The most disproportionately popular job in the 40 biggest US cities
Madison Hoff  Â
- We looked at the most disproportionately popular job in the largest metro areas in the US.
- To do this, we analyzed location quotients for jobs with at least 1,000 employees in that metro.
New York City has a lot of subway and streetcar operators, and Houston has a disproportionate share of petroleum engineers.
Insider recently looked at the most disproportionately popular job in each state and DC based on location quotients for occupations with at least 1,000 people employed in the job in the state or DC. As the Bureau of Labor Statistics wrote, the location quotient is a "ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration." Because the Bureau of Labor Statistics has metro area data as well, we can similarly look at just what jobs are the most disproportionately popular in the major metro areas in the nation.
To identify the largest metro areas, we looked at population estimates as of July 1, 2021 from the Census Bureau.
Below are the most disproportionately popular jobs in the largest 40 metro areas. For each area, we included the location quotients and other employment details from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA: Subway and streetcar operators
Number employed: 4,940
Employment per 1,000 workers: 0.569
Location quotient: 7.77
Median salary: $81,980
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: Agents and business managers of artists, performers, and athletes
Number employed: 5,440
Employment per 1,000 workers: 0.952
Location quotient: 10.74
Median salary: $99,980
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI: Cargo and freight agents
Number employed: 7,200
Employment per 1,000 workers: 1.702
Location quotient: 2.80
Median salary: $47,500
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: Reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks
Number employed: 10,520
Employment per 1,000 workers: 2.932
Location quotient: 4.10
Median salary: $48,370
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX: Petroleum engineers
Number employed: 5,850
Employment per 1,000 workers: 2.020
Location quotient: 12.88
Median salary: $135,010
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: Political scientists
Number employed: 4,040
Employment per 1,000 workers: 1.377
Location quotient: 34.33
Median salary: $130,690
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: Shampooers
Number employed: 1,740
Employment per 1,000 workers: 0.656
Location quotient: 9.66
Median salary: $22,330
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA: Miscellaneous construction and related workers
Number employed: 3,350
Employment per 1,000 workers: 1.293
Location quotient: 5.89
Median salary: $46,910
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL: Fire inspectors and investigators
Number employed: 1,660
Employment per 1,000 workers: 0.676
Location quotient: 6.52
Median salary: $64,600
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ: Semiconductor processing technicians
Number employed: 2,200
Employment per 1,000 workers: 1.040
Location quotient: 6.10
Median salary: $60,230
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH: Biochemists and biophysicists
Number employed: 7,640
Employment per 1,000 workers: 2.954
Location quotient: 11.87
Median salary: $132,030
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA: Plasterers and stucco masons
Number employed: 1,800
Employment per 1,000 workers: 1.174
Location quotient: 6.13
Median salary: $48,580
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA: Biological scientists (all other)
Number employed: 4,550
Employment per 1,000 workers: 2.027
Location quotient: 6.07
Median salary: $101,130
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI: Engine and other machine assemblers
Number employed: 5,650
Employment per 1,000 workers: 3.139
Location quotient: 9.62
Median salary: $48,160
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: Order clerks
Number employed: 23,030
Employment per 1,000 workers: 12.009
Location quotient: 12.64
Median salary: Not available
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI: Preschool special education teachers
Number employed: 1,360
Employment per 1,000 workers: 0.747
Location quotient: 4.98
Median salary: $76,880
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA: Biological scientists (all other)
Number employed: 3,610
Employment per 1,000 workers: 2.598
Location quotient: 7.78
Median salary: $99,340
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL: Telemarketers
Number employed: 3,770
Employment per 1,000 workers: 2.921
Location quotient: 3.57
Median salary: $28,430
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO: Geoscientists (except hydrologists and geographers)
Number employed: 1,500
Employment per 1,000 workers: 1.021
Location quotient: 6.09
Median salary: $96,280
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD: Personal care and service workers (all other)
Number employed: 3,050
Employment per 1,000 workers: 2.429
Location quotient: 4.75
Median salary: $28,560
St. Louis, MO-IL: New accounts clerks
Number employed: 1,310
Employment per 1,000 workers: 1.028
Location quotient: 3.58
Median salary: $38,260
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC: Textile winding, twisting, and drawing out machine setters, operators, and tenders
Number employed: 1,440
Employment per 1,000 workers: 1.189
Location quotient: 7.56
Median salary: $29,780
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL: Lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers
Number employed: 13,820
Employment per 1,000 workers: 11.775
Location quotient: 14.51
Median salary: $22,790
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX: Telemarketers
Number employed: 4,180
Employment per 1,000 workers: 4.189
Location quotient: 5.13
Median salary: $30,210
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA: Semiconductor processing technicians
Number employed: 4,640
Employment per 1,000 workers: 4.135
Location quotient: 24.26
Median salary: $48,050
Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA: Tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents
Number employed: 3,620
Employment per 1,000 workers: 3.684
Location quotient: 9.93
Median salary: $63,970
Pittsburgh, PA: Private detectives and investigators
Number employed: 1,020
Employment per 1,000 workers: 0.983
Location quotient: 4.80
Median salary: $50,510
Austin-Round Rock, TX: Tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents
Number employed: 2,340
Employment per 1,000 workers: 2.178
Location quotient: 5.87
Median salary: $45,390
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV: Taxi drivers
Number employed: 2,550
Employment per 1,000 workers: 2.772
Location quotient: 27.99
Median salary: $29,380
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN: Metal and plastic rolling machine setters, operators, and tenders
Number employed: 1,080
Employment per 1,000 workers: 1.054
Location quotient: 4.69
Median salary: $47,510
Kansas City, MO-KS: Tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents
Number employed: 1,810
Employment per 1,000 workers: 1.779
Location quotient: 4.80
Median salary: $42,740
Columbus, OH: Financial clerks (all other)
Number employed: 1,070
Employment per 1,000 workers: 1.042
Location quotient: 4.84
Median salary: $47,870
Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN: Machine feeders and offbearers
Number employed: 1,490
Employment per 1,000 workers: 1.481
Location quotient: 3.43
Median salary: $38,380
Cleveland-Elyria, OH: Metal and plastic rolling machine setters, operators, and tenders
Number employed: 1,290
Employment per 1,000 workers: 1.335
Location quotient: 5.94
Median salary: $47,840
Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN: Musicians and singers
Number employed: 1,010
Employment per 1,000 workers: 1.029
Location quotient: 6.02
Median salary: $38,750*
*Median salary estimated using median hourly wage.
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA: Computer hardware engineers
Number employed: 7,550
Employment per 1,000 workers: 7.069
Location quotient: 13.50
Median salary: $179,230
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC: Ship engineers
Number employed: 1,540
Employment per 1,000 workers: 2.167
Location quotient: 39.90
Median salary: $80,010
Providence-Warwick, RI-MA: School bus monitors
Number employed: 1,390
Employment per 1,000 workers: 2.602
Location quotient: 6.63
Median salary: $36,060
Jacksonville, FL: Aircraft mechanics and service technicians
Number employed: 2,050
Employment per 1,000 workers: 2.995
Location quotient: 3.36
Median salary: $60,460
Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI: Print binding and finishing workers
Number employed: 1,700
Employment per 1,000 workers: 2.166
Location quotient: 7.48
Median salary: $37,960
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