This indicator represents the percentage of social scientists in a state's workforce. Social scientists are identified from standard occupational codes that include economists; survey researchers; clinical, counseling, and school psychologists; industrial-organizational psychologists; sociologists; urban and regional planners; anthropologists and archeologists; geographers; political scientists; social scientists and related workers; social science research assistants; postsecondary anthropology and archeology teachers; postsecondary economics teachers; postsecondary geography teachers; postsecondary political science teachers; postsecondary psychology teachers; postsecondary sociology teachers; and other postsecondary social sciences teachers.

Data on individuals in social science occupations and total occupations come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) Survey, a survey of workplaces that assigns workers to a state based on where they work. Estimates are developed by BLS from data provided by state workforce agencies. The OEWS Survey covers all full-time and part-time wage and salary workers in nonfarm industries. The survey does not cover the self-employed, owners and partners in unincorporated firms, household workers, or unpaid family workers. Estimates for states with smaller populations are generally less precise than estimates for states with larger populations.

The District of Columbia has the greatest share of occupations in this category by a significant margin, likely because of a high concentration of political scientists and policy and social science researchers drawn to the federal government, international organizations, and various other policy institutions.

Data source: Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics Survey.