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Mapped: The Most Common Job in Every U.S. State
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Key Takeaways
- Fast food workers are now the most common job in 17 U.S. states, more than any other occupation.
- White-collar professions rarely rank first. Software developers lead in just one state: Washington.
- Healthcare support roles dominate several aging and coastal states, reflecting America’s growing care economy.
Fast food workers, cashiers, and home health aides now rank as the most common occupations across much of America.
The map below shows the leading occupation in every U.S. state using the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. While the U.S. economy is often associated with technology and professional services, the workforce is increasingly concentrated in lower-paid service and healthcare roles that depend on in-person labor.
Fast food jobs dominate much of the South and Mountain West, while healthcare roles are more common in coastal and older states. Freight and manufacturing jobs remain concentrated in industrial and energy hubs, including North Dakota and Michigan.
America’s Most Common Jobs by State in 2025
Fast food workers were the most common occupation in 17 states in 2025, up from 15 in 2024.
Retail sales workers and cashiers ranked first in another 11 states, while home health aides dominated in several coastal and aging states, including California and Massachusetts.
The rankings reveal how much of the U.S. workforce is tied to service work and caregiving rather than traditional white-collar industries.
| State | Most Common Occupation2025 | Employment | Mean Hourly Wage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | Fast Food Workers | 36K | $12.93 |
| Colorado | Fast Food Workers | 82K | $17.74 |
| Georgia | Fast Food Workers | 145K | $13.12 |
| Hawaii | Fast Food Workers | 24K | $17.22 |
| Idaho | Fast Food Workers | 26K | $13.76 |
| Kansas | Fast Food Workers | 47K | $13.07 |
| Montana | Fast Food Workers | 15K | $14.48 |
| Nebraska | Fast Food Workers | 30K | $14.86 |
| Nevada | Fast Food Workers | 46K | $15.78 |
| Ohio | Fast Food Workers | 164K | $13.90 |
| Oklahoma | Fast Food Workers | 53K | $12.04 |
| Oregon | Fast Food Workers | 60K | $17.41 |
| Rhode Island | Fast Food Workers | 13K | $16.37 |
| South Dakota | Fast Food Workers | 15K | $14.86 |
| Texas | Fast Food Workers | 461K | $13.34 |
| Utah | Fast Food Workers | 52K | $13.99 |
| Virginia | Fast Food Workers | 104K | $15.35 |
| Alabama | Retail Sales & Cashiers | 61K | $16.03 |
| Alaska | Retail Sales & Cashiers | 8K | $19.18 |
| Florida | Retail Sales & Cashiers | 333K | $17.31 |
| Iowa | Retail Sales & Cashiers | 41K | $14.52 |
| Louisiana | Retail Sales & Cashiers | 50K | $15.63 |
| Mississippi | Retail Sales & Cashiers | 38K | $14.98 |
| New Hampshire | Retail Sales & Cashiers | 24K | $18.86 |
| North Carolina | Retail Sales & Cashiers | 128K | $16.46 |
| South Carolina | Retail Sales & Cashiers | 67K | $16.25 |
| Vermont | Retail Sales & Cashiers | 8K | $20.41 |
| Wyoming | Retail Sales & Cashiers | 9K | $17.82 |
| California | Home Health Aides | 970K | $17.51 |
| Connecticut | Home Health Aides | 50K | $19.37 |
| Maine | Home Health Aides | 19K | $19.29 |
| Massachusetts | Home Health Aides | 118K | $20.23 |
| Minnesota | Home Health Aides | 129K | $19.13 |
| New Jersey | Home Health Aides | 117K | $19.08 |
| New Mexico | Home Health Aides | 39K | $14.48 |
| New York | Home Health Aides | 663K | $19.78 |
| Pennsylvania | Home Health Aides | 257K | $15.12 |
| Wisconsin | Home Health Aides | 82K | $17.01 |
| Illinois | Freight Movers | 195K | $20.66 |
| Indiana | Freight Movers | 103K | $20.12 |
| Kentucky | Freight Movers | 58K | $20.17 |
| Tennessee | Freight Movers | 106K | $19.24 |
| Arizona | Ops Managers & Speciaists | 110K | $60.19 |
| District of Columbia | Ops Managers & Speciaists | 38K | $56.88 |
| Maryland | Ops Managers & Speciaists | 97K | $65.66 |
| Missouri | Ops Managers & Speciaists | 109K | $49.33 |
| Delaware | Nurses | 14K | $47.82 |
| West Virginia | Nurses | 23K | $41.81 |
| North Dakota | Truck Drivers | 12K | $30.45 |
| Washington | Software Developers | 107K | $82.23 |
| Michigan | Assemblers | 112K | $24.69 |
Healthcare support jobs continue to grow as America ages. Despite relatively modest pay, home health aides and nursing roles are becoming increasingly central to the labor market.
By 2036, the U.S. population aged 85 and older is forecast to more than double, likely driving even greater demand for healthcare support roles. Nurses already rank as the top occupation in two states.
Washington: America’s Only Software Developer State
Washington is the only state where software developers rank as the largest occupation group, reflecting the outsized influence of Seattle’s tech ecosystem and employers like Microsoft and Amazon.
Among Washington’s 107K software developers, the average hourly wage reached $82.23, the highest of any leading occupation in the dataset.
Michigan and North Dakota: Industry Shapes Workforces
Assemblers remain the most common occupation in Michigan, underscoring the continued importance of auto manufacturing to the state economy. While Michigan’s auto production declined 25% between 2004 and 2024, manufacturing still plays a major role in the state’s labor market.
Meanwhile, truck drivers rank first in North Dakota, reflecting the state’s reliance on energy production, agriculture, and freight transportation.
Oil production in the Bakken region creates strong demand for hauling crude oil and industrial equipment, while the agricultural sector depends heavily on transporting crops and fertilizer. As a result, North Dakota has one of the highest concentrations of heavy truck drivers in the country.
Together, the two states highlight how industrial and resource-based economies continue to shape regional employment patterns across the U.S.
How America’s Most Common Jobs Changed Since 2024
One of the biggest labor market shifts has been the decline of white-collar roles. In 2024, operations managers and specialists ranked as the leading occupation in 10 states, but that number fell to just four in 2025.
In Idaho, operations managers were replaced by fast food workers. Texas saw a similar shift, while New Hampshire moved from operations managers to retail sales and cashier roles.
America’s workforce is increasingly centered around jobs that require physical presence: preparing food, caring for patients, transporting goods, and serving customers. While many of these occupations pay modest wages, they remain difficult to automate or outsource.
Learn More on the Voronoi App
To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the world’s fastest-growing jobs.