Worldwide, Amazon employs about 1.6 million people. Most of these employees (about 1.1 million) are in the United States. Amazon has employees in 47 out of 50 states. The company has been steadily growing, as there were 18 states with no measurable Amazon employee presence in 2016. As of 2021, only Wyoming, Vermont, and Alaska do not have Amazon workers. These employees work in corporate offices, shipping hubs, fulfillment centers, and physical retail stores.
Although Washington state, home of Amazon’s headquarters, had the highest number of employees until 2020, that has changed over the past few years. To keep up with increased demand and lower shipping times, Amazon has added many workers between 2020 and 2022.
Amazon Employees by State
In 2020, California passed Washington for the number one position in states with the most Amazon workers. Approximately 153,000 people were employed by Amazon in California during that year. This increase was caused by the increased development of the distribution network, Amazon Pantry facilities, and retail store openings. Amazon additionally opened last-mile delivery stations in rural areas; California was one of the first states to offer this service.
California remained the top state in 2021, with 170,000 employees. Texas also has a large jump in employees, putting the state’s Amazon employment at about 95,000 people. This made them the second state in the number of Amazon employees. For the first time, Amazon’s home state of Washington was third in the number of employees (85,000). Florida (59,000) and New Jersey (58,000) rounded out the top five.
Each of these states has seen great growth in numbers since 2018. At that time, Washington employed the most Amazon workers (53,000). California (45,000), Texas (20,000), New Jersey (17,500), and Florida (13,500), still made up the rest of the top five. It is easy to see, however, that all of these states had a large increase in new Amazon employees in just three years.
Continuing Development
Amazon plans to add to its employee numbers in the coming years. One way this will happen is through the building of more distribution centers. There are plans to open two distribution centers in Alabama. Five new fulfillment centers were constructed in California in 2022 as well. Florida plans to open two new warehouses in 2023 after opening five in 2022.
Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Washington all have either recently added fulfillment centers or plan to do so in 2023. Some of these facilities have had a delayed opening as consumer spending has slowed. Some open delivery stations and fulfillment centers have been closed for the same reason.
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