Purple metro areas lead their peers in job growth 

% Change in employment, Jan. 2025-Sep. 2026

Note: Metro areas are classified by the 2024 presidential vote margin: Very Red/Very Blue = margin over 10 points; Lean Red/Lean Blue = 3–10 points; Purple = within 3 points. Employment is seasonally adjusted total nonfarm payroll employment, summed across metros in each group. Alaska is excluded because it does not report election results by county.
Source: BLS Current Employment Statistics, State and Metro Area (SAE); Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections; 2023 Census CBSA delineations.