Occupational profile · 2025
Washington
Washington employs 3,550,970 people. The work it does most unusually is avionics technicians, at 7.9× the national concentration — 3,400 jobs paying a median of $91,380.
What Washington 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.
- 1Avionics Technicians3,400 jobs · median $91,3807.9×
- 2Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technologists and Technicians1,590 jobs · median $125,1606.2×
- 3Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers4,280 jobs · median $110,4705.5×
- 4Tapers1,550 jobs · median $79,0405.3×
- 5Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products2,830 jobs · median $34,9504.9×
- 6Web and Digital Interface Designers11,580 jobs · median $130,4804.5×
- 7Statisticians2,960 jobs · median $105,6504.5×
- 8Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists1,840 jobs · median $83,7804.4×
- 9Nuclear Engineers1,380 jobs · median $129,4804.0×
- 10Aerospace Engineers5,760 jobs · median $158,3703.7×
- 11Epidemiologists1,010 jobs · median $108,2403.7×
- 12Barbers1,220 jobs · median $61,1503.6×
What Washington 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 | 372,400 | 0.92× | $56,660 | |
| Transportation and Material Moving Occupations | 298,930 | 0.96× | $50,500 | |
| Business and Financial Operations Occupations | 295,720 | 1.23× | $98,030 | |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations | 294,700 | 0.94× | $44,590 | |
| Sales and Related Occupations | 294,020 | 0.96× | $47,510 | |
| Computer and Mathematical Occupations | 239,720 | 2.00× | $136,830 | |
| Educational Instruction and Library Occupations | 199,230 | 0.96× | $66,420 | |
| Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations | 192,470 | 0.86× | $108,780 | |
| Healthcare Support Occupations | 188,800 | 1.05× | $48,400 | |
| Management Occupations | 181,480 | 0.71× | $159,990 | |
| Construction and Extraction Occupations | 167,890 | 1.14× | $75,500 | |
| Production Occupations | 159,640 | 0.82× | $55,380 | |
| Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations | 133,880 | 0.96× | $69,090 | |
| Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations | 96,610 | 0.93× | $45,760 | |
| Architecture and Engineering Occupations | 78,360 | 1.31× | $112,400 | |
| Protective Service Occupations | 77,850 | 0.90× | $62,090 | |
| Personal Care and Service Occupations | 69,570 | 0.94× | $47,150 | |
| Community and Social Service Occupations | 68,110 | 1.12× | $67,650 | |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations | 46,720 | 1.39× | $94,160 | |
| Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations | 46,490 | 0.99× | $64,850 | |
| Legal Occupations | 26,640 | 0.89× | $107,090 | |
| Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations | 21,740 | 2.19× | $40,330 |
Elsewhere on Washington
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 ↗