10 Fastest Growing Jobs In California

The job market is still very much in a state of flux as we move deeper into 2021. According to the latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), nonfarm payroll employment declined by 140,000, though the unemployment rate of 6.7% is essentially unchanged. With the economic outlook still very hazy, we wanted to focus on the positives in the world, specifically, what are the fastest growing jobs right now.

Looking at BLS data from 2014 to 2019 (the most recent year available), we analyzed the growth in employment of thousands of jobs over the last five years. Working on a state level, all occupations were evaluated in terms of their percentage growth and absolute growth in numbers from 2014 to 2019. Jobs were then ranked for a list of the fastest growing jobs in each state. One of the more interesting cases was California. Its top-10 fastest growing jobs are a mix of occupations reflecting national trends and other occupations that are taking off for reasons more particular to California. Read on to find out the fastest growing jobs in California.

Home Health and Personal Care Aides

2014 Employment: 99,690

2019 Employment: 595,760

5-Year Employment Change: 498%

Home health care refers to a subsector of health care services that deals with patient recovery and therapy in the patient’s home, rather than through outpatient services at a physician’s office or hospital. Because of the convenience of being treated in your home, home health care services are in high demand these days, especially as more of America’s aging Baby Boomer population retire, and will typically require more health care services in their advanced years.

Home health and personal care aides help individuals with disabilities, chronic illnesses, or cognitive impairments by assisting them in day-to-day tasks. This can be activities like bathing or dressing, which is more on the side of what personal care aides do. Home health aides will often do more medical-related tasks, like checking a client’s temperature, pulse, and breathing, or administer medication, among other things.

Though a rapidly growing occupation, home health and personal care aides do not earn much on average. According to the BLS, the average hourly wage in California is $13.83, with an average annual wage of $28,780. This is significantly lower than the average annual wage for all occupations in California, $61,290.

Software Developers and Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers

2014 Employment: 106,660

2019 Employment: 249,620

5-Year Employment Change: 134%

Software developer jobs are very popular in California, which should come as no surprise, as are related occupations like software quality assurance analysts and testers, application developers, and systems software developers. In California, employment of software developers has exploded, more than doubling over the last five years, from a little over 106,000 in 2014, to nearly 250,000 by 2019. The average software developer salary in California is quite solid, $134,370 per year, with an hourly average rate of $64.60, according to the BLS. Of course, California by far employs the most software developers in the U.S., with a distant second place going to Texas where 109,510 are employed.

Marriage and Family Therapists

2014 Employment: 6,170

2019 Employment: 31,710

5-Year Employment Change: 414%

The career of a marriage or family therapist is currently a very hot one. According to the BLS’s Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH), employment of marriage and family therapists is projected to surge by 22%, much faster than average, and adding 14,800 jobs between 2019 and 2029. In California, marriage and family therapists have really boomed in terms of their numbers, from just over 6,000 in the whole state in 2014, to more than 30,000 in 2019. What’s more, the metro area that has the highest employment of family and marriage therapists in the country is the Los Angeles metro area, with 14,740 of them, according to the BLS.

To become a marriage or family therapist, you need to pursue at least a Master’s degree and get a license to practice. One interesting reason for why growth for this job is so great is because of an increasing use of teams for treatment, with marriage and family therapists working together with other counselors to meet patients’ needs from multiple fronts.

Computer Occupations, All Other

2014 Employment: 21,940

2019 Employment: 83,270

5-Year Employment Change: 280%

This is a very unusual occupational category from the BLS. According to the BLS’s Occupational Employment Statistics (OES), “computer occupations, all other”, is basically a catchall category for computer occupations that don’t fit other, more specific labels. Thus, “computer occupations, all other” excludes jobs such as:

• Computer and information systems managers
• Computer hardware engineers
• Electrical and electronics engineers
• Computer science teachers, postsecondary
• Special effects artists and animators
• Graphic designers
• Health information technologists and medical registrars
• Computer, automated teller, and office machine repairers

Whatever the job calls for, computer occupations, all other, pays fairly well. In California, the mean annual wage is $104,580, certainly higher than the national average ($92,410), but also not as high as it might seem due to California’s high cost of living.

Passenger Vehicle Drivers, Except Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity

2014 Employment: 14,450

2019 Employment: 56,120

5-Year Employment Change: 288%

Here’s another intriguing entry on the list of the fastest growing jobs in California: Passenger vehicle drivers, but excluding transit and intercity bus drivers. As such, this includes taxi drivers, shuttle drivers, chauffeurs, and similar passenger vehicle services. The explosion of rideshare corporations and employment no doubt has helped contribute to this occupation being one of the fastest growing jobs in California.

Fast Food and Counter Workers

2014 Employment: 318,640

2019 Employment: 436,540

5-Year Employment Change: 37%

With a massive population and service sector like California has, fast food and counter workers form a substantial portion of the workforce. On top of that, they’re one of the fastest growing jobs in California. Though average fast food worker wages are highest in California out of all 50 states, at an annual mean of $27,830, it’s not nearly enough to manage the Golden State’s high cost of living.

Commercial Divers

2014 Employment: 90

2019 Employment: 390

5-Year Employment Change: 333%

This has to be one of the coolest entries on our list of the fastest growing jobs in California. Commercial divers typically use scuba equipment or surface-supplied air to work underwater. Tasks can include a variety of things, such as repairing, inspecting, replacing, or installing equipment and structures. Repairing ships is common example of this, as is work on bridge foundations, dams, and other structures that have parts below a water line. Fortunately for Californians who want to pursue a commercial diving career, the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area is the second highest-paying metro area in the U.S. for this job.

Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand

2014 Employment: 287,090

2019 Employment: 393,460

5-Year Employment Change: 37%

It’s a fairly convoluted way of saying people who work often in moving materials to and from storage and production areas, loading docks, delivery trucks, ships, and containers. All this movement requires keeping track of packages and package numbers, on top of the physical labor. On a national level, the employer of hand laborers and freight, stock, and material movers is growing very tepidly. But in California, over the last five years, job growth has been substantial, with employment increasing by more than 106,000 jobs since 2014.

Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other

2014 Employment: 6,710

2019 Employment: 23,580

5-Year Employment Change: 251%

This is another broad occupation, comprised of food preparation and serving related workers who don’t fit the other listed categories under food preparation and service. For instance, “food preparation and serving related workers, all other” does not include fast food workers, or bartenders, or waiters and waitresses. Instead, it’s a more ambiguous job, its growth perhaps a reflection of innovations in the restaurant industry.

Airfield Operations Specialists

2014 Employment: 490

2019 Employment: 1,830

5-Year Employment Change: 273%

The No. 10 fastest growing job in California is airfield operations specialist. With this job, you typically work in a variety of critical support roles, such as coordinating between air traffic control and maintenance personnel, monitoring and maintaining flight records, using airfield landing and navigational aids. It’s a job that calls for management of airfields and airport grounds, and requires working with a diverse group of people, including medical personnel, civil engineers, air traffic control, and much more. Job growth is huge for airfield operations specialists in California, and their average annual wage in the state beats the national average, $61,990 to $57,620, according to the BLS.