This Is California's Largest Employer

CALIFORNIA — At one time, cars, oil and steel fueled the U.S. economy. But today, retail, hospitals and universities dominate the business landscape across the country.

Most state economies are pretty diverse, with state governments tending to be the largest employers with more than 22 million workers across the U.S. But for some, just one or two employers play a significantly larger role in the health of the local economy and job force than any other.

In California, the University of California is the largest employer, with more than 198,300 employees, according to the financial news and opinion site 24/7 Wall St. Scroll over other states below to see what their largest employers are, as well as how many people are employed there.

Retail — and more specifically, Walmart — reigns supreme in 42 percent of states.

The retail titan is the largest employer in 21 states, including key battleground states such as Florida, Illinois, Ohio and Virginia. With more than 1.5 million American workers, Walmart is by far the country’s largest private employer and it dominates a large swath of the country, particularly the South and Midwest.

In 15 states, the largest employer is actually a hospital system. This is true in Alaska where Providence Health & Services employs around 4,000 people and in Massachusetts where Partners Healthcare has 68,000 workers.

In 10 states, including the Golden State, universities employ the most people.

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The online retail giant Amazon, the second largest employer in the U.S., has more than 560,000 workers in the country.

By Daniel Hampton/Patch; Kristina Houck/Patch contributed to this report.

Photo credit: Tim Boyle/Getty Images