Fastest Growing Jobs in Montana

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

Where Montana already employs the growth list

Ranked by published Montana 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 10,400 jobs · +17%
  2. 2. Cooks, Restaurant · Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations 7,580 jobs · +14.9%
  3. 3. Medical Assistants · Healthcare Support Occupations 2,460 jobs · +12.5%
  4. 4. Software Developers · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 2,160 jobs · +15.8%
  5. 5. Medical and Health Services Managers · Management Occupations 1,870 jobs · +23.2%
  6. 6. Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors · Community and Social Service Occupations 1,820 jobs · +16.8%
  7. 7. Financial Managers · Management Occupations 1,510 jobs · +14.8%
  8. 8. Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors · Personal Care and Service Occupations 1,420 jobs · +11.9%
  9. 9. Nurse Practitioners · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 1,260 jobs · +40.1%
  10. 10. Animal Caretakers · Personal Care and Service Occupations 1,200 jobs · +12.1%
  11. 11. Computer and Information Systems Managers · Management Occupations 1,180 jobs · +15.2%
  12. 12. Industrial Machinery Mechanics · Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations 820 jobs · +16.1%
  13. 13. Occupational Health and Safety Specialists · Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations 720 jobs · +12.5%
  14. 14. Physician Assistants · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 600 jobs · +20.4%
  15. 15. Speech-Language Pathologists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 490 jobs · +15%
  16. 16. Occupational Therapists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 420 jobs · +13.8%
  17. 17. Respiratory Therapists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 390 jobs · +12.1%
  18. 18. Information Security Analysts · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 380 jobs · +28.5%
  19. 19. Ophthalmic Medical Technicians · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 380 jobs · +19.8%
  20. 20. Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary · Educational Instruction and Library Occupations 370 jobs · +17.3%

Largest Montana footprint

Home Health and Personal Care Aides

10,400 jobs in-state

That role's growth

+17%

national projection 2024-2034

OEWS coverage

44/50

Montana 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 Montana OEWS estimates where published.

In Montana, the national percentage leader Wind Turbine Service Technicians (+49.9%) currently accounts for 40 OEWS jobs while the largest in-state footprint among this growth list is Home Health and Personal Care Aides (10,400 jobs , +17% projected). Next by in-state count: Cooks, Restaurant (7,580) and Medical Assistants (2,460).

That mismatch is the useful Montana 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, 44 publish Montana 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, 41% 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 Montana 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.

Montana footprint order on the national growth list

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

Nearby & Related Pages

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

Montana Overview

Full state salary data

Highest Paying in Montana

Top 100 by median salary

National Rankings

Fastest growing jobs nationwide

Home Health and Personal Care Aides

Largest Montana 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 Montana 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 Montana 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.