Non-agricultural jobs dominate seasonal foreign hiring in New England, while agricultural hubs like California and Washington have the lowest share
Source: Manifest Law analysis of U.S. Department of Labor data
The balance between agricultural and non-agricultural seasonal foreign labor varies considerably across the United States, reflecting differences in regional economies and industry composition. New England stands out as the region where employers rely most heavily on the H-2B program, with non-agricultural occupations accounting for the overwhelming majority of seasonal foreign labor requests. By contrast, many of the country's largest agricultural producers—including California and Washington—depend far more heavily on H-2A workers, resulting in some of the nation's lowest shares of non-agricultural seasonal labor demand.
Rhode Island has the highest concentration of non-agricultural seasonal labor requests, with 98.9% of requested workers tied to H-2B occupations. Alaska follows at 95.6%, while Massachusetts (91.4%), New Hampshire (84.2%), Maine (82.5%), and Vermont (78.8%) also rank among the states where seasonal foreign labor is overwhelmingly concentrated outside agriculture. Many of these states have relatively small agricultural sectors but significant demand from industries such as tourism, hospitality, landscaping, forestry, seafood processing, and recreation, all of which commonly rely on H-2B workers during peak seasons.
At the other end of the spectrum, agricultural states account for the lowest shares of non-agricultural seasonal labor demand. Just 6.3% of Washington's seasonal foreign labor requests are tied to H-2B occupations, followed by California at 7.7%, Georgia at 14.1%, New Mexico at 17.0%, and North Dakota at 19.6%. In these states, demand is driven primarily by H-2A requests supporting crop production and other agricultural operations, illustrating how regional industry specialization shapes employers' reliance on the nation's two seasonal foreign worker programs.
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