Occupational profile · 2025
Missouri
Missouri employs 2,936,050 people. The work it does most unusually is cooks, fast food, at 4.6× the national concentration — 55,780 jobs paying a median of $29,890.
What Missouri is distinctive for
Detailed occupations ranked by location quotient. A location quotient is an occupation’s share of a state’s jobs divided by its share of the nation’s. One means the state looks like the country; two means twice the concentration. It is a measure of distinctiveness, not of quality, size or pay. Bars use a logarithmic scale so the lower ranks stay legible beside the leader.
- 1Cooks, Fast Food55,780 jobs · median $29,8904.6×
- 2Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials1,240 jobs · median $33,1404.2×
- 3Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic7,220 jobs · median $53,1603.1×
- 4Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders1,030 jobs · median $43,4602.7×
- 5Telemarketers2,710 jobs · median $29,8402.5×
- 6Real Estate Brokers1,980 jobs · median $62,2802.3×
- 7Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents2,280 jobs · median $50,2502.1×
- 8Healthcare Support Workers, All Other4,410 jobs · median $39,9402.1×
- 9Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals1,310 jobs · median $32,9502.1×
- 10Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners1,160 jobs · median $51,5602.0×
- 11Helpers--Production Workers6,250 jobs · median $40,5802.0×
- 12Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators1,560 jobs · median $69,4002.0×
What Missouri is made of
All twenty-two occupational groups by headcount, with the concentration figure beside each. Most states look broadly alike in this view — that is the finding, not a flaw in it.
| Occupation group | Share of state employment | Jobs | vs national | Median wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office and Administrative Support Occupations | 340,130 | 1.01× | $45,070 | |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations | 255,150 | 0.99× | $31,080 | |
| Transportation and Material Moving Occupations | 250,310 | 0.97× | $43,170 | |
| Sales and Related Occupations | 241,320 | 0.95× | $35,910 | |
| Management Occupations | 223,420 | 1.06× | $99,620 | |
| Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations | 208,140 | 1.12× | $79,250 | |
| Production Occupations | 194,100 | 1.20× | $47,810 | |
| Business and Financial Operations Occupations | 186,200 | 0.94× | $76,670 | |
| Educational Instruction and Library Occupations | 168,480 | 0.98× | $49,270 | |
| Healthcare Support Occupations | 167,240 | 1.12× | $36,100 | |
| Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations | 118,690 | 1.03× | $57,810 | |
| Construction and Extraction Occupations | 115,800 | 0.95× | $61,730 | |
| Computer and Mathematical Occupations | 88,550 | 0.89× | $93,690 | |
| Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations | 82,870 | 0.96× | $36,580 | |
| Protective Service Occupations | 62,760 | 0.88× | $46,840 | |
| Personal Care and Service Occupations | 59,880 | 0.97× | $32,620 | |
| Community and Social Service Occupations | 49,900 | 0.99× | $49,540 | |
| Architecture and Engineering Occupations | 38,010 | 0.77× | $86,450 | |
| Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations | 34,140 | 0.88× | $50,790 | |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations | 22,860 | 0.82× | $75,870 | |
| Legal Occupations | 21,470 | 0.87× | $81,870 | |
| Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations | 6,630 | 0.81× | $38,040 |
Elsewhere on Missouri
Blank cells are estimates BLS did not release, usually because too few employers reported. They are shown as gaps rather than filled. Detailed occupations are included only where at least 1,000 people are employed, below which a quotient is survey noise. A wage marked “$239,200 or more” is censored at source: BLS does not publish medians above that figure, so the number is a floor rather than the wage. A work of the U.S. government: no copyright subsists (17 U.S.C. §105). BLS OEWS ↗