Across the U.S. there are certain occupations that dominate the workforce, with huge numbers of workers taking on these roles. They may be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a ‘typical’ job.
In this analysis, we’ve used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to put together a list of the most common jobs in America, including the most popular jobs in each state. We’ve also analyzed average salaries, typical responsibilities, and predicted employment changes for these popular occupations.
Contents
Key Statistics
- The most common job in America is retail salesperson, with over 3.76 million people in this role across the U.S.
- Retail salesperson is the most common job in 14 states, with the highest number of these workers (298,000) working in Florida.
- Of the top 20 most common jobs in America, general and operations managers had the highest median salary at $98,100, while fast food and counter workers had the lowest at $27,930.
- Fast food and counter worker is the most common job in nine states, with most workers in this role working in Ohio (136,220).
- The average salary across all 20 of the most popular jobs in the U.S. is $45,309.
- While retail salesperson is the most common job, it comes 16th out of 20 in terms of salary compared to the rest of the most popular jobs ($30,600).
- The role of nurse practitioner is expected to grow the most over the next few years, with a predicted employment increase of 44.5% in this occupation by 2032.
- Data entry keyers are expected to see the largest decline in employment between now and 2032, with a predicted 26% reduction in workers in these roles.
- Retail salesperson has been the top most common job in the U.S. since 1997.
The top 20 most common jobs in the U.S.
The most common job in America is retail salesperson, with 3.76 million people in these jobs. These people work in a variety of retail environments, interacting with customers and demonstrating merchandise.
Other popular jobs include fast food and counter workers, office clerks, and elementary and middle school teachers.
The table below shows the full list of the top 20 most common jobs in America.
| Rank | Occupation | Number of workers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Retail salespersons | 3,765,600 |
| 2 | Home health and personal care aides | 3,715,500 |
| 3 | General and operations managers | 3,507,800 |
| 4 | Fast food and counter workers | 3,410,100 |
| 5 | Cashiers | 3,365,200 |
| 6 | Registered nurses | 3,172,500 |
| 7 | Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers | 2,988,500 |
| 8 | Customer service representatives | 2,982,900 |
| 9 | Stockers and order fillers | 2,851,600 |
| 10 | Cooks | 2,729,300 |
| 11 | Office clerks, general | 2,668,200 |
| 12 | Waiters and waitresses | 2,194,100 |
| 13 | Elementary and middle school teachers | 2,061,600 |
| 14 | Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive | 2,030,200 |
| 15 | Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks | 1,735,800 |
| 16 | Miscellaneous healthcare support occupations | 1,661,700 |
| 17 | Maintenance and repair workers, general | 1,607,200 |
| 18 | First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers | 1,567,200 |
| 19 | Accountants and auditors | 1,538,400 |
| 20 | Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators | 1,500,400 |
Source [1]
Responsibilities of the most popular jobs
We know what the most common job roles in the U.S. are, but what exactly do these jobs entail? And what requirements are there for entering these occupations? Let’s take a look at the responsibilities of the top five jobs in more detail.
Retail salespersons
A retail salesperson’s job involves interacting with customers and demonstrating and explaining merchandise like clothing, electronics, furniture, and motor vehicles. Someone in this role could work in an environment like a retail store or an auto dealership.
Usually, there are no formal education requirements to become a retail salesperson, and most training takes place on the job.
Home health and personal care aides
The role of home health and personal care aides is to help people with disabilities or chronic illnesses by monitoring their conditions and helping them with day-to-day activities. This can include personal care, arranging transportation, organizing appointments, and performing housekeeping tasks. These workers may work in clients’ homes, group homes, or at day service programs.
Someone wanting to work as a home health or personal care aide will usually need a high school diploma or equivalent, and those working in certified agencies may need to complete formal training.
General and operations managers
A person working as a general or operations manager will typically plan, direct, and coordinate the operations of a business, usually overseeing multiple locations or departments. Responsibilities include creating policies, and managing the company’s daily operations but can be much more varied and involve management of other staff members.
Training and qualifications required to be a general or operations manager can vary greatly depending on different industries and employer preferences.
Fast food and counter workers
Responsibilities for fast food and counter workers involve taking orders and serving food and drinks at counters or steam tables, as well as preparing food and drinks for customers. These workers usually work in fast-food restaurants and other eateries, they could also work in school cafeterias or similar establishments.
Most food counter workers will learn their role on the job, and there are typically no requirements for formal education to enter this occupation.
Cashiers
The work of a cashier involves processing payments from customers who are buying goods and services. They will usually work in retail establishments like grocery stores, gas stations, and other stores selling a variety of merchandise.
Cashiers are trained on the job and you generally don’t need any formal qualifications to become a cashier.
Most common jobs by state
The top job in the U.S., retail salesperson, is the most common job in 14 states, with the highest number of these workers (298,000) working in Florida.
Fast food and counter worker is the most popular job in nine states including Washington and Virginia, with most working in Ohio (136,220).
The table below shows the full breakdown of the most common jobs in the U.S. by state.
| State | Most common job role | Number of workers |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Retail salesperson | 58,770 |
| Alaska | Retail salesperson | 8,230 |
| Arizona | Customer service representative | 106,950 |
| Arkansas | Fast food and counter worker | 36,520 |
| California | Home health and personal care aide | 773,350 |
| Colorado | Retail salesperson | 80,000 |
| Connecticut | General and operations manager | 42,090 |
| Delaware | Retail salesperson | 13,440 |
| Washington DC | Business operations specialist | 36,950 |
| Florida | Retail salesperson | 298,000 |
| Georgia | Retail salesperson | 137,880 |
| Hawaii | Fast food and counter worker | 20,340 |
| Idaho | General and operations manager | 24,790 |
| Illinois | Laborers and freight, stock and material mover, hand | 204,710 |
| Indiana | Laborers and freight, stock and material mover, hand | 103,050 |
| Iowa | Cashier | 47,090 |
| Kansas | Fast food and counter worker | 34,720 |
| Kentucky | Laborers and freight, stock and material mover, hand | 57,340 |
| Louisiana | Cashier | 58,890 |
| Maine | Retail salesperson | 17,420 |
| Maryland | General and operations manager | 78,370 |
| Massachusetts | General and operations manager | 119,850 |
| Michigan | Miscellaneous assembler and fabricator | 118,400 |
| Minnesota | Home health and personal care aides | 106,640 |
| Mississippi | Cashier | 33,990 |
| Missouri | Home health and personal care aide | 79,840 |
| Montana | Fast food and counter worker | 15,110 |
| Nebraska | Fast food and counter worker | 25,270 |
| Nevada | Laborers and freight, stock and material mover, hand | 42,470 |
| New Hampshire | Retail salesperson | 18,730 |
| New Jersey | Retail salesperson | 104,660 |
| New Mexico | Home health and personal care aide | 35,740 |
| New York | Home health and personal care aide | 504,160 |
| North Carolina | Cashier | 127,220 |
| North Dakota | Retail salesperson | 11,500 |
| Ohio | Fast food and counter worker | 136,220 |
| Oklahoma | Retail salesperson | 42,410 |
| Oregon | Fast food and counter worker | 52,490 |
| Pennsylvania | Home health and personal care aide | 193,930 |
| Rhode Island | Retail salesperson | 11,800 |
| South Carolina | Retail salesperson | 63,890 |
| South Dakota | Registered nurse | 14,360 |
| Tennessee | Laborers and freight, stock and material mover, hand | 91,980 |
| Texas | General and operations manager | 418,050 |
| Utah | General and operations manager | 60,960 |
| Vermont | General and operations manager | 8,500 |
| Virginia | Fast food and counter worker | 94,940 |
| Washington | Fast food and counter worker | 98,870 |
| West Virginia | Registered nurse | 21,110 |
| Wisconsin | Home health and personal care aide | 76,260 |
| Wyoming | Retail salesperson | 8,490 |
Source [2]
Median salaries of America’s most common jobs
Salaries vary considerably across the top 20 most common jobs. General and operations managers have the highest median salary at $98,100, followed by registered nurses with $81,220. Fast food and counter workers have the lowest median salary across the U.S. at $27,930, followed by cashiers at $28,730, and waiters and waitresses at $29,120.
The average salary across all 20 of the most popular jobs is $45,309.
| Rank | Occupation | Median salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | General and operations managers | $98,100 |
| 2 | Registered nurses | $81,220 |
| 3 | Accountants and auditors | $78,000 |
| 4 | First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers | $61,370 |
| 5 | Elementary and middle school teachers | $61,150 |
| 6 | Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks | $45,860 |
| 7 | Maintenance and repair workers, general | $44,980 |
| 8 | Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive | $41,000 |
| 9 | Office clerks, general | $38,040 |
| 10 | Customer service representatives | $37,780 |
| 11 | Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators | $37,280 |
| 12 | Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand | $36,110 |
| 13 | Stockers and order fillers | $34,220 |
| 14 | Miscellaneous healthcare support occupations | $33,600 |
| 15 | Cooks | $30,910 |
| 16 | Retail salespersons | $30,600 |
| 17 | Home health and personal care aides | $30,180 |
| 18 | Waiters and waitresses | $29,120 |
| 19 | Cashiers | $28,730 |
| 20 | Fast food and counter workers | $27,930 |
Source [3]
Job outlooks for America’s most common roles
While these roles make up the list of most popular jobs right now, the employment landscape in the U.S. is ever-changing, with some of these common jobs expected to surge in popularity over the next ten years, while others are predicted to drop.
Of the top 20 jobs, the role of home health and personal care aide is expected to increase the most over the next ten years, with a 21.7% increase in employment in these roles by 2032. On the flip side, secretaries and administrative assistants (not including legal, medical and executive) can expect a decrease in employment of 11.6%.
| Job Role | Predicted change in employment (2022-2032) |
|---|---|
| Home health and personal care aides | 21.7% |
| Miscellaneous healthcare support occupations | 10.4% |
| Cooks | 6.4% |
| Stockers and order fillers | 6.3% |
| Registered nurses | 5.6% |
| Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand | 5.3% |
| Accountants and auditors | 4.4% |
| General and operations managers | 4.2% |
| Maintenance and repair workers, general | 3.6% |
| Fast food and counter workers | 1.5% |
| Elementary and middle school teachers | 0.7% |
| Retail salespersons | -2.1% |
| Waiters and waitresses | -3.1% |
| First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers | -5.2% |
| Customer service representatives | -5.5% |
| Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks | -6.2% |
| Office clerks, general | -6.6% |
| Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators | -7.5% |
| Cashiers | -10.4% |
| Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive | -11.6% |
Source [1]
Occupations with the largest job growth
We’ve also looked at the jobs that are most popular in the U.S. at the moment, but what about jobs that are expected to grow in popularity in the next few years?
The job expected to grow the most between now and 2032 is nurse practitioners, with a predicted 44.5% increase in workers in this role over this period. That amounts to an additional 118,600 nurse practitioners in the workforce by 2032. This is followed by data scientists (35.2%) and information security analysts (31.5%)
When looking at the increase in employment by the total number of workers, home health and personal care aides come top with an expected 804,600 more workers in these roles by 2032.
| Occupation | Predicted growth by 2032 | Additional workers expected by 2032 |
|---|---|---|
| Nurse practitioners | 44.5% | 118,600 |
| Data scientists | 35.2% | 59,400 |
| Information security analysts | 31.5% | 53,200 |
| Medical and health services managers | 28.4% | 144,700 |
| Software developers | 25.7% | 410,400 |
| Home health and personal care aides | 21.7% | 804,600 |
| Cooks, restaurant | 20.4% | 277,600 |
| Substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors | 18.4% | 71,500 |
| Financial managers | 16.0% | 126,600 |
| Animal caretakers | 15.5% | 52,500 |
| Computer and information systems managers | 15.4% | 86,000 |
| Industrial machinery mechanics | 14.9% | 59,900 |
| Medical assistants | 13.9% | 105,900 |
| Market research analysts and marketing specialists | 13.4% | 116,600 |
| Light truck drivers | 11.5% | 133,800 |
| Management analysts | 9.7% | 95,700 |
| Computer systems analysts | 9.6% | 51,100 |
| Lawyers | 7.5% | 62,400 |
| Stockers and order fillers | 6.3% | 178,600 |
| Project management specialists | 6.2% | 54,700 |
| Human resources specialists | 5.9% | 51,400 |
Source [1]
Occupations with the largest job decline
The occupation expected to see the largest decline in employment is data entry keyers, with a predicted loss of 26% of workers (or 43,100 workers in total) by 2032. Other roles expecting heavy declines in the coming years are legal secretaries and administrative assistants (-21.8%), and telemarketers (-20.6%).
The role of cashier is expected to lose the most total workers at an estimated reduction of 348,100 from 2022 to 2032.
| Occupation | Predicted decline by 2032 | Loss of workers expected by 2032 |
|---|---|---|
| Data entry keyers | -26.0% | -43,100 |
| Legal secretaries and administrative assistants | -21.8% | -35,300 |
| Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants | -21.1% | -108,100 |
| Telemarketers | -20.6% | -20,100 |
| Order clerks | -18.2% | -24,200 |
| Payroll and timekeeping clerks | -16.4% | -27,200 |
| Sewing machine operators | -15.2% | -21,600 |
| Tellers | -14.5% | -52,900 |
| Cooks, fast food | -13.7% | -101,600 |
| Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive | -11.6% | -235,900 |
| Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic | -10.9% | -20,100 |
| Cashiers | -10.4% | -348,100 |
| Bill and account collectors | -9.6% | -20,100 |
| Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks | -8.4% | -72,200 |
| Chief executives | -8.2% | -23,000 |
| Buyers and purchasing agents | -7.7% | -38,000 |
| Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators | -7.5% | -111,800 |
| Correctional officers and jailers | -7.5% | -28,600 |
| First-line supervisors of retail sales workers | -6.7% | -94,000 |
| Postal service mail carriers | -6.7% | -21,000 |
| Office clerks, general | -6.6% | -175,400 |
Source [1]
The change in America’s most common jobs over time
The most common jobs in America today have not always been this way. While the retail salesperson has been the top job in the U.S. since at least 1997 (the oldest data available from the BLS), other jobs in the top 10 have changed over time. Cashiers, registered nurses, and waiters and waitresses have all remained in the top 10 most popular jobs during this time, but others have come and gone.
Cashier was the second most common job in America from 1997 until 2017 when it dropped to third. In 2022, cashier was fifth on the list of most popular U.S. occupations.
Largest growing jobs over time
Some jobs, like fast food and counter workers (previously classified as combined food preparation and serving workers) have grown steadily since 1997, with this occupation climbing up the top 10 list. In 2002, there were 2,000,070 people working this job, and this had grown to 3,410,100 in 2022.
The decline in job roles over time
Certain occupations like general office clerk have declined over time, and these roles may have been recategorized or merged into more defined roles like office manager or customer support roles. Others like secretaries may simply have become less common over time due to decreasing demand for these roles, or they may fall lower on the list due to other jobs becoming much more common.
Note: There may be some variation in job titles and roles included in each list as BLS classifications have changed over time.
Sources
[1] Employment by Detailed Occupation: U.S. BLS – https://www.bls.gov/emp/tables/emp-by-detailed-occupation.htm
[2] Charts of the Largest Occupations in Each Area: U.S. BLS – https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/area_emp_chart/area_emp_chart.htm
[3] Occupational Outlook Handbook: U.S. BLS – https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
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