Walmart Nation: Map that shows the largest employer in every American State

Matt Gilligan
Did You Know?
Wed, 20 Dec 2017 00:00 UTC

© Visual capitalist

Take a look at this map. What's the first thing that catches your eye?If your reaction was "Wow, Walmart controls A LOT of the country," you'd be right. This map shows the largest private employer in every state in the U.S., and Walmart is tops in an incredible 22 states. In total, the company employs 1.5 million Americans.

Here's a full state-by-state list for you to peruse. Who's #1 in your state?

Alabama: Walmart, 38,041 employees
Alaska: Providence Health & Services, ~4,000 employees
Arizona: Walmart, 33,910 employees
Arkansas: Walmart, 53,310 employees
California: University of California, 190,000-plus employees
Colorado: Denver International Airport, 35,000 employees
Connecticut: Yale New Haven Health System, 22,193 employees
Delaware: Christiana Care Health System, 11,100 employees
Florida: Walmart, 108,321 employees
Georgia: Walmart, 59,371 employees
Hawaii: University of Hawaii, 10,106 employees
Idaho: St. Luke's Health System, 14,538 employees
Illinois: Walmart, 54,698 employees
Indiana: Walmart, 39,667 employees
Iowa: University of Iowa, 24,598 employees
Kansas: Walmart, 20,938 employees
Kentucky: Walmart, 30,181 employees
Louisiana: Walmart, 36,992 employees
Maine: Hannaford Supermarkets, ~8,500 employees
Maryland: Johns Hopkins Institutions, 51,725 employees
Massachusetts: Partners Healthcare, 68,000 employees
Michigan: University of Michigan, 48,060 employees
Minnesota: Mayo Clinic, 34,562 employees
Mississippi: Walmart, 24,898 employees
Missouri: Walmart, 43,203 employees
Montana: Walmart, 4,776 employees
Nebraska: University of Nebraska, 16,157 employees
Nevada: MGM Resorts International, 55,200 employees
New Hampshire: Walmart, 8,284 employees
New Jersey: Wakefern Food Corporation, 35,000 employees
New Mexico: University of New Mexico, 33,390 employees
New York: State Univesrity of New York system, 90,033 employees
North Carolina: University of North Carolina system, 74,079 employees
North Dakota: Sanford Health, 10,581 employees
Ohio: Walmart, 50,481 employees
Oklahoma: Walmart, 34,014 employees
Oregon: Providence Health & Services, 21,000-plus employees
Pennsylvania: University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, 61,000 employees
Rhode Island: Lifespan system of hospitals, 14,000 employees
South Carolina: Walmart, 32,267 employees
South Dakota: Avera Health, 12,187 employees
Tennessee: Walmart, 41,487 employees
Texas: Walmart, 171,531 employees
Utah: Intermountain Healthcare, 38,000 employees
Vermont: The University of Vermont Medical Center, 7,860 employees
Virginia: Walmart, 44,621 employees
Washington: Boeing, 71,036 employees
West Virginia: Walmart, 12,321 employees
Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin, 39,000 employees
Wyoming: Walmart, 4,699 employees

Comment: Most of the Walmart employees earn less than $25,000 per year.

At $8.81/hour, an employee who works Walmart's definition of full-time (34 hours per week) makes just $15,500 per year. The websites Glassdoor and Pay Scale also indicate hourly wages below $10/hour. The company will frequently cite higher numbers by lumping managers in with its averages and excluding part-time and temporary workers.

Due to very low salaries, employees depend on public assistance for survival.

Because of Walmart's low pay, hundreds of thousands of Walmart workers are forced to utilize state subsidized benefits, including food stamps and public housing. Multiple reports have examined this issue:

• An April 2014 study by Americans for Tax Fairness estimated that subsidies and tax breaks for Walmart and the Walton family cost taxpayers $7.8 billion per year, including approximately $6.2 billion in assistance to Walmart workers due to low wages and benefits.

• An April 2014 Marketplace series found that Walmart is the largest beneficiary of dollars from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as food stamps. The company receives roughly 18 percent of all food stamp dollars, more than $13 billion in revenue.

• A study by Good Jobs First found that, in many states, Walmart tops the lists of employers whose workers are most reliant on government assistance.

• A May 2013 Congressional report calculated that Walmart workers are forced to rely on $900,000 in taxpayer support, including food stamps and healthcare, at just one of the company's 4,000 U.S. stores.

In short, Walmart is subsidized by US tax payers, while the $500 billion dollars company enriches this wealthiest American family.

An April 2014 study by Americans for Tax Fairness estimated that subsidies and tax breaks for Walmart and the Walton family that owns the operation cost U.S. taxpayers $7.8 billion per year, including approximately $6.2 billion in assistance to Walmart workers due to low wages and benefits.
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Walmart spent $2.4 billion in advertising in 2014, much of it specifically to trumpet its role as an employer, its commitment to hire military veterans, and its new US manufacturing initiative.
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The Walton family is the wealthiest family in America and is worth more than $149 billion. The Economic Policy Institute found that the Waltons' wealth is now equivalent to 79% of African-American families combined.

Walmart destroyed local businesses and communities wherever it opened its stores. This made people desperate to take up jobs that don't meet their basic needs. This is modern equivalent of slavery.