Most Common Jobs in the US
Answer
Home Health and Personal Care Aides (4,305,810), Retail Salespersons (3,897,860), Fast Food and Counter Workers (3,854,050) top this list. These are the occupations with the most workers in May 2025. Retail, food service, care work and logistics dominate, and many of them pay below the national median wage.
How this ranking works
Includes: All detailed occupations. Ranked by: Employment, May 2025. Data: BLS OEWS, May 2025. Occupations without a published median and the residual “all other” categories are left out. Methodology
| 1 | Home Health and Personal Care Aides | 4,305,810 | $35,800 | $17.21 | High school diploma or equivalent | +18.1% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Retail Salespersons | 3,897,860 | $35,410 | $17.03 | No formal educational credential | −0.3% |
| 3 | Fast Food and Counter Workers | 3,854,050 | $31,200 | $15.00 | No formal educational credential | +5.8% |
| 4 | General and Operations Managers | 3,503,020 | $105,770 | $50.85 | Bachelor's degree | +5.0% |
| 5 | Registered Nurses | 3,379,720 | $97,550 | $46.90 | Bachelor's degree | +5.6% |
| 6 | Cashiers | 3,089,410 | $32,880 | $15.81 | No formal educational credential | −6.5% |
| 7 | Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand | 2,950,280 | $40,240 | $19.35 | No formal educational credential | +1.8% |
| 8 | Stockers and Order Fillers | 2,833,810 | $37,330 | $17.95 | No formal educational credential | +8.9% |
| 9 | Customer Service Representatives | 2,595,750 | $44,770 | $21.53 | High school diploma or equivalent | −5.3% |
| 10 | Office Clerks, General | 2,464,940 | $45,010 | $21.64 | High school diploma or equivalent | −6.0% |
| 11 | Waiters and Waitresses | 2,270,910 | $35,230 | $16.94 | No formal educational credential | +2.0% |
| 12 | Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners | 2,209,760 | $36,840 | $17.71 | No formal educational credential | +2.2% |
| 13 | Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers | 2,062,040 | $58,640 | $28.19 | Postsecondary nondegree award | +3.8% |
| 14 | Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 1,706,790 | $47,540 | $22.86 | High school diploma or equivalent | −6.0% |
| 15 | Software Developers | 1,687,890 | $135,980 | $65.38 | Bachelor's degree | +10.2% |
| 16 | Maintenance and Repair Workers, General | 1,529,700 | $49,590 | $23.84 | High school diploma or equivalent | +4.2% |
| 17 | Accountants and Auditors | 1,449,500 | $83,680 | $40.23 | Bachelor's degree | +5.0% |
| 18 | Nursing Assistants | 1,448,910 | $42,260 | $20.32 | Postsecondary nondegree award | +2.6% |
| 19 | First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers | 1,436,680 | $69,500 | $33.41 | High school diploma or equivalent | +0.1% |
| 20 | Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary | 1,420,350 | $36,780 | — | Some college, no degree | −0.3% |
| 21 | Cooks, Restaurant | 1,409,890 | $37,390 | $17.98 | No formal educational credential | +12.1% |
| 22 | Miscellaneous Assemblers and Fabricators | 1,405,030 | $44,650 | $21.47 | High school diploma or equivalent | +1.1% |
| 23 | Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education | 1,388,390 | $63,970 | — | Bachelor's degree | −0.4% |
| 24 | Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks | 1,373,680 | $50,670 | $24.36 | Some college, no degree | −5.6% |
| 25 | Security Guards | 1,283,470 | $38,020 | $18.28 | High school diploma or equivalent | +0.9% |
| 26 | Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel | 1,256,010 | $69,990 | $33.65 | High school diploma or equivalent | +2.7% |
| 27 | Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products | 1,238,190 | $72,080 | $34.65 | High school diploma or equivalent | −0.9% |
| 28 | First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers | 1,223,240 | $44,080 | $21.19 | High school diploma or equivalent | +5.4% |
| 29 | First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers | 1,121,800 | $48,520 | $23.33 | High school diploma or equivalent | −3.7% |
| 30 | Construction Laborers | 1,096,780 | $47,120 | $22.66 | No formal educational credential | +7.3% |
| 31 | Project Management Specialists | 1,066,670 | $102,320 | $49.19 | Bachelor's degree | +6.7% |
| 32 | Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education | 1,065,210 | $72,040 | — | Bachelor's degree | −0.2% |
| 33 | Light Truck Drivers | 983,300 | $44,860 | $21.57 | High school diploma or equivalent | +6.3% |
| 34 | Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants | 961,610 | $45,930 | $22.08 | High school diploma or equivalent | +4.8% |
| 35 | Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers | 952,640 | $39,150 | $18.82 | No formal educational credential | +4.7% |
| 36 | Human Resources Specialists | 912,430 | $75,940 | $36.51 | Bachelor's degree | +6.4% |
| 37 | Receptionists and Information Clerks | 910,180 | $38,010 | $18.27 | High school diploma or equivalent | −1.7% |
| 38 | Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists | 899,580 | $78,760 | $37.87 | Bachelor's degree | +7.0% |
| 39 | Management Analysts | 898,280 | $101,860 | $48.97 | Bachelor's degree | +10.1% |
| 40 | Food Preparation Workers | 893,600 | $35,320 | $16.98 | No formal educational credential | −3.0% |
BLS OEWS, May 2025, national cross-industry estimates; projections and typical entry education from BLS Employment Projections 2025–35. Occupation names are the official BLS titles; linked names have a full pay and how-to-become page on this site.