STEM employment is projected to add jobs fast enough that core STEM roles are expected to reach 11.0 million by 2031, even as many workers still encounter big pay and representation gaps today. In 2022, the U.S. STEM workforce reached 36.9 million people, and median wages topped $99,410 compared with $58,260 across all occupations. This post connects those headline figures to what they mean across race, gender, and specific STEM fields.
Key Takeaways
- 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
- 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 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
- 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 jobs are growing fast and pay more, with U.S. STEM employment projected to reach 11 million by 2031.
Related reading
01 · Category
Demographics27 stats
01
In 2021, 50% of STEM workforce were White, 17% Asian, 13% Hispanic
02
Women comprised 28% of STEM workers in U.S. in 2022
03
Black or African American workers were 9% of STEM workforce in 2021
04
Asian workers made up 17% of STEM employees in 2021, highest in computer occupations at 25%
05
Hispanic or Latino STEM workers were 13% in 2021
06
In engineering, women were 16% of workforce in 2021
07
Computer occupations had 26% women in 2021
08
Mathematical occupations women share was 44% in 2021
09
Physical sciences women 39% in 2021
10
Biological/agricultural sciences women 48% in 2021
11
Psychology/social sciences women 67% in 2021 STEM
12
STEM workforce age 25-34 was 22% in 2021
13
STEM workers aged 55+ were 22% in 2021
14
Foreign-born workers 19% of U.S. STEM workforce in 2021
15
In computer/math occupations, 27% foreign-born in 2021
16
Engineering foreign-born share 24% in 2021
17
Bachelor's degree or higher held by 75% of STEM workers in 2021
18
23% of STEM workforce had graduate degrees in 2021
19
Underrepresented minorities (URM) 16% of STEM in 2021
20
Women with STEM degrees in workforce 50% after 20 years, vs 70% for men
21
Asian men 10% of STEM, Asian women 7% in 2021
22
White men 34%, White women 15% of STEM 2021
23
Black men 5%, Black women 4% STEM 2021
24
Hispanic men 8%, Hispanic women 5% STEM 2021
25
Native American/Alaska Native 0.4% STEM 2021
26
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.2% STEM 2021
27
Multiracial 2% of STEM workforce 2021
Interpretation
Demographics Interpretation
In the Demographics of the STEM workforce, people from White backgrounds made up half of workers in 2021 while women accounted for only 28% in 2022 and Black workers were 9%, showing persistent underrepresentation of several groups alongside small gains in certain sectors like engineering where women were 16%.
02 · Category
Earnings26 stats
01
In 2022, median annual wage for STEM occupations was $99,410,70% higher than all occupations' $58,260
02
Software developers earned median $127,260in 2023
03
Data scientists median wage $103,500in 2023
04
Computer and information research scientists earned $145,080median in 2023
05
Information security analysts median $120,360in 2023
06
Computer systems analysts earned $103,800median in 2023
07
Database administrators median $101,510in 2023
08
Network and computer systems administrators $95,360median 2023
09
Computer network architects $129,840median 2023
10
Web developers $84,960median 2023
11
Civil engineers median $95,890in 2023
12
Petroleum engineers $137,320median 2023
13
Computer hardware engineers $138,080median 2023
14
Aerospace engineers $130,720median 2023
15
Nuclear engineers $125,460median 2023
16
Chemical engineers $112,100median 2023
17
Electrical engineers $106,950median 2023
18
Materials scientists $104,100median 2023
19
Physicists $159,490median 2023
20
Actuaries $120,000median 2023
21
Operations research analysts $95,230median 2023
22
Economists $115,730median 2023
23
In STEM, top 10% earners make over $186,000 annually vs $113,000 for all occupations in 2022
24
STEM bachelor's degree holders earn median $98,000early career
25
Women in STEM earn 89% of men's wages on average in 2021
26
STEM workers with doctoral degrees earn median $124,000in 2022
Interpretation
Earnings Interpretation
In 2022, STEM occupations paid a median annual wage of $99,410, which is 70% higher than all occupations, and in 2023 several high earning STEM roles topped $120,000 with software developers at $127,260 and information security analysts at $120,360, reinforcing that STEM earnings are consistently strong.
03 · Category
Employment Levels30 stats
01
In 2022, the U.S. STEM workforce totaled 36.9 million people, representing 24% of the total U.S. workforce
02
STEM occupations accounted for 10.5% of all U.S. jobs in 2022, with computer and mathematical occupations making up 4.2%
03
Engineering occupations employed 1.8 million workers in the U.S. in 2022, growing by 3% from 2019
04
Life, physical, and social science occupations had 1.3 million U.S. workers in 2022
05
In 2021, 8.9 million women were employed in STEM occupations in the U.S., comprising 28% of the STEM workforce
06
Computer occupations saw 4.7 million U.S. workers in 2022, the largest STEM group
07
Architecture and engineering jobs totaled 2.4 million in the U.S. in 2022
08
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, often classified under STEM, employed 9.2 million in 2022
09
In California, STEM employment reached 2.1 million in 2021, 28% of state workforce
10
Texas had 1.4 million STEM workers in 2021
11
New York STEM employment was 1.1 million in 2022
12
STEM jobs in manufacturing sectors employed 2.3 million U.S. workers in 2022
13
Federal government employed 0.4 million STEM workers in 2022
14
Educational services sector had 1.2 million STEM employees in 2022
15
Professional, scientific, and technical services employed 5.6 million STEM workers in 2022
16
Finance and insurance sectors had 0.9 million STEM jobs in 2022
17
Retail trade employed 0.3 million STEM workers in 2022
18
Transportation and warehousing had 0.2 million STEM employees in 2022
19
Utilities sector employed 0.1 million STEM workers in 2022
20
Construction industry had 0.5 million STEM jobs in 2022
21
Wholesale trade employed 0.4 million STEM workers in 2022
22
Information sector had 1.1 million STEM employees in 2022
23
Arts, entertainment, and recreation employed 0.1 million STEM workers
24
Accommodation and food services had minimal STEM employment at 0.05 million in 2022
25
Other services employed 0.2 million STEM workers in 2022
26
Mining, quarrying, and oil/gas extraction had 0.1 million STEM jobs in 2022
27
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting employed 0.1 million STEM workers
28
Management of companies and enterprises had 0.3 million STEM employees in 2022
29
Administrative and support services employed 0.6 million STEM workers in 2022
30
STEM employment in the U.S. South region was 12.4 million in 2022
Interpretation
Employment Levels Interpretation
In the Employment Levels category, the U.S. STEM workforce reached 36.9 million people in 2022, and while STEM accounted for 24% of the overall workforce, engineering grew to 1.8 million workers by 2022 with only modest 3% growth since 2019.
More related reading
04 · Category
Job Growth26 stats
01
From 2021 to 2031, STEM occupations are projected to grow by 10.4%, faster than the 7.7% for all occupations
02
Computer and information technology occupations projected to add 682,800 jobs from 2022-2032
03
Software developers projected to grow 25% from 2022-2032, much faster than average
04
Information security analysts to grow 32% from 2022-2032
05
Data scientists projected 35% growth 2022-2032
06
Civil engineers expected 5% growth 2022-2032
07
Biomedical engineers to grow 5% 2022-2032
08
Environmental engineers projected 4% growth 2022-2032
09
Operations research analysts to grow 23% 2022-2032
10
Actuaries projected 24% growth 2022-2032
11
Mathematicians and statisticians to grow 30% 2022-2032
12
Physicists and astronomers projected 7% growth 2022-2032
13
Chemists and materials scientists to grow 6% 2022-2032
14
Biological scientists projected 7% growth 2022-2032
15
STEM jobs expected to grow 8.8 million from 2020-2030 per NSF
16
Computer programming jobs to decline 10% 2022-2032 due to automation
17
Mechanical engineers projected 10% growth 2022-2032
18
Electrical engineers to grow 5% 2022-2032
19
Industrial engineers projected 12% growth 2022-2032
20
Aerospace engineers to grow 6% 2022-2032
21
Agricultural engineers projected 4% growth 2022-2032
22
Marine engineers and naval architects to grow 1% 2022-2032
23
Materials engineers projected 5% growth 2022-2032
24
Petroleum engineers to decline 3% 2022-2032
25
Nuclear engineers projected 1% growth 2022-2032
26
Health and safety engineers to grow 4% 2022-2032
Interpretation
Job Growth Interpretation
For the job growth angle, STEM employment is projected to rise 10.4% from 2021 to 2031, outpacing all occupations at 7.7%, with fast expansions in roles like data scientists projected to grow 35% from 2022 to 2032 and information security analysts projected to grow 32%.
05 · Category
Projections20 stats
01
By 2031, STEM employment projected to reach 11.0 million core STEM jobs
02
Computer/IT jobs to total 6.0 million by 2031
03
Engineering jobs projected 1.7 million by 2031
04
Science occupations to reach 1.3 million by 2031
05
STEM occupations projected 10.5% growth 2021-2031 vs 7.7% all jobs
06
By 2029, 531,200 new computing jobs expected
07
STEM labor shortages projected for 1.4 million jobs by 2025 per BCG
08
NSF projects 79% of STEM jobs by 2025 will require bachelor's or higher
09
U.S. to face 3.5 million unfilled manufacturing jobs by 2025, many STEM
10
Cybersecurity jobs to grow to 3.5 million globally by 2025, 500k U.S.
11
AI/ML specialists projected 40% annual growth through 2027
12
By 2030, 85 million jobs may be displaced by automation, but 97 million new STEM-heavy created
13
Green jobs in STEM projected 8% annual growth to 2030
14
Healthcare STEM jobs to grow 16% by 2030
15
By 2040, STEM workforce needs 10 million more net hires
16
Quantum computing jobs to reach 50,000 by 2030 in U.S.
17
Data science jobs projected to triple to 11.5 million globally by 2026
18
Robotics engineers jobs to grow 9% annually to 2030
19
Biotech STEM jobs projected 7% growth annually to 2028
20
Renewable energy engineers to see 20% demand increase by 2030
Interpretation
Projections Interpretation
Under the Projections outlook, STEM jobs are expected to keep growing steadily, with core STEM employment reaching 11.0 million by 2031 and computing alone adding 531,200 new jobs by 2029.
report visual · Comparison
STEM workforce growth vs. all jobs
Projected STEM job growth is faster than overall job growth.
In 2021, 50% of STEM workforce were White, 17% Asian, 13% Hispanic50%
STEM occupations projected 10.5% growth 2021-2031 vs 7.7% all jobs
10.5%
From 2021 to 2031, STEM occupations are projected to grow by 10.4%, faster than the 7.7% for all occupations
10.4%
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Emilia Santos. (2026, February 13). Stem Employment Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/stem-employment-statistics
MLA
Emilia Santos. "Stem Employment Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/stem-employment-statistics.
Chicago
Emilia Santos. 2026. "Stem Employment Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/stem-employment-statistics.
Sources & references
12 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level