Occupational profile · 2025
Mississippi
Mississippi employs 1,163,030 people. The work it does most unusually is upholsterers, at 16.0× the national concentration — 2,410 jobs paying a median of $44,930.
What Mississippi 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.
- 1Upholsterers2,410 jobs · median $44,93016.0×
- 2Psychiatric Aides2,490 jobs · median $30,5109.4×
- 3Logging Equipment Operators1,220 jobs · median $49,6207.8×
- 4Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood1,910 jobs · median $36,9606.2×
- 5Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products1,140 jobs · median $30,1406.0×
- 6Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers6,470 jobs · median $37,8905.9×
- 7First-Line Supervisors of Gambling Services Workers1,030 jobs · median $58,0105.3×
- 8Gambling Dealers2,730 jobs · median $28,2504.3×
- 9Millwrights1,280 jobs · median $58,2804.2×
- 10Highway Maintenance Workers4,160 jobs · median $35,1203.6×
- 11Sewing Machine Operators2,270 jobs · median $37,6002.9×
- 12Helpers--Production Workers3,540 jobs · median $33,8802.9×
What Mississippi 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 | 146,470 | 1.10× | $38,210 | |
| Transportation and Material Moving Occupations | 122,680 | 1.20× | $37,940 | |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations | 109,560 | 1.07× | $24,280 | |
| Sales and Related Occupations | 108,970 | 1.09× | $30,340 | |
| Production Occupations | 98,260 | 1.53× | $41,000 | |
| Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations | 86,090 | 1.17× | $66,630 | |
| Educational Instruction and Library Occupations | 69,600 | 1.02× | $49,290 | |
| Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations | 58,320 | 1.28× | $49,130 | |
| Healthcare Support Occupations | 51,050 | 0.86× | $29,360 | |
| Construction and Extraction Occupations | 49,640 | 1.03× | $46,800 | |
| Business and Financial Operations Occupations | 48,720 | 0.62× | $66,540 | |
| Management Occupations | 47,430 | 0.57× | $96,610 | |
| Protective Service Occupations | 33,630 | 1.19× | $37,390 | |
| Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations | 33,600 | 0.99× | $28,910 | |
| Personal Care and Service Occupations | 23,470 | 0.96× | $26,970 | |
| Community and Social Service Occupations | 17,620 | 0.88× | $46,530 | |
| Computer and Mathematical Occupations | 15,920 | 0.40× | $75,000 | |
| Architecture and Engineering Occupations | 14,360 | 0.73× | $81,750 | |
| Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations | 9,010 | 0.59× | $43,580 | |
| Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations | 8,200 | 0.74× | $64,770 | |
| Legal Occupations | 6,140 | 0.63× | $62,130 | |
| Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations | 4,300 | 1.32× | $37,510 |
Elsewhere on Mississippi
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 ↗