Fastest Growing Jobs in Missouri

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

Where Missouri already employs the growth list

Ranked by published Missouri 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 94,810 jobs · +17%
  2. 2. Cooks, Restaurant · Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations 25,990 jobs · +14.9%
  3. 3. Software Developers · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 20,020 jobs · +15.8%
  4. 4. Financial Managers · Management Occupations 13,330 jobs · +14.8%
  5. 5. Medical Assistants · Healthcare Support Occupations 13,050 jobs · +12.5%
  6. 6. Computer and Information Systems Managers · Management Occupations 11,130 jobs · +15.2%
  7. 7. Medical and Health Services Managers · Management Occupations 10,800 jobs · +23.2%
  8. 8. Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors · Community and Social Service Occupations 8,130 jobs · +16.8%
  9. 9. Nurse Practitioners · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 7,710 jobs · +40.1%
  10. 10. Animal Caretakers · Personal Care and Service Occupations 5,820 jobs · +12.1%
  11. 11. Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary · Educational Instruction and Library Occupations 5,700 jobs · +17.3%
  12. 12. Industrial Machinery Mechanics · Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations 5,420 jobs · +16.1%
  13. 13. Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors · Personal Care and Service Occupations 5,060 jobs · +11.9%
  14. 14. Data Scientists · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 4,730 jobs · +33.5%
  15. 15. Psychiatric Technicians · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 4,450 jobs · +20%
  16. 16. Logisticians · Business and Financial Operations Occupations 3,440 jobs · +16.7%
  17. 17. Occupational Therapists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 3,400 jobs · +13.8%
  18. 18. Computer Network Architects · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 3,360 jobs · +11.9%
  19. 19. Information Security Analysts · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 3,260 jobs · +28.5%
  20. 20. Speech-Language Pathologists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 3,230 jobs · +15%

Largest Missouri footprint

Home Health and Personal Care Aides

94,810 jobs in-state

That role's growth

+17%

national projection 2024-2034

OEWS coverage

48/50

Missouri 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 Missouri OEWS estimates where published.

In Missouri, the national percentage leader Wind Turbine Service Technicians (+49.9%) currently accounts for 80 OEWS jobs while the largest in-state footprint among this growth list is Home Health and Personal Care Aides (94,810 jobs , +17% projected). Next by in-state count: Cooks, Restaurant (25,990) and Software Developers (20,020).

That mismatch is the useful Missouri 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, 48 publish Missouri employment; 26 of those covered rows are projected at +15% or more (all-occupations baseline 3.1%). Among the ten largest OEWS rows on this list, 51% 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 Missouri 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.

Missouri footprint order on the national growth list

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

Nearby & Related Pages

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

Missouri Overview

Full state salary data

Highest Paying in Missouri

Top 100 by median salary

National Rankings

Fastest growing jobs nationwide

Home Health and Personal Care Aides

Largest Missouri 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 Missouri 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 Missouri 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.