Occupational concentration · 2025
What Each State Is For
Most state profiles report size, and size mostly restates population. The more useful question is what a state does that the rest of the country does not. A location quotient answers it directly: an occupation’s share of local jobs divided by its share of national jobs. Texas returns oil and gas. Kansas returns aircraft assembly. Every state returns something.
The signature occupation of every state
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 are drawn on a logarithmic scale, so equal ratios occupy equal width — without it the District of Columbia’s outlier would compress the other fifty states into nothing. Each row prints its exact figure. Ordered by distinctiveness, not by size.
| State | Most concentrated occupation | Concentration vs national | Jobs | Median wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DCDistrict of Columbia | Political Scientists | 3,070 | $152,530 | |
| WVWest Virginia | Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining | 1,250 | $74,950 | |
| MTMontana | Gambling and Sports Book Writers and Runners | 1,050 | $22,030 | |
| NDNorth Dakota | Wellhead Pumpers | 1,540 | $79,820 | |
| KSKansas | Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers | 9,710 | $59,850 | |
| OROregon | Personal Care and Service Workers, All Other | 22,930 | $41,600 | |
| LALouisiana | Extraction Workers, All Other | 1,650 | $48,070 | |
| NVNevada | First-Line Supervisors of Gambling Services Workers | 5,590 | $66,680 | |
| MAMassachusetts | Biochemists and Biophysicists | 14,890 | $131,600 | |
| MSMississippi | Upholsterers | 2,410 | $44,930 | |
| AKAlaska | Tour and Travel Guides | 1,660 | $44,210 | |
| WYWyoming | Roustabouts, Oil and Gas | 1,180 | $46,660 | |
| VTVermont | Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other | 2,850 | $53,150 | |
| GAGeorgia | Textile Winding, Twisting, and Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | 8,830 | $38,930 | |
| OKOklahoma | Gambling Surveillance Officers and Gambling Investigators | 1,310 | $36,000 | |
| NMNew Mexico | Computer Hardware Engineers | 5,260 | $165,350 | |
| IDIdaho | Forest and Conservation Technicians | 2,020 | $53,290 | |
| DEDelaware | Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers | 5,430 | $35,500 | |
| HIHawaii | Baggage Porters and Bellhops | 1,370 | $42,240 | |
| NENebraska | Slaughterers and Meat Packers | 5,480 | $48,910 | |
| MDMaryland | Healthcare Diagnosing or Treating Practitioners, All Other | 5,840 | $164,670 | |
| NJNew Jersey | Therapists, All Other | 7,090 | $100,250 | |
| MNMinnesota | Gambling Service Workers, All Other | 2,960 | $31,540 | |
| AZArizona | Continuous Mining Machine Operators | 2,850 | $60,880 | |
| ILIllinois | Mathematical Science Occupations, All Other | 1,320 | $81,090 | |
| TNTennessee | Entertainment Attendants and Related Workers, All Other | 1,230 | $29,890 | |
| KYKentucky | Aircraft Cargo Handling Supervisors | 1,010 | $52,530 | |
| IAIowa | Food Processing Workers, All Other | 5,210 | $41,740 | |
| WAWashington | Avionics Technicians | 3,400 | $91,380 | |
| ARArkansas | Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products | 1,650 | $35,310 | |
| SCSouth Carolina | Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | 1,500 | $39,760 | |
| SDSouth Dakota | Residential Advisors | 1,780 | $38,420 | |
| VAVirginia | Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic | 1,080 | $70,260 | |
| NCNorth Carolina | Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders | 2,730 | $36,700 | |
| ALAlabama | Logging Equipment Operators | 1,860 | $47,810 | |
| TXTexas | Wellhead Pumpers | 10,250 | $75,860 | |
| UTUtah | Umpires, Referees, and Other Sports Officials | 1,100 | $31,430 | |
| COColorado | Atmospheric and Space Scientists | 1,150 | $104,670 | |
| INIndiana | Fiberglass Laminators and Fabricators | 2,010 | $45,820 | |
| MIMichigan | Tool and Die Makers | 9,420 | $65,590 | |
| WIWisconsin | Print Binding and Finishing Workers | 3,560 | $43,400 | |
| NYNew York | Word Processors and Typists | 12,340 | $48,400 | |
| CACalifornia | Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse | 172,260 | $35,580 | |
| CTConnecticut | Actuaries | 1,380 | $166,800 | |
| MOMissouri | Cooks, Fast Food | 55,780 | $29,890 | |
| MEMaine | Helpers--Electricians | 1,000 | $46,550 | |
| NHNew Hampshire | Cooks, Short Order | 2,320 | $32,330 | |
| OHOhio | Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Operators | 21,250 | $49,160 | |
| FLFlorida | Motorboat Mechanics and Service Technicians | 4,810 | $55,680 | |
| PAPennsylvania | Shampooers | 1,000 | $26,130 | |
| RIRhode Island | Fundraisers | 1,000 | $75,410 |
How this is built
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 high quotient is not praise and a low one is not criticism: it measures how unusual a state’s mix of work is, and says nothing about whether that work pays well, is growing, or is worth building more of. The wage column is placed beside it precisely so the two are not confused. A work of the U.S. government: no copyright subsists (17 U.S.C. §105). BLS OEWS ↗