Fastest Growing Jobs in California

National growth leaders filtered through California's actual employment footprint – BLS 2024–2034

Where California already employs the growth list

Ranked by published California employment (not by national growth %). Sibling state pages diverge here because the occupation title set and order change with the OEWS footprint.

  1. 1. Home Health and Personal Care Aides · Healthcare Support Occupations 970,150 jobs · +17%
  2. 2. Software Developers · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 284,390 jobs · +15.8%
  3. 3. Cooks, Restaurant · Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations 152,250 jobs · +14.9%
  4. 4. Medical Assistants · Healthcare Support Occupations 117,060 jobs · +12.5%
  5. 5. Computer and Information Systems Managers · Management Occupations 94,720 jobs · +15.2%
  6. 6. Financial Managers · Management Occupations 93,310 jobs · +14.8%
  7. 7. Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors · Community and Social Service Occupations 75,610 jobs · +16.8%
  8. 8. Medical and Health Services Managers · Management Occupations 75,090 jobs · +23.2%
  9. 9. Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors · Personal Care and Service Occupations 43,600 jobs · +11.9%
  10. 10. Data Scientists · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 39,310 jobs · +33.5%
  11. 11. Marriage and Family Therapists · Community and Social Service Occupations 34,970 jobs · +12.6%
  12. 12. Logisticians · Business and Financial Operations Occupations 32,940 jobs · +16.7%
  13. 13. Industrial Machinery Mechanics · Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations 26,830 jobs · +16.1%
  14. 14. Animal Caretakers · Personal Care and Service Occupations 25,710 jobs · +12.1%
  15. 15. Nurse Practitioners · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 25,120 jobs · +40.1%
  16. 16. Respiratory Therapists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 18,650 jobs · +12.1%
  17. 17. Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary · Educational Instruction and Library Occupations 17,350 jobs · +17.3%
  18. 18. Speech-Language Pathologists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 16,930 jobs · +15%
  19. 19. Occupational Health and Safety Specialists · Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations 16,230 jobs · +12.5%
  20. 20. Information Security Analysts · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 15,570 jobs · +28.5%

Largest California footprint

Home Health and Personal Care Aides

970,150 jobs in-state

That role's growth

+17%

national projection 2024-2034

OEWS coverage

50/50

California employment published

National #1 growth

Wind Turbine Service Technicians

+49.9% · different from state footprint lead

Growth % and openings are national BLS projections. The employment and wage columns are California OEWS estimates where published.

In California, the national percentage leader Wind Turbine Service Technicians (+49.9%) currently accounts for 400 OEWS jobs while the largest in-state footprint among this growth list is Home Health and Personal Care Aides (970,150 jobs , +17% projected). Next by in-state count: Software Developers (284,390) and Cooks, Restaurant (152,250).

That mismatch is the useful California read: percentage growth ranks a national change rate, not how many workers the state already employs in the role. Of the 50 national growth rows, 50 publish California employment; 27 of those covered rows are projected at +15% or more (all-occupations baseline 3.1%). Among the ten largest OEWS rows on this list, 56% of summed employment sits in Healthcare Support Occupations (2 occupations).

Annual openings (growth plus replacements) still live on each occupation profile. A high percentage on a tiny base can add fewer California seats than a mid-single-digit gain on a large OEWS count. Education and credential columns on the profile set the entry clock; several fast-growth rows need multi-year training before the projection window helps a new entrant.

California footprint order on the national growth list

Rows with published California employment are sorted by in-state jobs. Occupations without a state OEWS row stay at the bottom in national growth order.

# Occupation Growth %
1 Home Health and Personal Care Aides +17%
2 Software Developers +15.8%
3 Cooks, Restaurant +14.9%
4 Medical Assistants +12.5%
5 Computer and Information Systems Managers +15.2%
6 Financial Managers +14.8%
7 Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors +16.8%
8 Medical and Health Services Managers +23.2%
9 Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors +11.9%
10 Data Scientists +33.5%
11 Marriage and Family Therapists +12.6%
12 Logisticians +16.7%
13 Industrial Machinery Mechanics +16.1%
14 Animal Caretakers +12.1%
15 Nurse Practitioners +40.1%
16 Respiratory Therapists +12.1%
17 Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary +17.3%
18 Speech-Language Pathologists +15%
19 Occupational Health and Safety Specialists +12.5%
20 Information Security Analysts +28.5%
21 Computer Network Architects +11.9%
22 Massage Therapists +15.4%
23 Psychiatric Technicians +20%
24 Occupational Therapists +13.8%
25 Physician Assistants +20.4%
26 Clinical and Counseling Psychologists +11.2%
27 Counselors, All Other +12.6%
28 Operations Research Analysts +21.5%
29 Diagnostic Medical Sonographers +13%
30 Community Health Workers +11.3%
31 Physical Therapist Assistants +22%
32 Computer and Information Research Scientists +19.7%
33 Solar Photovoltaic Installers +42.1%
34 Medical Equipment Repairers +12.9%
35 Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary +16.8%
36 Financial Examiners +18.5%
37 Occupational Therapy Assistants +19.2%
38 Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers +12.8%
39 Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars +14.7%
40 Forensic Science Technicians +12.8%
41 Mechanical Door Repairers +11.4%
42 Ophthalmic Medical Technicians +19.8%
43 Epidemiologists +16.2%
44 Actuaries +21.8%
45 Recreational Vehicle Service Technicians +11.5%
46 Orthotists and Prosthetists +13.3%
47 Hearing Aid Specialists +18.4%
48 Therapists, All Other +11.5%
49 Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists +14.6%
50 Wind Turbine Service Technicians +49.9%

Nearby & Related Pages

Related growth and salary pages for California and the broader U.S. labor market.

California Overview

Full state salary data

Highest Paying in California

Top 100 by median salary

National Rankings

Fastest growing jobs nationwide

Home Health and Personal Care Aides

Largest California footprint on this list

Job Outlook Explorer

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Compare Home Health and Personal Care Aides side-by-side with another occupation →

About This Data

Employment projections come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections program, covering 2024 to 2034. Growth rates represent the projected percentage change in national employment over the 10-year period.

State employment and salary data comes from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. Some occupations may not have state-level data for California if employment is too small to report.

Last updated: May 2025. Source: BLS Employment Projections program, 2024–2034 and BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025.

State employment totals for California from BLS OEWS State and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, May 2025.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. State employment and wage rows use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and openings use national BLS Employment Projections for 2024–2034. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.