Unemployment rate during each mayor's tenure
127 mayors, ranked by how the unemployment rate changed from their first day in office, next to the state over the same months. Politare shows what happened during a tenure; it does not claim the office-holder caused it.
| # | Mayor | City | In office | Total | vs state | Per year | Chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Oscar Goodman | Las Vegas | 8 Jun 1999 – 1 Jan 2011 | +10.5 pp May 1999 → Dec 2010 | +1.2 pp state +9.3 pp | +0.9 pp/yr | |
| 2 |  Pat McCrory | Charlotte | 7 Dec 1995 – 7 Dec 2009 | +6.5 pp Nov 1995 → Nov 2009 | +0.2 pp state +6.3 pp | +0.5 pp/yr | |
| 3 | Ron Dellums | Oakland | 8 Jan 2007 – 3 Jan 2011 | +6.5 pp Dec 2006 → Dec 2010 | −0.8 pp state +7.3 pp | +1.6 pp/yr | |
| 4 | Kwame Kilpatrick | Detroit | 1 Jan 2002 – 19 Sep 2008 | +6.2 pp Dec 2001 → Aug 2008 | +4.0 pp state +2.2 pp | +0.9 pp/yr | |
| 5 | Sheila Dixon | Baltimore | 17 Jan 2007 – 4 Feb 2010 | +6.1 pp Dec 2006 → Jan 2010 | +1.8 pp state +4.3 pp | +2.0 pp/yr | |
| 6 | Curt Pringle | Anaheim | 3 Dec 2002 – 8 Dec 2010 | +5.6 pp Nov 2002 → Nov 2010 | +0.1 pp state +5.5 pp | +0.7 pp/yr | |
| 7 | Edward Chavez | Stockton | 1 Jan 2005 – 6 Jan 2009 | +5.3 pp Dec 2004 → Dec 2008 | +1.8 pp state +3.5 pp | +1.3 pp/yr | |
| 8 | Yvonne Johnson | Greensboro | 1 Dec 2007 – 1 Dec 2009 | +5.1 pp Nov 2007 → Nov 2009 | −0.8 pp state +5.9 pp | +2.6 pp/yr | |
| 9 | Heather Fargo | Sacramento | 1 Nov 2000 – 2 Dec 2008 | +5.0 pp Oct 2000 → Nov 2008 | +1.0 pp state +4.0 pp | +0.6 pp/yr | |
| 10 | Pat Morris | San Bernardino | 7 Mar 2006 – 3 Mar 2014 | +4.6 pp Feb 2006 → Feb 2014 | +1.5 pp state +3.1 pp | +0.6 pp/yr |
Showing 10 of 333 tenures.
Sorted by total, highest first. Every row is indexed to the last month complete before the first day in office ("from" marks a start that had to move because that period had no data, or because the period cut it); the state is measured over the same months. Levels are per cent changes, rates are differences in pp; "per year" compounds levels and divides rates. Tenures with under 12 months, or under three observations, are left out. % of labour force · BLS LAUS, city series · city data · as of Sep 2026.