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 labor force participation across all workers remains about a percentage point lower today than it was immediately before the COVID-19 pandemic, teen labor force participation is actually up by 1.3 percentage points, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In fact, teens were the only age group to see a rise in labor force participation during the pandemic.
The number of working teens varies widely by location. These differences are due to a number of cultural, demographic, and economic factors.
To determine the locations with the most working teens, researchers at Smartest Dollar calculated the percentage of teens in the labor force.
For school enrollment, teens were defined as those ages 15-19, but for labor force participation, teens were defined as those ages 16-19.
The data referenced below is from the U.S. Census Bureau. See the details of our methodology at the end.
Here are the U.S. metropolitan areas with the most working teens.
15. Providence-Warwick, RI-MA
- Teens in the labor force: 43.0%
- Teens enrolled in school: 90.1%
- Teens not in school and not in the labor force: 3.2%
- Median household income: $70,676
14. Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY
- Teens in the labor force: 43.5%
- Teens enrolled in school: 89.6%
- Teens not in school and not in the labor force: 4.2%
- Median household income: $59,079
13. Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC
- Teens in the labor force: 44.6%
- Teens enrolled in school: 84.1%
- Teens not in school and not in the labor force: 3.6%
- Median household income: $68,454
12. Columbus, OH
- Teens in the labor force: 44.9%
- Teens enrolled in school: 89.4%
- Teens not in school and not in the labor force: 3.9%
- Median household income: $66,715
11. Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN
- Teens in the labor force: 45.3%
- Teens enrolled in school: 88.3%
- Teens not in school and not in the labor force: 3.6%
- Median household income: $68,406
10. Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN
- Teens in the labor force: 45.7%
- Teens enrolled in school: 87.7%
- Teens not in school and not in the labor force: 4.1%
- Median household income: $66,435
9. St. Louis, MO-IL
- Teens in the labor force: 45.9%
- Teens enrolled in school: 88.5%
- Teens not in school and not in the labor force: 4.2%
- Median household income: $65,725
8. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO
- Teens in the labor force: 46.3%
- Teens enrolled in school: 86.7%
- Teens not in school and not in the labor force: 4.3%
- Median household income: $83,289
7. Cleveland-Elyria, OH
- Teens in the labor force: 47.1%
- Teens enrolled in school: 88.0%
- Teens not in school and not in the labor force: 4.2%
- Median household income: $57,263
6. Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN
- Teens in the labor force: 47.2%
- Teens enrolled in school: 85.4%
- Teens not in school and not in the labor force: 4.7%
- Median household income: $60,891
5. Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI
- Teens in the labor force: 47.9%
- Teens enrolled in school: 89.1%
- Teens not in school and not in the labor force: 4.4%
- Median household income: $63,739
4. Kansas City, MO-KS
- Teens in the labor force: 48.6%
- Teens enrolled in school: 87.7%
- Teens not in school and not in the labor force: 3.9%
- Median household income: $69,240
3. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
- Teens in the labor force: 49.8%
- Teens enrolled in school: 91.2%
- Teens not in school and not in the labor force: 3.3%
- Median household income: $82,887
2. Grand Rapids-Kentwood, MI
- Teens in the labor force: 50.1%
- Teens enrolled in school: 87.6%
- Teens not in school and not in the labor force: 3.8%
- Median household income: $66,297
1. Salt Lake City, UT
- Teens in the labor force: 50.2%
- Teens enrolled in school: 85.1%
- Teens not in school and not in the labor force: 5.0%
- Median household income: $77,102
Methodology
The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey.
To determine the locations with the most working teens, researchers at Smartest Dollar calculated the percentage of teens in the labor force. In the event of a tie, the location with the greater total number of teens in the labor force was ranked higher.
Note, for school enrollment teens were defined as those ages 15-19. For labor force participation, teens were defined as those ages 16-19.
To improve relevance, only metropolitan areas with at least 100,000 residents were included.