Study Reveals the States with the Most Future-Proof Workforces
Every generation faces changes in the job market. As technology develops, these changes come faster, with more dramatic leaps that reshape the ways we work. Employers look to software, semiconductors, automation, advanced manufacturing, and renewable energy as leading sectors in technological development. A new analysis from Altium, an electronics design software company, measured which states are best placed for that shift. The results don’t always match the usual picture of America’s tech economy.
The study ranked all 50 states based on how “future-proof” their workforces are. Washington took first place, but the rest of the top five includes states that are rarely thought of as tech capitals. For example, California, home of Silicon Valley and the largest number of tech workers in the country, lands at a mid-level 27th place.
How the Rankings Were Created
The study defines a future-proof workforce as one with a large share of workers in fields that are projected to drive the economy in the coming years. Researchers chose 30 jobs from the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics to examine. These jobs include:
Software developers, data scientists, and information security analysts
Electrical, electronics, mechanical, materials, and computer hardware engineers
Semiconductor processing technicians and CNC tool programmers
Solar photovoltaic installers and wind turbine service technicians
Each state was given a score out of 100 in seven different metrics, which were:
Share of workers in future-focused occupations (25%)
Share of private businesses in future-tech industries (25%)
Growth in future-focused occupation employment, 2020-2025 (15%)
Median salary for future-focused occupations (10%)
Research and design (R&D) as a share of state GDP (10%)
Share of degrees awarded in science and engineering (5%)
The metrics only counted private establishments. The study covered 27 industries, from semiconductor manufacturing and aerospace parts to software publishing, engineering services, and solar, wind, and geothermal power. Excluding government establishments gave the team a true picture of the technology ecosystem in each state, not the size of its public sector.
Categories were weighted this way because concentration counts more than raw size of a workforce. A small state where tech work makes up the bulk of the economy can beat out a large state where technology is just one small sector among many. How the study weighs the ranking explains its most surprising results.
The Top 10 States
Rank | State | Score |
1 | Washington | 79.50 |
2 | New Mexico | 73.38 |
3 | Utah | 71.46 |
4 | Idaho | 68.97 |
5 | Rhode Island | 68.43 |
6 | Michigan | 67.92 |
7 | North Carolina | 66.44 |
8 | Massachusetts | 66.19 |
9 | New Hampshire | 64.64 |
10 | Colorado | 63.16 |
Washington is Strong in Every Metric
Washington’s 79.50 score is more than six points ahead of every other state. It was strong across the board rather than dominant in any one category. More than 202,000 people, which is about 5.7% of the workforce, are employed in a future-focused occupation with a median salary of $109,175. The number of future-tech businesses in the state grew 59.1% over five years. R&D is 8.42% of the state’s GDP.
The study acknowledges Washington’s long-established aerospace and software sectors as a likely reason the state scores so highly. Washington leads the nation in aerospace exports, sales, employment, and labor productivity. Aerospace is the epitome of one of the “future-proof” industries the study focuses on.
New Mexico has the Fastest Job Growth
New Mexico in second place may be the biggest surprise in the study. The state only has 33,600 workers in future-focused occupations, but that number grew by 35.2% between 2020 and 2025, which is the fastest growth rate in the country. Those workers had high earnings too with a median salary of $117,950. The state’s R&D spending is 8.44% of the GDP.
The study credits New Mexico’s national laboratories and its growing aerospace and defense sector for the high score. These traits have built a STEM workforce that most people outside the region haven’t caught on to.
Strong Numbers in the Mountain West
Utah and Idaho come in third and fourth, showing an emerging growth trend across the Mountain West. Utah’s future-focused employment grew by 28.2%, and its future-focused tech businesses increased by 65.1% over five years.
Idaho’s numbers truly stand out. Its count of private future-tech businesses grew 124.3% between 2020 and 2025, the highest growth of number of businesses in any state. However, their share of workers in these jobs is still a modest 2.5% despite the business base doubling.
Small States with Big Shares
Rhode Island in fifth place shows that a small state can rank well when tech makes up a large share of its economy. Only about 17,700 Rhode Islanders work in future-focused roles, but 9.1% of the state’s private businesses operate in future-tech industries. That business segment grew 62.3% over five years.
New Hampshire in ninth has the highest share of future-tech businesses in the top ten at 10.5%, even though its employment and occupations fell by 1.8%. Delaware in 18th place has the highest share of the study at 10.9% and the highest median salary in future-focused occupations at $120,190. The number of workers in those roles fell 10.8% over five years, barring Delaware from the top ten.
The Established Hubs
In eighth place, Massachusetts has the highest R&D investment of any state, comprising 9.06% of the GDP. Massachusetts workers in those fields earn a median salary of $114,100. But employment in future-focused occupations barely changed, rising only .1% over five years. The state’s tech economy looks mature rather than growing.
Colorado in tenth showed a similar pattern with a health share of future-tech industries at 10% but occupational growth of only .6%.
Michigan in sixth reflects its strong manufacturing hubs. More than 212,000 workers hold future-focused roles, representing 4.8% of the state’s workforce, and future-tech businesses grew by 84.1% These numbers make sense in a state where automotive engineering is moving toward production of electric and automated vehicles. North Carolina in seventh place combines their 21.9% occupation growth with nearly 27,000 future-tech businesses.
Why California Ranks 27th
California, known for Silicon Valley, the ultimate destination for techies, has more than 703,060 workers in future-focused occupations, which beats out all other states by a wide margin. It also has strong numbers in engineering education and R&D. So why did it only rank 27th place?
The answer focuses on concentration and the state’s growth momentum. Future-tech industries make up just 3.4% of California’s private businesses, which is actually the lowest share in the country. Growth in these businesses was over 19.8% in five years, also the lowest in the country. California certainly has an enormous tech sector, but the state’s overall economy is so large that tech only makes up a small part of it. New tech businesses are showing faster growth in other states.
Other large states had similar results. Texas has more than 511,000 future-focused workers and 23.4% occupation growth and ranked 11th. New York with nearly 274,000 ranked 26th and Florida with 250,000 such workers and 24.5% growth ranked 24th.
States at the Bottom of the List
Mississippi ranked last with a score of just 36.95. Missouri ranked 49th place with the steepest drop in future-focused employment of any state, down 12.8%. Alaska, Louisiana, and Nebraska completed the bottom five.
Business growth wasn’t the problem for most of these states. Mississippi, Missouri, and Nebraska all grew their future-tech business numbers by 60% or more. The weakness was in a low number of workers in future-focused roles and falling employment numbers in these roles. That’s a sign that new businesses alone can’t create a future-ready workforce if workers don’t grow alongside these businesses.
Altium’s rankings show that preparing a workforce for the future isn’t just a question of size. Future-proof states are places where workers, employment, and research investment all grow together. The next economy will be shaped less by where tech talent already lives and where it can move, grow, and thrive.
