Many things surprise me about the nation’s economy under the second Trump administration, yet this trend might be the most startling.

My trusty spreadsheet compared the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ state-by-state job counts for the first quarter of 2026 with the previous year. That’s basically Donald Trump’s first year back in the White House.

During that time, California employers added 128,600 workers, more than any other state. The rest of the country added just 11,700.

Yes, hiring in the much-maligned California business climate equaled 92% of the nation’s job creation in the past year. Or roughly 10 times more than the rest of America.

Let’s note the No. 2 state for employment growth was Texas at 96,300, followed by North Carolina at 40,300, Nevada at 31,700 and Pennsylvania at 24,000.

The loser list was topped by Maryland (off 49,100), District of Columbia (off 42,600) and Virginia (off 33,100) – dips tied to Trump’s trimming of federal workers – then Florida (off 30,600) and Oregon (off 20,100).

Which economic guru saw this coming? Now, California doubters might suggest the Golden State’s success is largely about size.

It’s true, California’s job market is huge, with 18.1 million workers—the largest in the country and 11% of all U.S. jobs. Texas is next with 14.4 million, then New York and Florida with 10 million each, and Pennsylvania with 6.2 million.

But even considering California’s size, its workers are having a better start to 2026 than most Americans.

This California job creation equals an 0.7% one-year growth rate, the fourth-fastest pace among the states and far quicker than the nation’s meek 0.1% expansion.