Occupational Licensing Burden Falls Hardest on Low-Income Workers, New Index Finds

Excerpt:

The occupational licensing burden pressing down on American workers remains stubbornly wide, with roughly one in five employed people still required to hold a government-issued licence, according to new data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and the Archbridge Institute’s fourth annual state-level ranking.

The Archbridge Institute’s 2026 State Occupational Licensing Index, the fourth edition of the annual ranking, identifies Oregon, Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas, and New Jersey as the five most burdensome states. Oregon alone records 182 licensing barriers against a national average of 159.1, and has no universal recognition policy; its most distinctively licensed occupation is lactation consultant.

At the other end of the scale, Missouri, Kansas, New York, Indiana, and Colorado impose the fewest bureaucratic hurdles. The rankings shifted meaningfully from the 2025 edition, in which Tennessee ranked second and Kentucky fourth; Texas has climbed to second in 2026 and New Jersey enters the top five.

The inconsistency across state lines undermines the safety rationale for licensing. Nail technicians require a licence in every state. Mold remediation workers need one only in Texas. Security guards are licensed in half of states; medical assistants in ten. Master gas fitters face barriers of some kind in 44 states, including full licensing requirements in 11. The 2026 index, prepared by Noah Trudeau of Troy University, Edward Timmons, and Benjamin Seevers of West Virginia University, catalogues these gaps in detail.

Alabama offers a particularly pointed example: acupuncturists are not formally licensed as such, yet the occupation is effectively barred because practitioners must hold a physician’s licence. In several states, shampooers must obtain cosmetology licences to work.

Read the full article at Law News.

Read the State Occupational Licensing Index report here.