%
Westchester County, NY 4.1%3.6%3.6%3.4%
White Plains, NY 3.6%3.3%3.2%3.1%
Wyoming County, NY 6.0%5.6%3.1%4.8%
Yates County, NY 4.7%4.5%3.3%3.8%
Yonkers, NY 4.9%4.2%4.1%3.8%
Yorktown, NY 3.5%3.0%3.1%3.1%

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the current unemployment rate in New York?

As of May 2026, the average unemployment rate across 157 tracked locations in New York is 4.6%. Individual locations range from 3.0% to 8.5%. Click any location on the map or table to explore sub-area data.

Which areas in New York have the highest unemployment?

The three locations with the highest unemployment rates in New York as of May 2026 are: Hamilton County (8.5%), Niagara Falls (7.2%), Lewis County (6.8%). These areas are highlighted in red/pink on the heat map.

Which areas have the lowest unemployment?

The lowest unemployment rates in New York are found in: Clifton Park (3.0%), Pittsford (3.0%), Bethlehem (3.2%). These locations appear in blue on the heat map.

How does New York compare to the national unemployment rate?

The U.S. national unemployment rate for May 2026 is 4.3%. This is 0.3 pp above the national average of 4.3%.

How often is unemployment data updated?

Local area unemployment data is published monthly by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program, typically 3–4 weeks after the end of the reference month. This page reflects data released for May 2026. Figures may be subject to revision in subsequent releases.

Data Source & Methodology

Unemployment data on this page is sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program, part of the U.S. Department of Labor.

Program
Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS)
Publisher
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor
Data Period
May 2026
Release Frequency
Monthly (typically 3–4 weeks after the reference month)
Geography
States, metropolitan areas, counties, and sub-county places
Methodology
LAUS uses a signal-extraction model at the state level derived from the Current Population Survey (CPS). Sub-state estimates for metropolitan areas, counties, and places are produced using complementary methods including input from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) program and unemployment insurance (UI) claims data.
Direct Links
BLS LAUS HomeLAUS Data TablesBLS Data Finder

Data is subject to revision. Figures reflect not seasonally adjusted rates unless otherwise noted. ZipDataMaps.com is an independent publisher and is not affiliated with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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