Where you work in America shapes your exposure to workplace discrimination more than people realize. Some states see far more workplace discrimination than others. Our analysis of EEOC charges filed between 2009 and 2024 shows consistent regional patterns as well as trends that have changed direction multiple times over the study period.
Fairchild Employment Law conducted this study to document those patterns. We collected every available EEOC discrimination charge filed between fiscal years 2009 and 2024 and ranked all 51 jurisdictions by discrimination rate.
Key Takeaways
- Race discrimination is the most commonly filed charge type nationwide. Over the 16-year study period, American workers filed 463,950 race-based charges with the EEOC, more than any other category. Disability and sex discrimination follow closely behind.
- Washington D.C. files at nearly twice the rate of any state. D.C. averages 2,194 discrimination charges per 100,000 residents, the highest rate in the United States.
- The South dominates the top 10. Seven of the ten highest-ranked states by discrimination rate are in the South: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Louisiana. This regional trend held consistently across all 16 years of the study.
- A decade of declining filings has reversed sharply. National filings peaked in 2011 at 132,720, fell 26% to a low of 88,142 in 2021, then surged back to 128,790 by FY2024.
- Disability discrimination is closing the gap on race. At 413,787 total charges, it already ranks as the top charge type in 23 states, and the gap between total disability and race filings nationally continues to close.
- New legal protections generate immediate filings. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act took effect mid-2023 and produced 2,878 charges in under two fiscal years.
- The five lowest-ranking states are Maine, Montana, Idaho, New Hampshire, and Iowa. Maine logs the lowest rate in the study at 57 discrimination charges per 100,000 residents, roughly 38 times lower than D.C.
What Kind of Discrimination Do Americans Report the Most?
Race discrimination leads every other category by a wide margin. Over the 16-year study period, American workers filed 463,950 race-based charges with the EEOC, making racial discrimination the single most common type of substantive discrimination complaint in the country.
Disability discrimination follows closely at 413,787 total charges and continues to grow. Sex discrimination totals 407,192 charges over the same period.
Which States Have the Highest Discrimination Rates?
Washington D.C. is excluded from the map but ranks first in this study at 2,194 charges per 100,000 residents, nearly double any state, which makes it a significant data point across this entire analysis.
Alabama ranks first among all 50 states at 1,116 charges per 100,000 residents, followed by Arkansas, Georgia, and Mississippi.
Seven of the top 10 states by discrimination rate sit in the South, which includes Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Louisiana. Several contributing factors may include industry composition, lower rates of union representation, and workforce demographics that historically correlate with higher discrimination exposure.
Why Does D.C. File at Nearly Twice the Rate of Any State?
Several structural factors contribute to D.C’s higher-than-average rate. D.C. hosts one of the country’s densest concentrations of federal workers, who hold stronger legal protections and operate within well-established enforcement frameworks. EEOC field offices are highly accessible. Legal awareness runs exceptionally high in a city with a large population of attorneys, advocates, and policy professionals.
D.C.’s top ranking reflects a genuine discrimination problem and a population that understands the reporting process. That distinction matters significantly when comparing filing rates across the United States. A low rate in another state does not necessarily mean less discrimination occurs there. It may mean workers have less awareness of their rights and less access to legal support when they need it.
Which States Report the Lowest Discrimination Rates?
Maine logs just 57 charges per 100,000 residents, approximately 38 times lower than D.C.’s rate and the lowest figure in the entire dataset.
Montana, Idaho, New Hampshire, and Iowa also rank near the bottom. These states share certain characteristics: lower population density, smaller urban centers, and fewer manufacturing employers that tend to generate higher discrimination complaint volumes.
Low filing rates do not confirm that these states experience less discrimination overall. Workers in less populous areas often have fewer resources to file, less awareness of their legal rights, and less access to employment attorneys who handle EEOC matters.
Are Discrimination Cases Going Up or Coming Down?
National EEOC filings peaked in fiscal year 2011 at 132,720 charges, then declined steadily for a decade, falling roughly 26 percent to a low of 88,142 in 2021. Although there are no clear reasons for the long decline, the unemployment rate during the COVID-19 pandemic shows a strong correlation with the steepest drops.
There is evidence that indicates the COVID-19 pandemic likely caused the downward trend in 2020 and 2021. Unemployment spiked to 14.8 percent in April 2020 and stayed elevated well into the following year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. With millions of workers suddenly out of the workforce, fewer employment relationships existed to generate discrimination charges. Workers facing job loss likely focused on unemployment claims and financial stability.
Although discrimination was trending down, filings climbed dramatically in 2022, 2023, and 2024, reaching 128,790 charges by the final year of the study period. That three-year increase nearly erases the full decade of decline and carries important implications. The increase may reflect a renewed push for enforcement, post-pandemic workplace conflict, a broader economic environment that elevated labor tension, or some combination of all three.
What Is Driving the Surge in Disability Discrimination Claims?
Disability discrimination grew steadily throughout the entire study period, and the cumulative numbers are alarming.
Over the full 16-year study period, disability discrimination totaled 413,787 charges and trails race in total national charges. However, that overall gap is shrinking. Disability surpassed race as the most commonly filed charge type in 2019 and has led every year since. In 23 states, disability already ranks as the most common discrimination type.
The workforce continues to age, which expands the pool of workers with qualifying conditions. The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 significantly broadened the definition of disability under federal law and began taking effect just before this study’s window opened. Mental health conditions now receive far greater recognition as covered disabilities, which likely generated a notable increase in covered employees and corresponding claims.
What Does the New Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Data Reveal?
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act took effect in mid-2023 and requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy-related limitations. It generated 2,878 charges in its first two fiscal years.
Washington D.C. posted the highest per-capita filing rate in the country at 3.76 charges per 100,000 residents, followed by Georgia and Tennessee.
The immediate volume of filings across nearly every state demonstrates a clear pattern that workers pay attention to new legal protections and act on them quickly. Employers who fail to update their accommodation policies when new legislation takes effect risk liability.
What Does This Data Mean for Workers and Employers?
Workplace discrimination in America remains widespread and is actively growing again after a decade of decline.
Several findings from this study carry direct legal and practical significance:
- Race discrimination generates more EEOC activity than any other category, but disability is closing the gap at a steady pace and already leads in a growing number of states.
- The South carries a disproportionate share of the country’s highest filing rates, a pattern that held consistently across all 16 years of this study.
- The post-2021 surge in filings is significant. Whether it reflects worsening workplace conditions, increased reporting, or broader economic disruption, employers and workers need to take this trend seriously.
- New laws generate new claims immediately. The PWFA data makes clear that workers track legislative developments and file charges as soon as protections take effect.
Workers who believe their employer has discriminated against them have strong legal protections. Understanding how to exercise those options effectively is where experienced employment counsel makes the greatest difference.
Methodology
This data was pulled directly from EEOC public records spanning fiscal years 2009 through 2024 across all 50 states and Washington D.C. Retaliation charges were excluded to focus solely on substantive discrimination complaints by type. We used U.S. Census Bureau population estimates to calculate a per-capita discrimination rate for each jurisdiction and rank them accordingly.