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Did you know that National Park Week is being celebrated from April 19 to April 27? There are about 500 federal museums, historical sites, zoos, and parks around the nation, employing 25,226 workers total in September 2024. Let's take a trek through some additional data.
Employment in federal museums, historical sites, zoos, and parks, September 2024
State
Employment
Location quotient
Average weekly wages, third quarter 2024 (in dollars)
United States
25,226
1.00
1,648
Alabama
28
0.08
1,551
Alaska
856
15.41
1,683
Arizona
1,108
2.14
1,401
Arkansas
177
0.84
1,307
California
2,181
0.74
1,587
Colorado
1,007
2.14
1,610
Connecticut
23
0.08
2,276
Delaware
16
0.21
1,755
District of Columbia
4,777
38.70
2,296
Florida
650
0.41
1,599
Georgia
468
0.59
1,575
Hawaii
387
3.73
1,565
Idaho
113
0.80
1,776
Illinois
54
0.05
1,504
Indiana
184
0.36
1,393
Iowa
33
0.13
1,065
Kansas
62
0.27
1,371
Kentucky
209
0.64
1,167
Louisiana
94
0.30
1,091
Maine
250
2.34
1,152
Maryland
986
2.20
1,828
Massachusetts
526
0.89
1,408
Michigan
284
0.39
1,194
Minnesota
23
0.05
2,065
Mississippi
195
1.03
1,377
Missouri
431
0.91
1,449
Montana
547
6.48
1,205
Nebraska
232
1.40
1,701
Nevada
260
1.03
1,618
New Hampshire
34
0.30
1,715
New Jersey
213
0.31
1,330
New Mexico
433
3.06
1,403
New York
949
0.60
1,754
North Carolina
399
0.50
1,306
North Dakota
80
1.13
1,254
Ohio
257
0.29
1,385
Oklahoma
67
0.24
1,456
Oregon
199
0.61
1,496
Pennsylvania
697
0.71
1,578
Rhode Island
40
0.49
1,701
South Carolina
110
0.29
1,350
South Dakota
266
3.54
1,271
Tennessee
462
0.86
1,285
Texas
462
0.20
1,513
Utah
648
2.31
1,209
Vermont
3
0.06
1,814
Virginia
1,301
1.95
1,629
Washington
939
1.58
1,516
West Virginia
267
2.35
1,687
Wisconsin
128
0.27
1,387
Wyoming
1,111
23.85
1,266
The District of Columbia had the most workers in federal museums, historical sites, zoos, and parks, at 4,777 total in September 2024. It also had the highest average weekly wages ($2,296) among all of the states in these jobs.
The following five states trailed D.C. in employment but still broke the 1,000 job mark: California (2,181 jobs), Virginia (1,301 jobs), Wyoming (1,111 jobs), Arizona (1,108 jobs), and Colorado (1,007 jobs).
Another way to examine employment in federal museums, historical sites, zoos, and parks is with location quotients. A location quotient greater than 1 means that the industry's share of employment in the area is greater than its share of employment in the nation as a whole. The District of Columbia had the highest employment location quotient (38.70), followed by Wyoming (23.85), Alaska (15.41), and Montana (6.48).
Hawaii (employment location quotient of 3.73), South Dakota (3.54), and New Mexico (3.06) also had concentrations of federal parks and similar organizations employment more than three times that of the nation.
With employment location quotients of 0.05 each, Illinois and Minnesota had the lowest concentrations of federal parks and similar organizations employment. The location quotient for Vermont was 0.06, with just 3 workers total employed in federal museums, historical sites, zoos, and parks in the state.
These data are from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. For industry employment and wage data at the national, state, county, and metropolitan area levels, see the data viewer tool or the QCEW Open Data Access. Want to learn more about how location quotients are calculated? See "What is a Location Quotient?," one of the Economics Made Easy classroom handouts.
United States Department of Labor
