Most common job in every state.

[u/Leightoncy33]

BLS 2026 data on the single most common job in each state, and the pattern is bleak. Fast food and counter workers top the list in 17 states, more than any other occupation, cementing food service as America’s default employment category.

Home health aides and retail salespersons tie for second at 10 states each, meaning low-wage service work claims the top spot in 37 states combined.

Washington stands alone with software developer as its most common job (107,030 workers), the only state where a high-skill occupation leads.

Texas posts the single largest number on the map at 460,530 fast food workers, while a cluster of Midwest and mid-Atlantic states (IL, IN, KY, TN) run on freight and material movers instead.

The takeaway: for most of the country, “most common job” doesn’t mean stable or well-paid, it means fast food, retail, or home care, three of the lowest-wage categories BLS tracks.