The most disproportionately popular job in every state
Madison Hoff
- Location-specific data shows which jobs are the most disproportionately popular in each state and DC.
- It's not the most popular job in each state, rather jobs with a higher rate of employment in the state than in the rest of the country.
Not all jobs have the same concentration across the US.
Take wellhead pumpers for instance. That may not be an occupation you're familiar with, unless you live in North Dakota and Texas where it's the most overrepresented job. In Massachusetts, the most disproportionately popular job are biochemists and biophysicists. That's based on location-specific data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). We only looked at jobs with at least 1,000 people employed in the state as of May 2021.
As Insider's Andy Kiersz wrote in a previous analysis, "these are not the most common jobs in these states," but are instead those jobs that make up a much higher rate of employment in the state than in the rest of the country.
For example, nearly 14 out of every 10,000 jobs of Iowa's almost 1.5 million employed people worked as "agricultural equipment operators" as of May 2021, compared to about 1.9 out of every 10,000 jobs nationwide. These two figures together — about 14 divided by about 1.9 — gives you the location quotient of agricultural equipment operators in Iowa, about 7.4.
You can hover over the above map to see our analysis of each state and DC using May 2021 data.
The New York Times opinion writer Peter Coy also recently looked at location quotients from BLS. One takeaway he noted is that shampooer is the most disproportionately popular job in New Jersey and Pennsylvania even when you only look at jobs with at least 1,000 employed people in the states.
"Some people theorized that the two states don't necessarily do a lot more shampooing, but that employers are just more likely to identify workers as shampooers rather than, say, beauticians," Coy wrote.
Below is the most disproportionately popular job in every state and DC along with the total employment and employment per 1,000 workers for that occupation in that state or DC. The location quotient and average annual wage for these occupations can be found when you hover over the map. The above map and list below use values from the May 2021 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
ALABAMA: Logging equipment operators
Number employed: 2,270
Employment per 1,000 workers: 1.176
ALASKA: Commercial pilots
Number employed: 1,010
Employment per 1,000 workers: 3.402
ARIZONA: Semiconductor processing technicians
Number employed: 2,270
Employment per 1,000 workers: 0.789
ARKANSAS: Graders and sorters of agricultural products
Number employed: 1,490
Employment per 1,000 workers: 1.252
CALIFORNIA: Farmworkers and laborers (crop, nursery, and greenhouse)
Number employed: 186,600
Employment per 1,000 workers: 11.289
COLORADO: Atmospheric and space scientists
Number employed: 1,060
Employment per 1,000 workers: 0.403
CONNECTICUT: Lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders (metal and plastic)
Number employed: 1,300
Employment per 1,000 workers: 0.829
DELAWARE: Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers
Number employed: 4,490
Employment per 1,000 workers: 10.315
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Political scientists
Number employed: 3,490
Employment per 1,000 workers: 5.275
FLORIDA: Farm and home management educators
Number employed: 3,310
Employment per 1,000 workers: 0.384
GEORGIA: Textile winding, twisting, and drawing out machine setters, operators, and tenders
Number employed: 7,960
Employment per 1,000 workers: 1.818
HAWAII: Healthcare support workers (all other)
Number employed: 1,980
Employment per 1,000 workers: 3.603
IDAHO: Forest and conservation technicians
Number employed: 2,030
Employment per 1,000 workers: 2.684
ILLINOIS: Rail car repairers
Number employed: 3,010
Employment per 1,000 workers: 0.536
INDIANA: Engine and other machine assemblers
Number employed: 8,780
Employment per 1,000 workers: 2.944
IOWA: Agricultural equipment operators
Number employed: 2,050
Employment per 1,000 workers: 1.383
KANSAS: Aircraft structure, surfaces, rigging, and systems assemblers
Number employed: 5,250
Employment per 1,000 workers: 3.923
KENTUCKY: Sailors and marine oilers
Number employed: 1,530
Employment per 1,000 workers: 0.834
LOUISIANA: Entertainers and performers, sports and related workers (all other)
Number employed: 2,480
Employment per 1,000 workers: 1.385
MAINE: Logging equipment operators
Number employed: 1,080
Employment per 1,000 workers: 1.818
MARYLAND: Healthcare diagnosing or treating practitioners (all other)
Number employed: 5,770
Employment per 1,000 workers: 2.266
MASSACHUSETTS: Biochemists and biophysicists
Number employed: 8,190
Employment per 1,000 workers: 2.413
MICHIGAN: Metal and plastic model makers
Number employed: 1,190
Employment per 1,000 workers: 0.294
MINNESOTA: Gambling and sports book writers and runners
Number employed: 1,310
Employment per 1,000 workers: 0.480
MISSISSIPPI: Upholsterers
Number employed: 3,300
Employment per 1,000 workers: 2.994
MISSOURI: Cooling and freezing equipment operators and tenders
Number employed: 1,130
Employment per 1,000 workers: 0.415
MONTANA: Forest and conservation technicians
Number employed: 2,050
Employment per 1,000 workers: 4.369
NEBRASKA: Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers
Number employed: 6,700
Employment per 1,000 workers: 6.988
NEVADA: Continuous mining machine operators
Number employed: 3,540
Employment per 1,000 workers: 2.744
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Short order cooks
Number employed: 2,860
Employment per 1,000 workers: 4.501
NEW JERSEY: Shampooers
Number employed: 1,620
Employment per 1,000 workers: 0.422
NEW MEXICO: Oil and gas roustabouts
Number employed: 2,400
Employment per 1,000 workers: 3.090
NEW YORK: Fashion designers
Number employed: 7,650
Employment per 1,000 workers: 0.882
NORTH CAROLINA: Textile bleaching and dyeing machine operators and tenders
Number employed: 1,450
Employment per 1,000 workers: 0.327
NORTH DAKOTA: Wellhead pumpers
Number employed: 1,200
Employment per 1,000 workers: 3.032
OHIO: Engine and other machine assemblers
Number employed: 8,010
Employment per 1,000 workers: 1.539
OKLAHOMA: Gambling surveillance officers and gambling investigators
Number employed: 1,770
Employment per 1,000 workers: 1.138
OREGON: Logging workers (all other)
Number employed: 1,160
Employment per 1,000 workers: 0.635
PENNSYLVANIA: Shampooers
Number employed: 1,880
Employment per 1,000 workers: 0.337
RHODE ISLAND: School bus monitors
Number employed: 1,280
Employment per 1,000 workers: 2.804
SOUTH CAROLINA: Tire builders
Number employed: 4,100
Employment per 1,000 workers: 1.984
SOUTH DAKOTA: Residential advisors
Number employed: 1,650
Employment per 1,000 workers: 3.922
TENNESSEE: Woodworkers (all other)
Number employed: 1,470
Employment per 1,000 workers: 0.494
TEXAS: Wellhead pumpers
Number employed: 9,940
Employment per 1,000 workers: 0.813
UTAH: Plasterers and stucco masons
Number employed: 1,820
Employment per 1,000 workers: 1.170
VERMONT: Social and human service assistants
Number employed: 3,520
Employment per 1,000 workers: 12.383
VIRGINIA: Marine engineers and naval architects
Number employed: 1,700
Employment per 1,000 workers: 0.452
WASHINGTON: Personal care and service workers (all other)
Number employed: 14,150
Employment per 1,000 workers: 4.414
WEST VIRGINIA: Psychiatric aides
Number employed: 1,590
Employment per 1,000 workers: 2.420
WISCONSIN: Computer numerically controlled tool operators
Number employed: 15,520
Employment per 1,000 workers: 5.632
WYOMING: Oil and gas roustabouts
Number employed: 1,380
Employment per 1,000 workers: 5.301
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