Occupational profile · 2025
North Dakota
North Dakota employs 429,430 people. The work it does most unusually is wellhead pumpers, at 31.0× the national concentration — 1,540 jobs, 0.36% of everyone working here, paying a median of $79,820.
What North Dakota 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.
- 1Wellhead Pumpers1,540 jobs · median $79,82031.0×
- 2Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas3,000 jobs · median $60,81025.2×
- 3Roustabouts, Oil and Gas2,460 jobs · median $60,48019.8×
- 4Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators4,890 jobs · median $62,1503.7×
- 5Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines1,720 jobs · median $76,0303.5×
- 6Highway Maintenance Workers1,240 jobs · median $60,6302.9×
- 7Office and Administrative Support Workers, All Other1,510 jobs · median $54,2002.9×
- 8Childcare Workers4,030 jobs · median $30,2902.8×
- 9Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers2,590 jobs · median $62,0002.3×
- 10Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists1,790 jobs · median $66,1102.2×
- 11Tellers1,990 jobs · median $39,3002.2×
- 12Parts Salespersons1,610 jobs · median $48,6002.2×
All 12 together are 28,370 jobs — 6.61% of everyone working in North Dakota. That is what a location quotient does: it finds the sharpest corner of a workforce rather than the biggest one, so even North Dakota’s most distinctive occupation — Wellhead Pumpers at 31.0× the national rate — sits on 1,540 jobs. What the state is actually made of is the next section.
What North Dakota 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 | Jobs, relative to the largest group | Jobs | vs national | Median wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office and Administrative Support Occupations | 45,080 | 0.92× | $48,050 | |
| Transportation and Material Moving Occupations | 42,960 | 1.14× | $49,190 | |
| Sales and Related Occupations | 36,780 | 0.99× | $37,840 | |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations | 35,690 | 0.94× | $34,040 | |
| Construction and Extraction Occupations | 34,720 | 1.96× | $61,180 | |
| Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations | 30,480 | 1.12× | $79,920 | |
| Management Occupations | 26,920 | 0.88× | $103,440 | |
| Educational Instruction and Library Occupations | 25,050 | 1.00× | $55,140 | |
| Production Occupations | 23,910 | 1.01× | $50,750 | |
| Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations | 22,760 | 1.35× | $61,990 | |
| Business and Financial Operations Occupations | 22,100 | 0.76× | $76,870 | |
| Healthcare Support Occupations | 18,000 | 0.83× | $44,240 | |
| Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations | 13,120 | 1.04× | $37,950 | |
| Personal Care and Service Occupations | 11,840 | 1.32× | $33,430 | |
| Protective Service Occupations | 7,990 | 0.77× | $58,350 | |
| Computer and Mathematical Occupations | 6,920 | 0.48× | $81,970 | |
| Community and Social Service Occupations | 6,360 | 0.86× | $60,640 | |
| Architecture and Engineering Occupations | 6,030 | 0.83× | $85,170 | |
| Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations | 4,940 | 0.87× | $49,080 | |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations | 4,630 | 1.14× | $71,750 | |
| Legal Occupations | 2,170 | 0.60× | $81,110 | |
| Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations | 980 | 0.82× | $46,450 |
More on North Dakota
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