Fastest Growing Jobs in Mississippi

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

Where Mississippi already employs the growth list

Ranked by published Mississippi 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 21,800 jobs · +17%
  2. 2. Cooks, Restaurant · Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations 10,770 jobs · +14.9%
  3. 3. Nurse Practitioners · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 4,690 jobs · +40.1%
  4. 4. Industrial Machinery Mechanics · Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations 4,460 jobs · +16.1%
  5. 5. Medical and Health Services Managers · Management Occupations 4,280 jobs · +23.2%
  6. 6. Financial Managers · Management Occupations 3,470 jobs · +14.8%
  7. 7. Medical Assistants · Healthcare Support Occupations 3,340 jobs · +12.5%
  8. 8. Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors · Community and Social Service Occupations 2,090 jobs · +16.8%
  9. 9. Animal Caretakers · Personal Care and Service Occupations 1,900 jobs · +12.1%
  10. 10. Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary · Educational Instruction and Library Occupations 1,890 jobs · +17.3%
  11. 11. Software Developers · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 1,880 jobs · +15.8%
  12. 12. Speech-Language Pathologists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 1,790 jobs · +15%
  13. 13. Computer and Information Systems Managers · Management Occupations 1,710 jobs · +15.2%
  14. 14. Respiratory Therapists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 1,670 jobs · +12.1%
  15. 15. Logisticians · Business and Financial Operations Occupations 1,560 jobs · +16.7%
  16. 16. Occupational Therapists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 1,340 jobs · +13.8%
  17. 17. Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors · Personal Care and Service Occupations 1,260 jobs · +11.9%
  18. 18. Physical Therapist Assistants · Healthcare Support Occupations 1,150 jobs · +22%
  19. 19. Occupational Health and Safety Specialists · Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations 1,140 jobs · +12.5%
  20. 20. Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary · Educational Instruction and Library Occupations 1,050 jobs · +16.8%

Largest Mississippi footprint

Home Health and Personal Care Aides

21,800 jobs in-state

That role's growth

+17%

national projection 2024-2034

OEWS coverage

47/50

Mississippi 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 Mississippi OEWS estimates where published.

In Mississippi, the national percentage leader Wind Turbine Service Technicians (+49.9%) currently accounts for 30 OEWS jobs while the largest in-state footprint among this growth list is Home Health and Personal Care Aides (21,800 jobs , +17% projected). Next by in-state count: Cooks, Restaurant (10,770) and Nurse Practitioners (4,690).

That mismatch is the useful Mississippi 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, 47 publish Mississippi employment; 25 of those covered rows are projected at +15% or more (all-occupations baseline 3.1%). Among the ten largest OEWS rows on this list, 43% 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 Mississippi 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.

Mississippi footprint order on the national growth list

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

Nearby & Related Pages

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

Mississippi Overview

Full state salary data

Highest Paying in Mississippi

Top 100 by median salary

National Rankings

Fastest growing jobs nationwide

Home Health and Personal Care Aides

Largest Mississippi footprint on this list

Job Outlook Explorer

Browse every occupation
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 Mississippi 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 Mississippi 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.