Fastest Growing Jobs in Virginia

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

Where Virginia already employs the growth list

Ranked by published Virginia employment (not by national growth %). Sibling state pages diverge here because the occupation title set and order change with the OEWS footprint.

  1. 1. Software Developers · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 88,280 jobs · +15.8%
  2. 2. Home Health and Personal Care Aides · Healthcare Support Occupations 70,070 jobs · +17%
  3. 3. Cooks, Restaurant · Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations 40,310 jobs · +14.9%
  4. 4. Financial Managers · Management Occupations 20,850 jobs · +14.8%
  5. 5. Information Security Analysts · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 19,120 jobs · +28.5%
  6. 6. Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors · Community and Social Service Occupations 17,940 jobs · +16.8%
  7. 7. Computer and Information Systems Managers · Management Occupations 17,550 jobs · +15.2%
  8. 8. Medical Assistants · Healthcare Support Occupations 16,650 jobs · +12.5%
  9. 9. Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors · Personal Care and Service Occupations 12,100 jobs · +11.9%
  10. 10. Logisticians · Business and Financial Operations Occupations 10,540 jobs · +16.7%
  11. 11. Medical and Health Services Managers · Management Occupations 10,210 jobs · +23.2%
  12. 12. Animal Caretakers · Personal Care and Service Occupations 10,070 jobs · +12.1%
  13. 13. Industrial Machinery Mechanics · Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations 9,470 jobs · +16.1%
  14. 14. Computer Network Architects · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 9,380 jobs · +11.9%
  15. 15. Data Scientists · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 8,920 jobs · +33.5%
  16. 16. Nurse Practitioners · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 7,110 jobs · +40.1%
  17. 17. Operations Research Analysts · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 6,980 jobs · +21.5%
  18. 18. Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary · Educational Instruction and Library Occupations 5,040 jobs · +17.3%
  19. 19. Speech-Language Pathologists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 4,460 jobs · +15%
  20. 20. Physician Assistants · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 4,340 jobs · +20.4%

Largest Virginia footprint

Software Developers

88,280 jobs in-state

That role's growth

+15.8%

national projection 2024-2034

OEWS coverage

47/50

Virginia 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 Virginia OEWS estimates where published.

In Virginia, 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 Software Developers (88,280 jobs , +15.8% projected). Next by in-state count: Home Health and Personal Care Aides (70,070) and Cooks, Restaurant (40,310).

That mismatch is the useful Virginia 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 Virginia 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, 34% of summed employment sits in Computer and Mathematical Occupations (2 occupations).

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

Virginia footprint order on the national growth list

Rows with published Virginia employment are sorted by in-state jobs. Occupations without a state OEWS row stay at the bottom in national growth order.

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

Virginia Overview

Full state salary data

Highest Paying in Virginia

Top 100 by median salary

National Rankings

Fastest growing jobs nationwide

Software Developers

Largest Virginia footprint on this list

Job Outlook Explorer

Browse every occupation
Compare Software Developers 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 Virginia 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 Virginia 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.