Visualized: Every State’s Most Common Job in 1998 vs. 2024

Visualized: Every State’s Most Common Job in 1998 vs. 2024

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1998 was a long time ago.

The first Matrix movie hadn’t yet released, the internet was still the purview of the Western world, and e-commerce giant Amazon was only five years old.

For obvious reasons, the U.S. labor market back then was different—but exactly how different?

This graphic compares the most common jobs in each U.S. state between 1998 to 2024, measured by the number of people employed in each category. Data for this visualization comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Only the largest job category was chosen for each state, and several categories came within close ties of each other. Furthermore, the source does not collect estimates for the agriculture sector.

America’s Most Common Jobs in 1998, Listed

In 1998, retail salespersons were the most common job in 39 states.

Cashiers took the top spot in seven others, showing the strength of consumer-facing roles during a booming retail era.

State	Most Common Job (1998)	# of Jobs (1998)	Most Common Job (2024)	# of Jobs (2024)
Alabama	Cashiers	64,990	Retail Salespersons	60,330
Alaska	Retail Salespersons	7,650	Retail Salespersons	7,790
Arizona	Cashiers	52,950	Ops Managers	100,340
Arkansas	Retail Salespersons	38,950	Fast Food Workers	36,150
California	Retail Salespersons	429,600	Home Health Aides	875,110
Colorado	Retail Salespersons	73,680	Fast Food Workers	77,500
Connecticut	General Managers	54,300	Ops Managers	46,780
Delaware	General Managers	12,950	Fast Food Workers	13,800
District of Columbia	Secretaries	23,590	Ops Specialists	38,240
Florida	Retail Salespersons	239,940	Retail Salespersons	325,960
Georgia	Retail Salespersons	114,920	Fast Food Workers	151,240
Guam	Retail Salespersons	2,860	Cashiers	1,960
Hawaii	Retail Salespersons	22,180	Fast Food Workers	25,850
Idaho	General Managers	19,130	Ops Managers	30,600
Illinois	General Managers	184,490	Freight Movers	183,590
Indiana	Retail Salespersons	86,310	Fast Food Workers	101,500
Iowa	Retail Salespersons	45,820	Cashiers	43,160
Kansas	Retail Salespersons	41,070	Fast Food Workers	45,420
Kentucky	Cashiers	50,910	Ops Managers	58,570
Louisiana	Cashiers	58,180	Retail Salespersons	51,540
Maine	Cashiers	17,910	Home Health Aides	18,080
Maryland	Retail Salespersons	83,900	Ops Managers	91,810
Massachusetts	Retail Salespersons	96,300	Home Health Aides	108,090
Michigan	Retail Salespersons	142,220	Assemblers	124,340
Minnesota	Retail Salespersons	83,040	Home Health Aides	120,390
Mississippi	Cashiers	38,030	Retail Salespersons	36,330
Missouri	Retail Salespersons	80,770	Ops Managers	105,210
Montana	Retail Salespersons	13,960	Fast Food Workers	15,940
Nebraska	General Managers	27,760	Fast Food Workers	28,360
Nevada	Cashiers	37,890	Freight Movers	53,660
New Hampshire	Retail Salespersons	25,940	Ops Managers	21,180
New Jersey	Retail Salespersons	113,890	Home Health Aides	105,460
New Mexico	Retail Salespersons	24,370	Home Health Aides	37,360
New York	Retail Salespersons	229,620	Home Health Aides	623,000
North Carolina	Retail Salespersons	116,680	Retail Salespersons	126,060
North Dakota	Retail Salespersons	12,140	Ops Managers	11,660
Ohio	Retail Salespersons	165,290	Fast Food Workers	167,650
Oklahoma	Retail Salespersons	45,860	Fast Food Workers	53,380
Oregon	Retail Salespersons	53,300	Fast Food Workers	58,150
Pennsylvania	Retail Salespersons	176,330	Home Health Aides	242,570
Puerto Rico	Freight Movers	34,560	Retail Salespersons	42,070
Rhode Island	Retail Salespersons	13,340	Fast Food Workers	12,650
South Carolina	Retail Salespersons	59,230	Retail Salespersons	69,010
South Dakota	Retail Salespersons	12,480	Registered Nurses	14,500
Tennessee	Retail Salespersons	77,760	Freight Movers	111,240
Texas	General Managers	288,290	Ops Managers	454,720
Utah	Retail Salespersons	35,310	Fast Food Workers	50,980
Vermont	Retail Salespersons	8,630	Retail Salespersons	7,930
Virgin Islands	Retail Salespersons	1,860	Retail Salespersons	1,310
Virginia	Retail Salespersons	114,740	Fast Food Workers	103,390
Washington	Retail Salespersons	90,760	Home Health Aides	100,360
West Virginia	Retail Salespersons	23,450	Registered Nurses	21,740
Wisconsin	Retail Salespersons	77,080	Home Health Aides	80,050
Wyoming	Retail Salespersons	7,170	Retail Salespersons	9,190

Note: D.C., Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands have been included in this graphic and article. They have been referred to as states for general trend analysis.

The data reflects a time when brick-and-mortar stores and administrative support jobs were critical to state economies.

America’s Most Common Jobs in 2024, Listed

By 2024, fast food workers became the most common job in 15 states, overtaking retail in sheer prevalence.

This rise aligns with the growth of quick-service restaurants and a broader shift toward lower-wage, flexible service jobs.

Retail salespersons remain the top job in 11 states, while operations managers, home health aides, and freight movers have gained ground in several others.

Healthcare and Logistics Jobs in the 2020s

Notably, home health aides became the most common job in five states, including California and New York.

This highlights the aging U.S. population and rising demand for elder care services.

Meanwhile, freight movers and operations managers now top the charts in states like Illinois, Tennessee, and Texas. This signals that retail is still a strong sector, but the jobs have moved towards logistics and supply chain roles as in-person buying drops.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

These healthcare jobs are possibly the safest in an AI world. Check out Ranked: The Fastest Growing Jobs in the U.S. (2023-2033F) on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

• Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/each-states-most-common-job-1998-vs-2024/