The Bureau of Labor Statistics has crunched the numbers of the jobs Americans have now. The most common profession overall for the nation: office and administrative support. But what about the jobs that are both unique to your state and common there?
The findings are the result of a numbers crunch using BLS data from May 2013. Office and administrative support positions led the field with 16% of all jobs concentrated there. Especially interesting, though, was the data on which jobs had the highest concentration in each state relative to the nation, the results of which were plotted out on an interactive map (the data is also charted out below).
Some of the jobs with the highest concentration in their state are hardly surprising: DC, for instance, is crushing the national average of political scientists, while Texas is the state where more petroleum engineers choose to hang their hats. Meanwhile, Nevada’s cornering of the market for gaming supervisors can probably be traced to the city of Las Vegas. Others, though, reveal a lot more about their home state and the niche markets that exist there.
Mississippi has more upholsterers than any other state in the nation per capita. If you long to pursue a career as a stucco mason, Arizona is your best bet, while train fans should head to the plains of Illinois. Michigan is apparently fertile ground for model makers (both metal AND plastic); Colorado is the place for space (and atmospheric) scientists; New Jersey is home to the nation’s highest concentration of marriage and family therapists; Vermont’s roadways are kept in condition by more highway and maintenance workers than anywhere else in the U.S.
Of course, it’s not just a question of total number jobs, but also the wages those jobs pay. You can see the percent of total nationwide employment for each job category against its average wages graphed out here:
So, do the findings line up with what you’ve seen? Tag the map with your locale and tell us about the employment market there.
| State | Occupation | Location quotient | Employment |
| Alabama | Layout workers, metal and plastic | 9.05 | 1,690 |
| Alaska | Zoologists and wildlife biologists | 18.65 | 840 |
| Arizona | Plasterers and stucco masons | 4.37 | 1,680 |
| Arkansas | Shoe machine operators and tenders | 13.35 | 500 |
| California | Farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse | 5.89 | 171,160 |
| Colorado | Atmospheric and space scientists | 9.65 | 1,800 |
| Connecticut | Actuaries | 5.17 | 1,280 |
| Delaware | Chemists | 12.70 | 3,460 |
| District of Columbia | Political scientists | 120.46 | 3,370 |
| Florida | Motorboat operators | 8.30 | 1,590 |
| Georgia | Textile winding, twisting, and drawing out machine setters, operators, and tenders | 10.49 | 7,990 |
| Hawaii | Dancers | 12.83 | 670 |
| Idaho | Forest and conservation technicians | 15.58 | 2,140 |
| Illinois | Rail transportation workers, all other | 5.67 | 870 |
| Indiana | Boilermakers | 6.39 | 2,190 |
| Iowa | Soil and plant scientists | 12.81 | 1,900 |
| Kansas | Agricultural equipment operators | 5.41 | 1,240 |
| Kentucky | Roof bolters, mining | 14.14 | 1,120 |
| Louisiana | Riggers | 19.95 | 4,920 |
| Maine | Logging equipment operators | 11.15 | 1,200 |
| Maryland | Subway and streetcar operators | 12.02 | 2,050 |
| Massachusetts | Biochemists and biophysicists | 5.38 | 3,850 |
| Michigan | Model makers, metal and plastic | 6.12 | 1,140 |
| Minnesota | Food scientists and technologists | 6.78 | 2,060 |
| Mississippi | Upholsterers | 16.76 | 3,940 |
| Missouri | Entertainment attendants and related workers, all other | 3.91 | 750 |
| Montana | Forest and conservation technicians | 20.73 | 2,040 |
| Nebraska | Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers | 10.33 | 11,620 |
| Nevada | Gaming supervisors | 31.98 | 6,990 |
| New Hampshire | Metal workers and plastic workers, all other | 11.80 | 1,230 |
| New Jersey | Marriage and family therapists | 4.98 | 4,170 |
| New Mexico | Physical scientists, all other | 12.03 | 1,660 |
| New York | Fashion designers | 6.34 | 7,180 |
| North Carolina | Textile winding, twisting, and drawing out machine setters, operators, and tenders | 8.88 | 6,880 |
| North Dakota | Extraction workers, all other | 35.75 | 910 |
| Ohio | Foundry mold and coremakers | 3.54 | 1,790 |
| Oklahoma | Gaming managers | 12.74 | 670 |
| Oregon | Logging workers, all other | 40.15 | 1,390 |
| Pennsylvania | Gas compressor and gas pumping station operators | 4.66 | 890 |
| Rhode Island | Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers | 7.05 | 560 |
| South Carolina | Tire builders | 11.80 | 2,860 |
| South Dakota | Pesticide handlers, sprayers, and applicators, vegetation | 9.44 | 650 |
| Tennessee | Nuclear technicians | 4.94 | 700 |
| Texas | Petroleum engineers | 6.84 | 19,660 |
| Utah | Mine cutting and channeling machine operators | 8.36 | 540 |
| Vermont | Highway maintenance workers | 4.76 | 1,490 |
| Virginia | Legal support workers, all other | 7.15 | 8,950 |
| Washington | Aircraft structure, surfaces, rigging, and systems assemblers | 15.68 | 14,310 |
| West Virginia | Mine shuttle car operator | 76.87 | 1,120 |
| Wisconsin | Foundry mold and coremakers | 6.26 | 1,670 |
| Wyoming | Wellhead pumpers | 24.75 | 700 |
