Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on Smartest Dollar.
Getting a job as a teenager is a rite of passage for some, and a necessity for others.
While the labor force participation of all workers remains about one percentage point lower today than it was immediately before the COVID-19 pandemic, the labor force participation of adolescents has actually rose 1.3 percentage points, according to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In fact, teens were the only age group to see an increase in labor force participation during the pandemic.
The number of working teenagers varies greatly from place to place. These differences are due to a number of cultural, demographic and economic factors.
To determine where teens work the most, Smartest Dollar researchers calculated the percentage of teens in the labor force.
For schooling, adolescents were defined as those aged 15-19, but for labor force participation, adolescents were defined as those aged 16-19.
The data referenced below comes from the US Census Bureau. See the details of our methodology at the end.
Here are the US metropolitan areas with the most working teens.
15. Providence-Warwick, RI-MA
- Teenagers in the labor market: 43.0%
- Teenagers in school: 90.1%
- Out-of-school and out-of-work adolescents: 3.2%
- Median household income: $70,676
14. Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY
- Teenagers in the labor market: 43.5%
- Teenagers in school: 89.6%
- Out-of-school and out-of-work adolescents: 4.2%
- Median household income: $59,079
13. Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC
- Teenagers in the labor market: 44.6%
- Teenagers in school: 84.1%
- Out-of-school and out-of-work adolescents: 3.6%
- Median household income: $68,454
12. Columbus, Ohio
- Teenagers in the labor market: 44.9%
- Teenagers in school: 89.4%
- Out-of-school and out-of-work adolescents: 3.9%
- Median household income: $66,715
11. Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN
- Teenagers in the labor market: 45.3%
- Teenagers in school: 88.3%
- Out-of-school and out-of-work adolescents: 3.6%
- Median household income: $68,406
10. Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN
- Teenagers in the labor market: 45.7%
- Teenagers in school: 87.7%
- Out-of-school and out-of-work adolescents: 4.1%
- Median household income: $66,435
9. St. Louis, MO-IL
- Teenagers in the labor market: 45.9%
- Teenagers in school: 88.5%
- Out-of-school and out-of-work adolescents: 4.2%
- Median household income: $65,725
8. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Teenagers in the labor market: 46.3%
- Teenagers in school: 86.7%
- Out-of-school and out-of-work adolescents: 4.3%
- Median household income: $83,289
7. Cleveland-Elyria, OH
- Teenagers in the labor market: 47.1%
- Teenagers in school: 88.0%
- Out-of-school and out-of-work adolescents: 4.2%
- Median household income: $57,263
6. Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN
- Teenagers in the labor market: 47.2%
- Teenagers in school: 85.4%
- Out-of-school and out-of-work adolescents: 4.7%
- Median household income: $60,891
5. Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI
- Teenagers in the labor market: 47.9%
- Teenagers in school: 89.1%
- Out-of-school and out-of-work adolescents: 4.4%
- Median household income: $63,739
4. Kansas City, MO-KS
- Teenagers in the labor market: 48.6%
- Teenagers in school: 87.7%
- Out-of-school and out-of-work adolescents: 3.9%
- Median household income: $69,240
3. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
- Teenagers in the labor market: 49.8%
- Teenagers in school: 91.2%
- Out-of-school and out-of-work adolescents: 3.3%
- Median household income: $82,887
2. Grand Rapids-Kentwood, MI
- Teenagers in the labor market: 50.1%
- Teenagers in school: 87.6%
- Out-of-school and out-of-work adolescents: 3.8%
- Median household income: $66,297
1. Salt Lake City, UT
- Teenagers in the labor market: 50.2%
- Teenagers in school: 85.1%
- Out-of-school and out-of-work adolescents: 5.0%
- Median household income: $77,102
Methodology
The data used in this analysis comes from the US Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey.
To determine where teens work the most, Smartest Dollar researchers calculated the percentage of teens in the labor force. In the event of a tie, the location with the greatest total number of teenagers in the labor force was ranked higher.
Note: For schooling, adolescents were defined as those aged 15-19. For labor market participation, adolescents were defined as persons aged 16 to 19 years.
To improve relevance, only metropolitan areas with at least 100,000 inhabitants were included.
