Fastest Growing Jobs in West Virginia

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

Where West Virginia already employs the growth list

Ranked by published West 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. Home Health and Personal Care Aides · Healthcare Support Occupations 18,890 jobs · +17%
  2. 2. Cooks, Restaurant · Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations 6,450 jobs · +14.9%
  3. 3. Medical Assistants · Healthcare Support Occupations 4,540 jobs · +12.5%
  4. 4. Industrial Machinery Mechanics · Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations 3,150 jobs · +16.1%
  5. 5. Software Developers · Computer and Mathematical Occupations 2,650 jobs · +15.8%
  6. 6. Financial Managers · Management Occupations 2,610 jobs · +14.8%
  7. 7. Nurse Practitioners · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 2,550 jobs · +40.1%
  8. 8. Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary · Educational Instruction and Library Occupations 2,400 jobs · +17.3%
  9. 9. Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors · Community and Social Service Occupations 2,100 jobs · +16.8%
  10. 10. Medical and Health Services Managers · Management Occupations 2,080 jobs · +23.2%
  11. 11. Animal Caretakers · Personal Care and Service Occupations 1,160 jobs · +12.1%
  12. 12. Respiratory Therapists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 1,140 jobs · +12.1%
  13. 13. Computer and Information Systems Managers · Management Occupations 1,100 jobs · +15.2%
  14. 14. Physician Assistants · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 1,080 jobs · +20.4%
  15. 15. Occupational Health and Safety Specialists · Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations 1,020 jobs · +12.5%
  16. 16. Physical Therapist Assistants · Healthcare Support Occupations 980 jobs · +22%
  17. 17. Clinical and Counseling Psychologists · Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations 920 jobs · +11.2%
  18. 18. Speech-Language Pathologists · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 880 jobs · +15%
  19. 19. Diagnostic Medical Sonographers · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 780 jobs · +13%
  20. 20. Psychiatric Technicians · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations 770 jobs · +20%

Largest West Virginia footprint

Home Health and Personal Care Aides

18,890 jobs in-state

That role's growth

+17%

national projection 2024-2034

OEWS coverage

42/50

West 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 West Virginia OEWS estimates where published.

In West 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 Home Health and Personal Care Aides (18,890 jobs , +17% projected). Next by in-state count: Cooks, Restaurant (6,450) and Medical Assistants (4,540).

That mismatch is the useful West 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, 42 publish West Virginia 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, 49% 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 West 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.

West Virginia footprint order on the national growth list

Rows with published West 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 Home Health and Personal Care Aides +17%
2 Cooks, Restaurant +14.9%
3 Medical Assistants +12.5%
4 Industrial Machinery Mechanics +16.1%
5 Software Developers +15.8%
6 Financial Managers +14.8%
7 Nurse Practitioners +40.1%
8 Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary +17.3%
9 Substance Abuse, Behavioral Disorder, and Mental Health Counselors +16.8%
10 Medical and Health Services Managers +23.2%
11 Animal Caretakers +12.1%
12 Respiratory Therapists +12.1%
13 Computer and Information Systems Managers +15.2%
14 Physician Assistants +20.4%
15 Occupational Health and Safety Specialists +12.5%
16 Physical Therapist Assistants +22%
17 Clinical and Counseling Psychologists +11.2%
18 Speech-Language Pathologists +15%
19 Diagnostic Medical Sonographers +13%
20 Psychiatric Technicians +20%
21 Occupational Therapists +13.8%
22 Logisticians +16.7%
23 Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors +11.9%
24 Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary +16.8%
25 Data Scientists +33.5%
26 Medical Equipment Repairers +12.9%
27 Computer Network Architects +11.9%
28 Occupational Therapy Assistants +19.2%
29 Community Health Workers +11.3%
30 Ophthalmic Medical Technicians +19.8%
31 Massage Therapists +15.4%
32 Financial Examiners +18.5%
33 Counselors, All Other +12.6%
34 Operations Research Analysts +21.5%
35 Forensic Science Technicians +12.8%
36 Epidemiologists +16.2%
37 Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars +14.7%
38 Marriage and Family Therapists +12.6%
39 Orthotists and Prosthetists +13.3%
40 Recreational Vehicle Service Technicians +11.5%
41 Mechanical Door Repairers +11.4%
42 Hearing Aid Specialists +18.4%
43 Wind Turbine Service Technicians +49.9%
44 Solar Photovoltaic Installers +42.1%
45 Information Security Analysts +28.5%
46 Actuaries +21.8%
47 Computer and Information Research Scientists +19.7%
48 Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists +14.6%
49 Computer Numerically Controlled Tool Programmers +12.8%
50 Therapists, All Other +11.5%

Nearby & Related Pages

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

West Virginia Overview

Full state salary data

Highest Paying in West Virginia

Top 100 by median salary

National Rankings

Fastest growing jobs nationwide

Home Health and Personal Care Aides

Largest West Virginia 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 West 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 West 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.