This indicator represents the percentage of physical scientists in a state’s workforce. Physical scientists are identified from standard occupational categories that include astronomers, physicists, atmospheric and space scientists, chemists and materials scientists, geoscientists and hydrologists, and other physical science occupations. A high share of physical scientists in a state’s workforce could indicate a robust cluster of physical science industries such as basic chemical manufacturing or oil and gas extraction.

Data on individuals in physical science occupations and total occupations come from the Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), the largest household survey in the United States, with a sample size of about 3.5 million addresses. The ACS collects information on an annual basis.

Data source: Census Bureau, special tabulations of the American Community Survey.