The Top 5’s: Largest Occupations

Each year the Bureau of Labor and Statistics releases thousands of data sets relating to the job landscape across the US and its territories. In March of 2019, the latest report was released indicating which occupations represented the largest groups based on previous year data. For the United States as a whole, the top three largest occupations were: retail salespersons; combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food; and cashiers, totaling 11.7 million workers.

Key Takeaways

The top 3 largest occupations in the United States are Retail Salespersons, Combined Food Preparation and Serving Workers, including Fast Food, and Cashiers.
Breaking down the data by state reveals that almost every state features at least one of the top 3 largest occupations in their own state “top 5” list.
For most of the top jobs noted, it is likely that they are locally sourced with large retail companies often contracting with a firm to populate thousands of positions across various regions.

As we break down the data, we can begin to uncover a picture of the most prevalent occupations by state, which is generally a more accurate depiction of the types of jobs candidates will be seeking based on their location. Users can further break down top occupations by metro-areas within regions, important factors they will consider for commuting purposes, relocation, etc.

As we evaluate state-by-state, we found that almost every state, featured at least one of the top 3 largest occupations in their own state “top 5’ list. More than half of the US indicates that “retail salesperson” is the largest occupation, followed by 7 states noting “Cashier” as number one and “Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food” listed at the top spot for 4 states. In terms of wages for these largest occupations, according to the BLS “8 of the 10 largest occupations had below-average wages. Retail salespersons ($28,310), combined food preparation and serving workers ($22,140), and cashiers ($23,240) had annual mean wages significantly below the all-occupations average of $51,960.”

Traditionally, for most of the top jobs noted, it would be expected that they are locally sourced, through store job advertising and local searches. While many staffing agencies and recruitment processing outsourcing providers focus on job placements for specific industries like technology, healthcare, executive management, there are many that serve retail and service-based industries on a large scale. Large retail companies will often contract with a firm to populate thousands of positions across various regions, especially those seasonally-based, using localized marketing tactics to attract candidates.

Below we developed the following Top 5 Largest Occupations chart per state. It is interesting to see that nearly all states have similar variations of the largest occupations, despite geographical and regional differences. One notable exception, of course, is the District of Columbia.

5 facts to note:

32 states list Retails Salesperson as the #1 largest occupation (it appears on the top 5 list of 49 states)
46 states indicate Cashiers among the top 5 largest occupations
37 states indicate Combined Food Preparation and Serving Workers, Including Fast Food among the top 5 largest occupations
26 states indicate Registered Nurses (RNs) among the top 5 largest occupations
Occupations that only show up one time among all the top 5’s:
- Business Operations Specialists (D.C.)
- Lawyers (D.C.)
- Managers, all others (D.C.)
- Management Analysts (D.C.)
- Maid and Housekeeping Cleaners (HI)
- Home Health Aides (NY)
- Janitors and Cleaners, except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners (NY)
- Nursing Assistants (RNs)

State	Occupation 1	Occupation 2	Occupation 3	Occupation 4	Occupation 5
Alabama	Cashiers	Retail Salesperson	Food Prep and Servers	RNs	Secretaries & Admins (non-legal, med, or exec)
Alaska	Retail Salesperson	Office Clerks	General and Operations Mgrs	Secretaries & Admins (non-legal, med, or exec)	Cashiers
Arizona	Customer Service Reps	Retail Salesperson	Food Prep and Servers	Cashiers	RNs
Arkansas	Retail Salesperson	Food Prep and Servers	Heavy/Tractor Trailer Truck Drivers	Cashiers	Office Clerks
California	Personal Care Aides	Retail Salesperson	Cashiers	Food Prep and Servers	Laborers, Freight, Stock, Material Movers, Hand
Colorado	Retail Salesperson	Food Prep and Servers	Cashiers	RNs	Waiters and Waitresses
Connecticut	Cashiers	Retail Salesperson	RNs	Customer Service Reps	General and Operations Managers
Delaware	Retail Salesperson	Cashiers	RNs	Food Prep and Servers	Customer Service Reps
District of Columbia	Business Operations Specialists	Lawyers	General and Operational Mgr	Managers, all others	Management Analysts
Florida	Retail Salesperson	Customer Service Reps	Cashiers	Food Prep and Servers	Waiters and Waitresses
Georgia	Retail Salesperson	Food Prep and Servers	Laborers, Freight, Stock, Material Movers, Hand	Cashiers	Customer Service Reps
Hawaii	Retail Salesperson	Waiters and Waitresses	Cashiers	Food Prep and Servers	Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners
Idaho	Retail Salesperson	Customer Service Reps	Cashiers	Office Clerks	RNs
Illinois	Retail Salesperson	Office Clerks	Laborers, Freight, Stock, Material Movers, Hand	Food Prep and Servers	Cashiers
Indiana	Laborers, Freight, Stock, Material Movers, Hand	Assemblers and Fabricators	Food Prep and Servers	Retail Salesperson	Cashiers
Iowa	Cashiers	Retail Salesperson	Food Prep and Servers	Heavy/Tractor Trailer Truck Drivers	RNs
Kansas	Retail Salesperson	Food Prep and Servers	Customer Service Reps	Cashiers	Secretaries & Admins (non-legal, med, or exec)
Kentucky	Food Prep and Servers	Assemblers and Fabricators	Laborers, Freight, Stock, Material Movers, Hand	Retail Salesperson	Cashiers
Louisiana	Cashiers	Retail Salesperson	Laborers, Freight, Stock, Material Movers, Hand	RNs	Waiters and Waitresses
Maine	Retail Salesperson	Personal Care Aides	Cashiers	RNs	Waiters and Waitresses
Maryland	Cashiers	Retail Salesperson	Secretaries & Admins (non-legal, med, or exec)	Food Prep and Servers	RNs
Massachusetts	Retail Salesperson	RNs	General and Operations Managers	Personal Care Aides	Cashiers
Michigan	Retail Salesperson	Food Prep and Servers	Assemblers and Fabricators	RNs	Office Clerks
Minnesota	Retail Salesperson	Personal Care Aides	RNs	Food Prep and Servers	Cashiers
Mississippi	Cashiers	Retail Salesperson	Laborers, Freight, Stock, Material Movers, Hand	RNs	General and Operations Managers
Missouri	Retail Salesperson	Food Prep and Servers	Cashiers	RNs	Secretaries & Admins (non-legal, med, or exec)
Montana	Retail Salesperson	Cashiers	Office Clerks	Food Prep and Servers	Waiters and Waitresses
Nebraska	Retail Salesperson	Heavy/Tractor Trailer Truck Drivers	Food Prep and Servers	Cashiers	RNs
Nevada	Retail Salesperson	Food Prep and Servers	Waiters and Waitresses	Cashiers	Laborers, Freight, Stock, Material Movers, Hand
New Hampshire	Retail Salesperson	Cashiers	Office Clerks	Food Prep and Servers	Stock Clerks and Order Fillers
New Jersey	Laborers, Freight, Stock, Material Movers, Hand	Retail Salesperson	Cashiers	RNs	Customer Service Reps
New Mexico	Secretaries & Admins (non-legal, med, or exec)	Personal Care Aides	Retail Salesperson	Food Prep and Servers	Cashiers
New York	Retail Salesperson	Personal Care Aides	Cashiers	Home Health Aides	Janitors and Cleaners (except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners)
North Carolina	Food Prep and Servers	Retail Salesperson	Cashiers	RNs	Customer Service Reps
North Dakota	Retail Salesperson	Heavy/Tractor Trailer Truck Drivers	Cashiers	Office Clerks	RNs
Ohio	Food Prep and Servers	Retail Salesperson	RNs	Cashiers	Laborers, Freight, Stock, Material Movers, Hand
Oklahoma	Retail Salesperson	Cashiers	Food Prep and Servers	Laborers, Freight, Stock, Material Movers, Hand	Customer Service Reps
Oregon	Retail Salesperson	Cashiers	Food Prep and Servers	RNs	Office Clerks
Pennsylvania	Retail Salesperson	Office Clerks	Food Prep and Servers	Laborers, Freight, Stock, Material Movers, Hand	RNs
Rhode Island	Retail Salesperson	Cashiers	RNs	Office Clerks	Nursing Assistants
South Carolina	Food Prep and Servers	Retail Salesperson	Cashiers	Laborers, Freight, Stock, Material Movers, Hand	Customer Service Reps
South Dakota	Retail Salesperson	Cashiers	RNs	Bookkeeping, Accounting and Auditing Clerks	Customer Service Reps
Tennessee	Laborers, Freight, Stock, Material Movers, Hand	Retail Salesperson	Cashiers	Food Prep and Servers	Heavy/Tractor Trailer Truck Drivers
Texas	Retail Salesperson	Food Prep and Servers	Office Clerks	Customer Service Reps	Cashiers
Utah	Customer Service Reps	Retail Salesperson	General and Operations Manager	Food Prep and Servers	Office Clerks
Vermont	Cashiers	Retail Salespersons	Personal Care Aides	RNs	Food Prep and Servers
Virginia	Cashiers	Retail Salespersons	Food Prep and Servers	Office Clerks	Waiters and Waitresses
Washington	Retail Salespersons	Food Prep and Servers	Office Clerks	Laborers, Freight, Stock, Material Movers, Hand	Cashiers
West Virginia	Retail Salesperson	Food Prep and Servers	Cashiers	RNs	Office Clerks
Wisconsin	Retail Salesperson	Food Prep and Servers	Customer Service Reps	Personal Care Aides	Cashiers
Wyoming	Retail Salesperson	Office Clerks	Cashiers	Heavy/Tractor Trailer Truck Drivers	Food Prep and Servers

FAQs

What Are The 7 Types Of Occupations?

The seven types of occupations are: professional, technical and related, managerial and administrative, sales and related, administrative support, service, and farming, fishing, and forestry.

What can be learned from breaking down the data by state?

By breaking down the data by state, we can get a more accurate picture of the most prevalent occupations in each region. We can also see which of the top 3 largest occupations are the largest in each state.

What do the wages for these top 3 occupations look like?

According to the BLS, the annual mean wages for the top 3 occupations are significantly lower than the average for all occupations. Retail salespersons had an annual mean wage of $28,310; combined food preparation and serving workers had an annual mean wage of $22,140; and cashiers had an annual mean wage of $23,240. These wages are significantly lower than the all-occupations average of $51,960.

How are these jobs typically filled?

These jobs are typically filled through local job advertising and local searches. Large retail companies may contract with staffing agencies or recruitment processing outsourcing providers to populate thousands of positions across various regions.

How many states list Retail Salesperson as the #1 largest occupation?

32 states list Retail Salesperson as the #1 largest occupation. It appears on the top 5 list of 49 states.

About the Author, David Webb

David is the CEO of BrightMove and is a seasoned technology executive & entrepreneur noted for creating successful businesses. Over his 25+ year career, David has developed multi-platform expertise in the domains of computer science, data analytics & business transformation. Starting in 1995, David worked with his best friend, Jimmy Hurff, to develop one of the world's first Internet job board and resume bank applications. David is the primary architect of BrightMove and has an active role in the product's evolution to this day. From then to now, David has been consistently helping his customers to build great teams, using best practices and world-class technology.

The Top 5’s: Largest Occupations

Key Takeaways

5 facts to note:

FAQs

What Are The 7 Types Of Occupations?

What can be learned from breaking down the data by state?

What do the wages for these top 3 occupations look like?

How are these jobs typically filled?

How many states list Retail Salesperson as the #1 largest occupation?

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