Fastest Growing Jobs in Kentucky

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

Where Kentucky already employs the growth list

Ranked by published Kentucky 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 31,260 jobs · +17%
  2. 2. Cooks, Restaurant · Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations 13,510 jobs · +14.9%
  3. 3. Medical Assistants · Healthcare Support Occupations 13,440 jobs · +12.5%
  4. 4. Industrial Machinery Mechanics · Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations 11,540 jobs · +16.1%
  5. 5. Medical and Health Services Managers · Management Occupations 8,600 jobs · +23.2%
  6. 6. Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors · Community and Social Service Occupations 7,690 jobs · +16.8%
  7. 7. Software Developers · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 7,660 jobs · +15.8%
  8. 8. Financial Managers · Management Occupations 6,630 jobs · +14.8%
  9. 9. Animal Caretakers · Personal Care and Service Occupations 6,140 jobs · +12.1%
  10. 10. Nurse Practitioners · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 4,770 jobs · +40.1%
  11. 11. Computer and Information Systems Managers · Management Occupations 3,130 jobs · +15.2%
  12. 12. Speech-Language Pathologists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 2,610 jobs · +15%
  13. 13. Logisticians · Business and Financial Operations Occupations 2,590 jobs · +16.7%
  14. 14. Physical Therapist Assistants · Healthcare Support Occupations 2,580 jobs · +22%
  15. 15. Respiratory Therapists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 2,530 jobs · +12.1%
  16. 16. Occupational Health and Safety Specialists · Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations 2,480 jobs · +12.5%
  17. 17. Occupational Therapists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 2,190 jobs · +13.8%
  18. 18. Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors · Personal Care and Service Occupations 1,990 jobs · +11.9%
  19. 19. Computer Network Architects · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 1,710 jobs · +11.9%
  20. 20. Information Security Analysts · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 1,680 jobs · +28.5%

Largest Kentucky footprint

Home Health and Personal Care Aides

31,260 jobs in-state

That role's growth

+17%

national projection 2024-2034

OEWS coverage

46/50

Kentucky 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 Kentucky OEWS estimates where published.

In Kentucky, the national percentage leader Wind Turbine Service Technicians (+49.9%) has no published OEWS employment row while the largest in-state footprint among this growth list is Home Health and Personal Care Aides (31,260 jobs , +17% projected). Next by in-state count: Cooks, Restaurant (13,510) and Medical Assistants (13,440).

That mismatch is the useful Kentucky 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, 46 publish Kentucky employment; 24 of those covered rows are projected at +15% or more (all-occupations baseline 3.1%). Among the ten largest OEWS rows on this list, 40% 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 Kentucky 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.

Kentucky footprint order on the national growth list

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

Nearby & Related Pages

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

Kentucky Overview

Full state salary data

Highest Paying in Kentucky

Top 100 by median salary

National Rankings

Fastest growing jobs nationwide

Home Health and Personal Care Aides

Largest Kentucky footprint on this list

Job Outlook Explorer

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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 Kentucky 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 Kentucky 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.