Forget the stereotype of the lone scientist in a lab coat, because today's STEM workforce is a sprawling, dynamic engine of over 36.9 million professionals, representing a full quarter of the American workforce and offering lucrative, high-growth careers across every sector from healthcare to construction.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, the U.S. STEM workforce totaled 36.9 million people, representing 24% of the total U.S. workforce
- STEM occupations accounted for 10.5% of all U.S. jobs in 2022, with computer and mathematical occupations making up 4.2%
- Engineering occupations employed 1.8 million workers in the U.S. in 2022, growing by 3% from 2019
- From 2021 to 2031, STEM occupations are projected to grow by 10.4%, faster than the 7.7% for all occupations
- Computer and information technology occupations projected to add 682,800 jobs from 2022-2032
- Software developers projected to grow 25% from 2022-2032, much faster than average
- In 2022, median annual wage for STEM occupations was $99,410, 70% higher than all occupations' $58,260
- Software developers earned median $127,260 in 2023
- Data scientists median wage $103,500 in 2023
- In 2021, 50% of STEM workforce were White, 17% Asian, 13% Hispanic
- Women comprised 28% of STEM workers in U.S. in 2022
- Black or African American workers were 9% of STEM workforce in 2021
- By 2031, STEM employment projected to reach 11.0 million core STEM jobs
- Computer/IT jobs to total 6.0 million by 2031
- Engineering jobs projected 1.7 million by 2031
STEM employment is large, diverse, growing fast, and offers high wages.
Demographics
- In 2021, 50% of STEM workforce were White, 17% Asian, 13% Hispanic
- Women comprised 28% of STEM workers in U.S. in 2022
- Black or African American workers were 9% of STEM workforce in 2021
- Asian workers made up 17% of STEM employees in 2021, highest in computer occupations at 25%
- Hispanic or Latino STEM workers were 13% in 2021
- In engineering, women were 16% of workforce in 2021
- Computer occupations had 26% women in 2021
- Mathematical occupations women share was 44% in 2021
- Physical sciences women 39% in 2021
- Biological/agricultural sciences women 48% in 2021
- Psychology/social sciences women 67% in 2021 STEM
- STEM workforce age 25-34 was 22% in 2021
- STEM workers aged 55+ were 22% in 2021
- Foreign-born workers 19% of U.S. STEM workforce in 2021
- In computer/math occupations, 27% foreign-born in 2021
- Engineering foreign-born share 24% in 2021
- Bachelor's degree or higher held by 75% of STEM workers in 2021
- 23% of STEM workforce had graduate degrees in 2021
- Underrepresented minorities (URM) 16% of STEM in 2021
- Women with STEM degrees in workforce 50% after 20 years, vs 70% for men
- Asian men 10% of STEM, Asian women 7% in 2021
- White men 34%, White women 15% of STEM 2021
- Black men 5%, Black women 4% STEM 2021
- Hispanic men 8%, Hispanic women 5% STEM 2021
- Native American/Alaska Native 0.4% STEM 2021
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.2% STEM 2021
- Multiracial 2% of STEM workforce 2021
Demographics Interpretation
The STEM field showcases a promising yet uneven mosaic, where women dominate psychology but remain scarce in engineering, and where a heavy reliance on foreign-born talent coexists with persistent underrepresentation for many domestic groups, proving that while we've built a high-tech future, we're still using an outdated blueprint for its workforce.
Earnings
- In 2022, median annual wage for STEM occupations was $99,410, 70% higher than all occupations' $58,260
- Software developers earned median $127,260 in 2023
- Data scientists median wage $103,500 in 2023
- Computer and information research scientists earned $145,080 median in 2023
- Information security analysts median $120,360 in 2023
- Computer systems analysts earned $103,800 median in 2023
- Database administrators median $101,510 in 2023
- Network and computer systems administrators $95,360 median 2023
- Computer network architects $129,840 median 2023
- Web developers $84,960 median 2023
- Civil engineers median $95,890 in 2023
- Petroleum engineers $137,320 median 2023
- Computer hardware engineers $138,080 median 2023
- Aerospace engineers $130,720 median 2023
- Nuclear engineers $125,460 median 2023
- Chemical engineers $112,100 median 2023
- Electrical engineers $106,950 median 2023
- Materials scientists $104,100 median 2023
- Physicists $159,490 median 2023
- Actuaries $120,000 median 2023
- Operations research analysts $95,230 median 2023
- Economists $115,730 median 2023
- In STEM, top 10% earners make over $186,000 annually vs $113,000 for all occupations in 2022
- STEM bachelor's degree holders earn median $98,000 early career
- Women in STEM earn 89% of men's wages on average in 2021
- STEM workers with doctoral degrees earn median $124,000 in 2022
Earnings Interpretation
If you're hoping for a job that pays like a ransom note, STEM fields are basically the kidnapper holding the economy hostage, with data scientists as the negotiators and physicists counting the cash.
Employment Levels
- In 2022, the U.S. STEM workforce totaled 36.9 million people, representing 24% of the total U.S. workforce
- STEM occupations accounted for 10.5% of all U.S. jobs in 2022, with computer and mathematical occupations making up 4.2%
- Engineering occupations employed 1.8 million workers in the U.S. in 2022, growing by 3% from 2019
- Life, physical, and social science occupations had 1.3 million U.S. workers in 2022
- In 2021, 8.9 million women were employed in STEM occupations in the U.S., comprising 28% of the STEM workforce
- Computer occupations saw 4.7 million U.S. workers in 2022, the largest STEM group
- Architecture and engineering jobs totaled 2.4 million in the U.S. in 2022
- Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, often classified under STEM, employed 9.2 million in 2022
- In California, STEM employment reached 2.1 million in 2021, 28% of state workforce
- Texas had 1.4 million STEM workers in 2021
- New York STEM employment was 1.1 million in 2022
- STEM jobs in manufacturing sectors employed 2.3 million U.S. workers in 2022
- Federal government employed 0.4 million STEM workers in 2022
- Educational services sector had 1.2 million STEM employees in 2022
- Professional, scientific, and technical services employed 5.6 million STEM workers in 2022
- Finance and insurance sectors had 0.9 million STEM jobs in 2022
- Retail trade employed 0.3 million STEM workers in 2022
- Transportation and warehousing had 0.2 million STEM employees in 2022
- Utilities sector employed 0.1 million STEM workers in 2022
- Construction industry had 0.5 million STEM jobs in 2022
- Wholesale trade employed 0.4 million STEM workers in 2022
- Information sector had 1.1 million STEM employees in 2022
- Arts, entertainment, and recreation employed 0.1 million STEM workers
- Accommodation and food services had minimal STEM employment at 0.05 million in 2022
- Other services employed 0.2 million STEM workers in 2022
- Mining, quarrying, and oil/gas extraction had 0.1 million STEM jobs in 2022
- Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting employed 0.1 million STEM workers
- Management of companies and enterprises had 0.3 million STEM employees in 2022
- Administrative and support services employed 0.6 million STEM workers in 2022
- STEM employment in the U.S. South region was 12.4 million in 2022
Employment Levels Interpretation
The landscape of American work is increasingly being surveyed, coded, and engineered, as evidenced by a quarter of the workforce now being in STEM, yet this cerebral empire is still embarrassingly under-constructed when it comes to gender equity and surprisingly reliant on the non-tech sectors that quietly employ millions of its specialists.
Job Growth
- From 2021 to 2031, STEM occupations are projected to grow by 10.4%, faster than the 7.7% for all occupations
- Computer and information technology occupations projected to add 682,800 jobs from 2022-2032
- Software developers projected to grow 25% from 2022-2032, much faster than average
- Information security analysts to grow 32% from 2022-2032
- Data scientists projected 35% growth 2022-2032
- Civil engineers expected 5% growth 2022-2032
- Biomedical engineers to grow 5% 2022-2032
- Environmental engineers projected 4% growth 2022-2032
- Operations research analysts to grow 23% 2022-2032
- Actuaries projected 24% growth 2022-2032
- Mathematicians and statisticians to grow 30% 2022-2032
- Physicists and astronomers projected 7% growth 2022-2032
- Chemists and materials scientists to grow 6% 2022-2032
- Biological scientists projected 7% growth 2022-2032
- STEM jobs expected to grow 8.8 million from 2020-2030 per NSF
- Computer programming jobs to decline 10% 2022-2032 due to automation
- Mechanical engineers projected 10% growth 2022-2032
- Electrical engineers to grow 5% 2022-2032
- Industrial engineers projected 12% growth 2022-2032
- Aerospace engineers to grow 6% 2022-2032
- Agricultural engineers projected 4% growth 2022-2032
- Marine engineers and naval architects to grow 1% 2022-2032
- Materials engineers projected 5% growth 2022-2032
- Petroleum engineers to decline 3% 2022-2032
- Nuclear engineers projected 1% growth 2022-2032
- Health and safety engineers to grow 4% 2022-2032
Job Growth Interpretation
While the machines are coming for the programmers and the fossil fuel engineers, the future clearly belongs to the data wranglers, code crafters, and digital guardians who will build, protect, and decipher our increasingly automated world.
Projections
- By 2031, STEM employment projected to reach 11.0 million core STEM jobs
- Computer/IT jobs to total 6.0 million by 2031
- Engineering jobs projected 1.7 million by 2031
- Science occupations to reach 1.3 million by 2031
- STEM occupations projected 10.5% growth 2021-2031 vs 7.7% all jobs
- By 2029, 531,200 new computing jobs expected
- STEM labor shortages projected for 1.4 million jobs by 2025 per BCG
- NSF projects 79% of STEM jobs by 2025 will require bachelor's or higher
- U.S. to face 3.5 million unfilled manufacturing jobs by 2025, many STEM
- Cybersecurity jobs to grow to 3.5 million globally by 2025, 500k U.S.
- AI/ML specialists projected 40% annual growth through 2027
- By 2030, 85 million jobs may be displaced by automation, but 97 million new STEM-heavy created
- Green jobs in STEM projected 8% annual growth to 2030
- Healthcare STEM jobs to grow 16% by 2030
- By 2040, STEM workforce needs 10 million more net hires
- Quantum computing jobs to reach 50,000 by 2030 in U.S.
- Data science jobs projected to triple to 11.5 million globally by 2026
- Robotics engineers jobs to grow 9% annually to 2030
- Biotech STEM jobs projected 7% growth annually to 2028
- Renewable energy engineers to see 20% demand increase by 2030
Projections Interpretation
While the robots are coming for our old jobs, we'd better start building, coding, and analyzing our way into the 11 million new ones they're creating, lest we find ourselves outpaced by both the machines and the urgent demand for the humans who understand them.
Sources & References
- Reference 1NCSESncses.nsf.govVisit source
- Reference 2BLSbls.govVisit source
- Reference 3LABORMARKETINFOlabormarketinfo.edd.ca.govVisit source
- Reference 4BCGbcg.comVisit source
- Reference 5DELOITTEwww2.deloitte.comVisit source
- Reference 6CYBERSECURITYVENTUREScybersecurityventures.comVisit source
- Reference 7WEFORUMweforum.orgVisit source
- Reference 8MCKINSEYmckinsey.comVisit source
- Reference 9QUANTUMECONOMICDEVELOPMENTCONSORTIUMquantumeconomicdevelopmentconsortium.orgVisit source
- Reference 10USSFEEDussfeed.comVisit source
- Reference 11MARKETSANDMARKETSmarketsandmarkets.comVisit source
- Reference 12IEAiea.orgVisit source