More than half of states give workers a paid Juneteenth

Data: Pew Research Center; Map: Danielle Alberti/Axios

At least 33 states and D.C. will give most state government workers a paid day off Friday for Juneteenth this year, according to the Pew Research Center.

Why it matters: States differ considerably on how to mark the day when enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, learned they were free.

Catch up quick: Texas made Juneteenth a permanent holiday in 1980, but most other states didn't act until 2020 or later.

Juneteenth was signed into law as a federal holiday in 2021.

By the numbers: 30 states plus D.C. consider Juneteenth a legal holiday, meaning it's a paid day off written into law, per the Congressional Research Service.

As the above map reflects, most state workers in New Mexico, Kansas and Kentucky also get Juneteenth off, but without it being permanent law.

In a few states where Juneteenth is an observance only, it's marked on the third Saturday in June instead of June 19, according to Pew.

Between the lines: Some states have unique laws around taking June 19 off.

For example, state workers in West Virginia have the day off this year — but for West Virginia Day, not Juneteenth.

And state employees in California and North Carolina can choose to take paid personal leave on June 19, Pew reports, but they don't get an automatic day off.

The latest: Alabama became the most recent state to make Juneteenth permanent, in 2025.