After Everything - State Report - Projections of Jobs, Education, and Training Requirements through 2031

Oct 15, 2026

State-by-state analysis projecting education requirements linked to forecasted job growth for all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia from 2021 through 2031. The report compares each state’s job outlooks with national estimates and shows how the education composition of jobs changes from the base year to the forecast year, including rankings and detailed breakdowns by education level and occupational categories. It also explains a revised methodology for projecting job opportunities and replacement needs.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages222

Reading Time9 h 19 min

AccessFree to download

About the Projections Report

National Report

Technical Appendix

State Report

State-by-State Education and Job Outlooks

Education composition comparison (2021 vs 2031)

State rankings and national comparisons

Methodology note and job projection approach

STATE REPORT After Everything Projections of Jobs, Education, and Training Requirements through 2031 About the Projections Report The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce’s (CEW) job projections through 2031 include an executive summary, a national report, a state-by-state analysis, a technical appendix, and a webpage of data visualizations. The projections are designed to help policymakers set broad goals at the state level and to inform the educational choices and career plans of individuals and their counselors. National Report This report includes a national overview of job projections and their educational requirements across industries, occupational clusters, and detailed occupational groups. Technical Appendix The technical report is a detailed explanation of CEW’s methodological approach. State Report The state report provides a state-by-state analysis of education demand and compares job outlooks for individual states to national estimates. [Visit](Visit cew.georgetown.edu/Projections2031)[ cew.georgetown.edu/Projections2031](Visit cew.georgetown.edu/Projections2031) to access these reports and interact with the data. State Report | After Everything: Projections of Jobs, Education, and Training Requirements through 2031 1 This report projects education requirements linked to forecasted job growth for all 50 states and the District of Columbia from 2021 through 2031. It complements a larger national report that projects education demand by occupation and industry for the same period. The national report finds that by 2031, 72 percent of all jobs nationally will require at least some postsecondary education and training beyond high school. These requirements will differ by state: in the District of Columbia, more than 80 percent of all jobs will require postsecondary education in 2031, while in two states, Louisiana and Arkansas, fewer than 60 percent of jobs in 2031 will require education beyond high school. In this report, we show the following for each state: ⟐ The education composition of jobs in the base year (2021) compared to the forecast year (2031).⟐ How each state’s job forecasts compare to the national average, and how the states rank compared to one another. 1 ⟐ A breakdown of where the jobs are by state and by education level and occupation, for 25 detailed occupational categories in 2031. A note on the methodology: This report introduces a new methodology for projecting jobs. In previous reports, the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce broke down projections into two categories: new and replacement jobs. However, we have become increasingly convinced that those projections misrepresented “churn” in jobs, the turnover of employees in existing jobs, rather than the creation of new jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics in the US Department of Labor changed its methods for forecasting occupational openings beginning in 2016 to more closely represent new job opportunities. Readers will note that the projections for job growth in this report (18 .5 million annual job openings) are significantly different than previous reports. For example, in 2013, we forecast 55 million total job openings over a 10-year period in the economy through 2020. While we recognize that there is an opportunity for confusion, the new methodology results in significantly improved projections of job replacements and therefore is a better measure of employment demand, in our judgment. (For more details on the new methodology, please see Appendix I of the National report.) 1 This report forecasts educational requirements for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. As a result of including the District of Columbia, the state rankings are from 1 to 51. 2 After Everything: Projections of Jobs, Education, and Training Requirements through 2031 | State Report We find that ⟐ the five states that will have the largest share of jobs that require postsecondary

FAQs

What time period and scope does the state report cover?

The report projects education requirements tied to job growth for all 50 states and the District of Columbia from 2021 through 2031.

How does the report compare states with the national estimates?

It compares each state’s job outlooks to national averages, includes how states rank relative to one another, and contrasts education composition in the base year versus the forecast year.

What methodology change is highlighted in the report?

The report introduces a new job-projection methodology that aims to better represent “churn” (employee turnover in existing jobs) rather than focusing only on new versus replacement jobs as in prior releases.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Sophia Brooks