Fastest Growing Jobs in North Dakota

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

Where North Dakota already employs the growth list

Ranked by published North Dakota 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 7,730 jobs · +17%
  2. 2. Cooks, Restaurant · Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations 4,490 jobs · +14.9%
  3. 3. Industrial Machinery Mechanics · Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations 2,560 jobs · +16.1%
  4. 4. Financial Managers · Management Occupations 2,140 jobs · +14.8%
  5. 5. Software Developers · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 1,450 jobs · +15.8%
  6. 6. Nurse Practitioners · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 1,290 jobs · +40.1%
  7. 7. Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors · Community and Social Service Occupations 1,290 jobs · +16.8%
  8. 8. Medical and Health Services Managers · Management Occupations 1,220 jobs · +23.2%
  9. 9. Computer and Information Systems Managers · Management Occupations 850 jobs · +15.2%
  10. 10. Animal Caretakers · Personal Care and Service Occupations 770 jobs · +12.1%
  11. 11. Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors · Personal Care and Service Occupations 680 jobs · +11.9%
  12. 12. Speech-Language Pathologists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 630 jobs · +15%
  13. 13. Medical Assistants · Healthcare Support Occupations 600 jobs · +12.5%
  14. 14. Occupational Therapists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 570 jobs · +13.8%
  15. 15. Occupational Health and Safety Specialists · Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations 540 jobs · +12.5%
  16. 16. Physician Assistants · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 510 jobs · +20.4%
  17. 17. Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary · Educational Instruction and Library Occupations 510 jobs · +17.3%
  18. 18. Wind Turbine Service Technicians · Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations 310 jobs · +49.9%
  19. 19. Information Security Analysts · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 310 jobs · +28.5%
  20. 20. Logisticians · Business and Financial Operations Occupations 310 jobs · +16.7%

Largest North Dakota footprint

Home Health and Personal Care Aides

7,730 jobs in-state

That role's growth

+17%

national projection 2024-2034

OEWS coverage

41/50

North Dakota 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 North Dakota OEWS estimates where published.

In North Dakota, the national percentage leader Wind Turbine Service Technicians (+49.9%) currently accounts for 310 OEWS jobs while the largest in-state footprint among this growth list is Home Health and Personal Care Aides (7,730 jobs , +17% projected). Next by in-state count: Cooks, Restaurant (4,490) and Industrial Machinery Mechanics (2,560).

That mismatch is the useful North Dakota 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, 41 publish North Dakota employment; 22 of those covered rows are projected at +15% or more (all-occupations baseline 3.1%). Among the ten largest OEWS rows on this list, 32% of summed employment sits in Healthcare Support Occupations (1 occupations).

Annual openings (growth plus replacements) still live on each occupation profile. A high percentage on a tiny base can add fewer North Dakota 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.

North Dakota footprint order on the national growth list

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

Nearby & Related Pages

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

North Dakota Overview

Full state salary data

Highest Paying in North Dakota

Top 100 by median salary

National Rankings

Fastest growing jobs nationwide

Home Health and Personal Care Aides

Largest North Dakota 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 North Dakota 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 North Dakota 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.