The Most Common Jobs in the United States

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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 144.7 million total employees in the United States. What are the most common jobs in American? What are some typical professions in the US? Below list of the most common jobs in the US.

10 most common jobs in the United States

1. Retail Salespersons (Number employed: 3.66 million; Annual mean wage: $30,940; Median hourly wage: $13.02)
2. Fast Food and Counter Workers (Number employed: 3.45 million; Annual mean wage: $24,540; Median hourly wage: $11.47)
3. Cashiers (Number employed: 3.33 million; Annual mean wage: $25,710; Median hourly wage: $12.03)
4. Registered Nurses (Number employed: 2.99 million; Annual mean wage: $80,010; Median hourly wage: $36.22)
5. Customer Service Representatives (Number employed: 2.83 million, Annual mean wage: $38,510; Median hourly wage: $17.23)
6. Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand (Number employed: 2,81 million; Annual mean wage: $33,710; Median hourly wage: $14.96)
7. Office Clerks (Number employed: 2,79 million, Annual mean wage: $37,770, Median hourly wage: $16.98)
8. General and Operations Managers (Number employed: 2,35 million; Annual mean wage: $125,740; Median hourly wage: $49.83)
9. Stockers and Order Fillers (Number employed: 2,21 million; Annual mean wage: $31,010; Median hourly wage: $14.03)
10. Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners (Number employed: 2 million; Annual mean wage: $31,410; Median hourly wage: $13.98)

These 10 largest occupations in America employ some 30 million workers.

Most common jobs by U.S. State

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the retail industry is regular in 33 out of the 50 US states.

Below is the map created by  FlowingData, using Current Population Survey data.

If a job was in the five most common for a state out of a possible 569, it appears here. Every unique position gets a map. Jobs were ranged from most national to most state-specific from top to bottom.

The Most Common Jobs By U.S. County

The map below shows US counties’ most common job types using data from the County Business Patterns survey. Counties are colored by North American Industry Classification System codes.

Health care and social assistance jobs are the most common at the county level in more than 1200 counties, followed by manufacturing and retail trade.

The Most Common Jobs By US County (1998 -2017)

Taken together, 20 years of County Business Patterns survey estimates show an American economy that has changed dramatically. Estimates in 1998 show a majority of American workers employed in manufacturing and less than 20% in health care and social assistance jobs. Twenty years later, this percentage has flipped.