It adds up: job outlook for math occupations

Today may be April Fool's Day, but it's also the beginning of Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month, and this is no joke: You can't have STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) without math. Math is important in many occupations, some of which have greater than average wages and job growth that is faster than average.

One of the largest of these quantitative occupations, with employment of nearly 1.6 million in 2024, is accountants and auditors. Accountant and auditor employment is projected to grow 5 percent, or 72,800 jobs, from 2024 to 2034.

Data scientists, who use analytical tools and techniques to extract meaningful insights from data, is one of the math-related occupations expected to grow the fastest over the 2024–34 decade. Employment of these workers is projected to grow in number by 82,500, an increase of 34 percent.

Engineering occupations generally require a strong foundation in mathematics. Several of these occupations have projected growth rates above the rate of 3 percent for all occupations. The number of industrial engineers is projected to grow by 11 percent (or 38,500 jobs); electrical and electronics engineers, 7 percent (or 19,700 jobs); aerospace engineers, 6 percent (4,400 jobs); and civil engineers, 5 percent (18,500 jobs). 

Actuaries, aerospace engineers, computer and information research scientists, and physicists and astronomers are some of the math-centric occupations with the highest wages, ranging from $125,770 to $166,290 in 2024. Two of these, actuaries and computer and information research scientists, are projected to grow much faster than average, increasing by 20 percent or more. However, these four occupations combined had employment of less than 172,000 in 2024 and are projected to account for a total employment increase of about 21,000 over the current projections period.

Not every occupation that uses math is projected to have above average growth in coming years. The number of economist jobs is projected to grow only 1 percent. Claims adjusters, appraisers, examiners, and investigators, and cost estimators are two occupations with negative signs in their projections, expected to decrease by 5 percent and 4 percent, respectively.

These data come from the Occupational Outlook Handbook. For more information about these occupations, see

• Architecture and Engineering Occupations
• Business and Financial Occupations
• Computer and Information Technology Occupations
• Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations
• Math Occupations