12 Occupational Outlook Quarterly • Fall 2010

Mapping out a career:

An analysis of

geographic concentration 

of occupations
Fall 2010 • Occupational Outlook Quarterly 13

Do you thrive on the excitement of a big city, 

or do you enjoy waking up to a quiet country 

morning? Do you anticipate relocating 

frequently, finding a new job each time you move? 

Do you really love New York—or Orlando? If these 

types of lifestyle considerations are important to you, 

then the location of jobs might affect your career choice.

Not all occupations are created equal when it comes 

to geographic distribution. Some occupations are 

concentrated in relatively few geographic areas; others 

are spread more evenly across the United States. Specific 

occupations might be clustered in particular types of 

geographic settings, such as large urban areas or small 

rural ones. And some locations are especially likely 

to have a specific occupation—even areas that have 

relatively low overall employment. Audrey Watson

Audrey Watson 

is an economist 

in the Office of 

Occupational 

Statistics and 

Employment 

Projections, BLS. 

She is available 

at (202) 691-

5693 or watson.

audrey@bls.gov.
14 Occupational Outlook Quarterly • Fall 2010

This article examines the geographic 

concentration of occupations. The first section 

discusses occupations that are geographically concentrated, or not. The second section 

highlights occupations for which employment 

is concentrated in large, mid-sized, and small 

areas. The next section identifies smaller areas 

that are among the largest employers of specific occupations. The fourth section explains 

why studying geographic concentration is 

important in career planning. The final section 

suggests sources of additional information. 

Understanding 

geographic concentration

This article measures occupations’ geographic 

concentrations using 2009 data from the U.S. 

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program. 

The geographic concentration was determined 

by analyzing the percentage of occupational 

employment in the 10 locations in which 

employment was highest for that occupation. 

These locations are known as metropolitan 

statistical areas, geographic entities defined 

by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget 

for use by BLS and other Federal statistical 

agencies in collecting, tabulating, and publishing Federal statistics, and as OES-defined 

nonmetropolitan areas. 

Among the occupations selected, those 

designated as highly concentrated had more 

than 65 percent of their employment in their 

top 10 areas. Occupations with low geographic 

concentration had 20 percent or less of their 

total employment in their top 10 areas. 

Occupations with high

geographic concentration

Some occupations are more likely than others to be concentrated in specific areas. For 

example, 89 percent of political scientists 

worked in just a few areas in 2009—including 

more than two-thirds in the Washington, D.C., 

metropolitan area. 

The main reasons for occupational concentration are population density, location of 

natural resources or features, and a particular type of work that is distinct to an area. 

Selected occupations with high geographic 
Fall 2010 • Occupational Outlook Quarterly 15

concentrations in 2009 are shown in 

Table 1.

Population. Occupational 

concentration often corresponds to population. 

Sometimes, this concentration results from demands 

that are unique to large 

populations. 

For example, the 

more people who live 

and work in densely 

populated areas, the 

greater the need for 

public transportation. And 

because transit systems are 

in and around major cities, 

that’s where occupations associated with such systems are clustered: nearly all subway and streetcar 

operators—96 percent—were employed in 

just 10 areas in 2009. 

Natural resources or features. The 

natural resources or physical features of 

a locale can also determine occupational 

concentration. For example, mining 

is an activity that is concentrated 

in a specific area—in this 

case, one where minerals are 

located. As a result, among 

the most concentrated 

occupations in 2009 were 

several mining-related 

ones. These occupations 

are limited geographically by the need to be 

near the natural resource 

deposits being mined. 

Similarly, several 

occupations associated 

with water transportation 

are concentrated in areas near 

waterways and coasts, such as 

Seattle, Virginia Beach, and New 

Orleans. Some examples include 

marine engineers and naval architects, ship 

engineers, and sailors.

Type of work performed. Some occupations are highly concentrated because they 

are associated with industries in which related 

Selected occupations with high geographic concentrations, May 2009

Occupation Total U.S. 

employment

Percent of occupational 

employment in 10 areas with 

highest employment of occupation 

Subway and streetcar operators1 6,050 95.9

Political scientists1 3,970 89.2

Fashion designers1 15,780 78.0

Shuttle car operators2 3,520 77.0

Roof bolters, mining 5,470 75.7

Fabric and apparel patternmakers 6,640 68.8

Marine engineers and naval architects 5,270 68.7

Agents and business managers of 

artists, performers, and athletes1 11,700 68.4

Loading machine operators, 

underground mining2 3,570 68.4

Ship engineers 10,850 66.3

1

 This occupation is also in Table 4 because it is concentrated in large metropolitan areas.

2

 This occupation is also in Table 3 because it is concentrated in nonmetropolitan areas.

Table 1
16 Occupational Outlook Quarterly • Fall 2010

businesses benefit from locating near one 

another. The San Francisco Bay area attracted 

high-tech workers, for example, and that 

locale eventually became known as Silicon 

Valley because of the large cluster of technology companies there. 

Other occupations with high 

geographic concentrations 

include those related to fashion 

and entertainment. In 2009, 

New York and Los Angeles, two areas with high 

concentrations of appareland entertainment-related 

industries, had the highest 

employment of fashion 

designers, fabric and apparel 

patternmakers, and agents 

and business managers of artists, performers, and athletes.

Occupations with low

geographic concentrations

In contrast with occupations that 

are highly concentrated geographically, 

some occupations are widely dispersed. These 

are primarily occupations involving workers 

who are needed everywhere, such as postmasters, or workers whose jobs focus on rural or 

sparsely populated areas, such as foresters. 

Occupations with low geographic concentrations in 2009 are shown in Table 2. 

But total employment also matters in determining which occupations have low geographic 

concentrations. Large occupations—including retail salespersons, cashiers, and general 

office clerks, each with 2009 

total employment of at least 

2.8 million—are likely to 

appear in significant numbers in many areas, even if 

their geographic concentrations are somewhat higher 

than those of the occupations 

in the table.

Services needed everywhere. Residents in all types of 

areas need basic services (such as 

mail delivery, highway maintenance, 

and utilities), and several occupations with 

Selected occupations with low geographic concentrations, May 2009

Occupation Total U.S. 

employment

Percent of occupational 

employment in 10 areas with 

highest employment of occupation 

Postmasters and mail superintendents* 24,890 11.9

Agricultural inspectors 14,030 15.0

Highway maintenance workers 139,490 15.6

Foresters 10,230 15.9

Electrical power-line installers

and repairers 108,980 16.1

Correctional officers and jailers 455,350 16.7

Water and liquid waste treatment plant 

and system operators 109,090 16.9

Farm equipment mechanics* 30,250 17.3

Cooks, institution and cafeteria 383,540 18.0

Legislators 65,750 18.3

*This occupation is also in Table 3 because it is concentrated in nonmetropolitan areas.

Table 2
Fall 2010 • Occupational Outlook Quarterly 17

low geographic concentrations in 2009 are 

related to providing such services. These 

occupations include postmasters and mail 

superintendents, highway maintenance workers, and electrical power-line installers and 

repairers. 

Schools, nursing homes, retirement communities, and hospitals are spread out geographically—and these facilities need workers 

to prepare food for their students, residents, 

and patients. Consequently, institution and 

cafeteria cooks were more widely dispersed 

in 2009 than other food service occupations, 

most of which were employed primarily in 

restaurants and other eating places that benefit 

from having numerous customers living and 

working nearby. 

And correctional officers and their supervisors are geographically widespread. These 

occupations were among those with the lowest 

geographic concentrations in 2009.

Rural settings. Some occupations with 

low geographic concentrations exist, in part, 

because the nature of their work involves little 

residential population and a large area of land. 

These occupations are related to agriculture or 

natural resource conservation, such as agricultural inspectors, farm equipment mechanics, 

foresters, conservation scientists, and fish and 

game wardens. 

Does metro size matter?

Areas with the highest overall employment 

usually have the highest employment of most 

occupations. But not all metropolitan areas are 

alike in the types and numbers of occupations 

that are likely to be clustered together. Large, 

medium, and small metropolitan areas have 

different occupational concentrations. 

Nonmetropolitan areas accounted for less 

than 14 percent of total U.S. employment in 

2009 but contained the majority of employment in some occupations. (See Table 3.) 

As discussed previously, occupations found 

primarily in nonmetropolitan areas can be 

highly concentrated geographically because 

their job tasks are associated with natural 

resources (such as mining), or they can have 

low geographic concentrations because the 

Selected occupations concentrated in nonmetropolitan areas

Occupation Total U.S. 

employment

Percent of 

employment in 

nonmetropolitan 

areas 

Shuttle car operators1 3,520 77.2

Loading machine operators, underground mining1 3,570 74.3

Continuous mining machine operators 11,230 71.1

Fallers 6,480 69.6

Logging equipment operators 23,630 68.9

Log graders and scalers 2,940 60.8

Forest and conservation technicians 31,440 57.9

Postmasters and mail superintendents2 24,890 56.2

Slaughterers and meat packers 97,530 55.5

Farm equipment mechanics2 30,250 52.1

Percent of all employment in nonmetropolitan areas 13.5

1

 This occupation is also in Table 1 because it is highly concentrated geographically.

2

 This occupation is also in Table 2 because it has low geographic concentration.

Table 3
18 Occupational Outlook Quarterly • Fall 2010

services they provide are needed everywhere 

(such as mail delivery).

Large metro areas

The largest metropolitan areas—those with 

employment of 1 million or more—made up 

about 42 percent of total employment in 2009. 

However, some occupations are even more 

likely to be concentrated in large metropolitan 

areas, such as New York, Los Angeles, and 

Chicago. Some occupations that had twothirds or more of their 2009 employment in 

the largest metropolitan areas are shown in 

Table 4.

Several of these occupations also 

appeared among the most geographically 

concentrated occupations in Table 1. These 

occupations were not only geographically concentrated, they were concentrated precisely 

because they’re mainly in a small number of 

large urban areas.

Some of the occupations found primarily in these large areas are related to arts and 

entertainment. These include film and video 

editors, multi-media artists and animators, 

sound engineering technicians, producers 

Table 4

Selected occupations concentrated in large metropolitan areas

(employment ≥ 1 million), May 2009

Occupation Total U.S. 

employment

Percent of employment in 

large metropolitan areas 

Subway and streetcar operators* 6,050 86.3

Political scientists* 3,970 85.8

Flight attendants 95,810 83.7

Fashion designers* 15,780 75.8

Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers 74,420 73.6

Shampooers 16,170 70.9

Agents and business managers of artists, 

performers, and athletes* 11,700 69.9

Film and video editors 17,550 68.9

Brokerage clerks 62,470 66.8

Financial analysts 235,240 66.7

Percent of all employment in large metropolitan areas 41.6

* This occupation is also in Table 1 because it is highly concentrated geographically.
Fall 2010 • Occupational Outlook Quarterly 19

and directors, and actors. New York and Los 

Angeles had the highest employment of most 

of these occupations in 2009. 

Metropolitan areas often serve as busy 

hubs for air transportation. As a result, nearly 

74 percent of airline pilots, copilots, and flight 

engineers and 84 percent of flight attendants 

were employed in the largest of these areas in 

2009. New York City is a center of financial 

activity, so it is not surprising that brokerage 

clerks and financial analysts were particularly 

concentrated in that metropolitan area.

Two specialized personal care occupations, shampooers and manicurists and pedicurists, also had two-thirds or more of their 

2009 employment in the largest metropolitan 

areas. Although these workers are employed 

throughout the country, their jobs are more 

likely to be specialized where larger populations are served; in smaller areas, these workers’ tasks are often combined with duties of 

other personal care workers, such as hairstylists, hairdressers, and cosmetologists. 

Medium-sized metro areas

Metropolitan areas with employment between 

250,000 and 999,999 accounted for about 24 

percent of overall U.S. employment in 2009. 

(See Table 5.) However, concentration patterns in medium-sized metro areas are not as 

pronounced as those in large metro areas. 

Computer hardware engineers, nuclear 

engineers, and aerospace engineering and 

operations technicians are likely to be 

employed in medium-sized areas. And several 

occupations common in the insurance industry—insurance underwriters, correspondence 

Table 5

Selected occupations concentrated in medium-sized metropolitan areas

(250,000 ≤ employment < 1 million), May 2009

Occupation Total U.S. 

employment

Percent of employment 

in medium-sized 

metropolitan areas 

Semiconductor processors 25,750 47.4

Gaming supervisors 24,760 37.4

Bookbinders 6,430 35.0

Aerospace engineering and operations technicians 7,940 34.7

Medical appliance technicians 13,760 34.4

Tax examiners, collectors, and revenue agents 69,500 33.9

Gaming dealers 86,900 33.6

Computer hardware engineers 65,410 33.4

Nuclear engineers 16,710 32.3

Insurance underwriters 98,430 31.8

Percent of all employment in medium-sized metropolitan areas 23.9
20 Occupational Outlook Quarterly • Fall 2010

clerks, and insurance claims and policy 

processing clerks—had 30 percent or more of 

their employment in medium-sized metropolitan areas in 2009.

Small metro areas

Small metropolitan areas with employment of 

less than 250,000 made up about 20 percent of 

overall U.S. employment in 2009. (See Table 

6.) As with occupations in medium-sized 

areas, geographic concentration patterns in 

small metro areas are not as pronounced as 

those in large metro areas. 

For some of these occupations, possible 

reasons for geographic concentration in small 

metro areas may be more obvious. For example, nearly 55 percent of postsecondary forest 

and conservation science teachers worked 

Table 6

Selected occupations concentrated in small metropolitan areas

(employment < 250,000), May 2009

Occupation Total U.S. 

employment

Percent of employment in 

small metropolitan areas 

Forest and conservation science teachers, postsecondary 2,380 54.6

Tire builders 17,820 48.1

Agricultural sciences teachers, postsecondary 10,230 44.3

Home economics teachers, postsecondary 4,800 36.2

Textile winding, twisting, and drawing out machine 

setters, operators, and tenders 30,530 35.3

Atmospheric and space scientists 8,320 35.2

Textile knitting and weaving machine setters, operators, 

and tenders 24,530 33.1

Animal scientists 2,190 33.0

Agricultural and food science technicians 18,490 32.1

Library science teachers, postsecondary 3,940 32.0

Percent of all employment in small metropolitan areas 20.4
Fall 2010 • Occupational Outlook Quarterly 21

in small metropolitan areas in 2009—likely 

because of the occupations’ need to be near 

rural areas. Similarly, two science occupations 

related to agriculture and animal production—animal scientists and agriculture and 

food science technicians—had 30 percent 

or more of their 2009 employment in small 

metropolitan areas. 

But with other occupations, the reasons 

for concentration in small metro areas are not 

as apparent. For example, two occupations 

associated with textile and yarn production—

textile winding, twisting, and drawing out 

machine setters, operators, and tenders; and 

textile knitting and weaving machine setters, 

operators, and tenders—each had one-third 

or more of their employment in small metro 

areas in 2009. Because of increased competition arising from globalization, U.S. textile 

manufacturers remain primarily in small 

metro areas in the South, which often have 

lower labor costs than other areas.

Small area, 

high employment

Some relatively small metropolitan areas 

were among the largest employers of individual occupations in 2009. In many cases, 

this employment concentration results from 

unique circumstances for an occupation in 

its geographic location. 

For example, popular vacation destinations may be smaller cities but have higherthan-average employment of occupations 

related to tourism and traveler accommodation. Honolulu, Hawaii, had one of the 

highest employment levels of tour guides 

in 2009. And Orlando-Kissimmee, Florida, 

had some of the highest 2009 employment 

of baggage porters and bellhops; travel 

agents; and hotel, motel, and resort desk 

clerks.

State capitals are not always in large 

metropolitan areas, but they often have 

high numbers of workers in public service or government-related occupations. 

For example, California’s State capital, 

Sacramento, had more tax examiners, tax 

collectors, and revenue agents in 2009 than 

Philadelphia and Cincinnati—two larger 

metropolitan areas that are not State capitals. 

Some other State capitals, including Albany, 

New York; Little Rock, Arkansas; and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, also had relatively high 

2009 employment of tax collectors. 

In 2009, Nashville, Tennessee, had some 

of the highest employment of musicians and 

singers and agents and business managers of 

artists, performers, and athletes. As a percent of total employment, the share of sound 

recording industries in Nashville was 18 times 

as high as in the United States as a whole in 

2009, and the share of musical groups and 

artists was 9 times as high, according to BLS. 

So, although the New York and Los Angeles 

metropolitan areas had the highest employment of these two occupations in 2009, Nashville had a larger employment share of both 

occupations because of its high concentration 

of music-related industries. 
22 Occupational Outlook Quarterly • Fall 2010

Geographic concentration 

and career planning

When planning a career, it’s important to 

determine whether a desired occupation is 

geographically concentrated—especially for 

people who have strong preferences about 

where they want to live. An aspiring subway 

operator who craves country living needs 

to reconcile those conflicting interests, for 

example, just as forestry may not be the ideal 

career choice for an avowed urbanite.

BLS data on geographic concentration 

of occupations are useful for making an 

informed career decision. These data show 

which occupations are clustered in 

urban areas of various size; they 

also show the occupations most 

likely to be found in rural 

areas. And, although large 

metro areas may offer a 

wider variety of occupational options than small 

or nonmetro areas do, 

data on the previous 

pages have shown that 

a specific occupation’s 

geographic location 

might depend on more 

than city size. 

The data also 

show occupational size, 

which is sometimes a 

key to job mobility: large 

occupations spread across 

multiple areas may offer 

more opportunity for relocating than highly concentrated 

occupations do. Some of the most 

concentrated occupations also have 

the lowest overall employment, simply 

because these small occupations aren’t likely 

to be in many areas. Such information may be 

helpful for people who hope to move frequently throughout their careers—or for those 

who prefer to stay put.

Choice of occupation only partially 

determines where people live, and choice of 

location only partially determines the occupations that are available in an area. Occupation 

and location need not be mutually exclusive, 

of course; plenty of commuters live outside 

urban areas but commute into them—and vice 

versa. But studying geographic concentration 

of occupations can help jobseekers balance 

what they want to do with where they want to 

live. 

For more information

Geographic location is just one thing to consider when deciding on a career. Wages, job 

duties, education or training requirements, 

and employment outlook are among other 

significant factors. And BLS offers 

more detailed information online.

This article explained 

some of the ways in which 

geographic distribution 

of specific occupations 

may differ from that of 

employment in general. 

Detailed occupational 

employment and wage 

data for States, metropolitan areas, and 

nonmetropolitan areas 

are available from the 

OES program at www.

bls.gov/oes. In addition 

to overall employment 

levels, the OES metropolitan and nonmetropolitan area downloadable files 

include data on employment 

concentrations, expressed as 

employment per 1,000 area jobs. 

To learn more about the job 

duties, education or training requirements (including certifications and licensure, 

which may affect geographic mobility), and 

employment outlook for hundreds of occupations, see the Occupational Outlook Handbook online at www.bls.gov/ooh. The Handbook is also available in hard copy in many 

libraries and offices of career counselors.
Fall 2010 • Occupational Outlook Quarterly 23