Sales of state-licensed cannabis products totaled $30.1 billion in 2024, according to data compiled by Vangst Staffing and Whitney Economics.
This total represents a 4.5 percent increase year-over-year. Analysts expect sales to top $34 billion in 2025.
Certain states – including New York, Mississippi, and Ohio – also experienced a significant increase in full-time cannabis-related job growth in 2024. Overall, some 425,000 workers are employed full-time by state-licensed cannabis businesses.
Between 2017 and 2022, the state-legal cannabis industry experienced year-over-year double-digit growth. Since then, industry growth has plateaued.
“The cannabis industry has shifted from a phase of hyper-growth to one of operational discipline,” said Vangst founder and CEO Karson Humiston. “This recalibration reflects a maturing industry focused on sustainability and efficiency. Despite a slight decline in jobs, cannabis remains one of the nation’s leading employment sectors — with over 425,000 full-time roles and revenue projected to grow more than 13 percent in 2025, the industry is still a powerful economic engine.”
California leads the nation in marijuana-related jobs with over 74,000 full-time workers, followed by Michigan (45,000), Florida (31,000), Massachusetts (27,000), and Pennsylvania (25,000).
“The state-legal cannabis workforce is a significant economic driver,” NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said. “Yet, outdated federal laws define many of those employed by this industry as criminals and as a result, they are frequently denied access to banking services, housing, education, international travel, and citizenship. Further, these state-licensed businesses face excessive taxation and often lack access to traditional capital and financial services – placing them at a competitive disadvantage compared to traditional businesses. It is long past time for Congress to end prohibition and start treating this robust regulated market like any other industry.”
According to a 2024 analysis provided by the Marijuana Policy Project, retail sales of adult-use cannabis products have generated more than $20 billion in state tax revenue since 2014.
Full text of the Vangst report, “The State of Cannabis Jobs, Challenges, Changes, and Optimism for the Future,” is available online.
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