Solar electric power generation is the fastest growing industry in the US on the government’s latest numbers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects payroll jobs in solar generation to climb from 17,100 in 2025 to 43,300 in 2035, a rise of 152.9%, according to its table of the fastest growing industries. Wind generation (62.1%) and geothermal generation (31.9%) come next. The jobs, though, are somewhere else entirely: services for the elderly and persons with disabilities will add 625,400 positions over the same decade, more than any other detailed industry. For a founder deciding where to build, the gap between those two lists matters more than either one.
All figures here come from the BLS Employment Projections 2025 to 2035 release, published on 27 August 2026, and the detailed industry tables last updated on 8 September 2026. They cover the United States and measure wage and salary jobs, not revenue or the number of firms.
Solar, Wind and Healthcare Lead the 2025 to 2035 BLS Projections
- US employment is projected to grow only 3.5% between 2025 and 2035, from 170.3 million to 176.2 million jobs, against 10.9% in the previous decade.
- The fastest growing detailed industries are solar (152.9%), wind (62.1%) and geothermal (31.9%) power generation, but from very small bases.
- Mental health practices, therapy offices, data centres and electrical equipment makers all grow by more than 20%.
- Healthcare and social assistance adds over 2.2 million jobs, about 37% of all new US jobs, driven by an ageing population and chronic disease.
- Office and administrative support jobs shrink by 752,100, the biggest fall of any occupation group, as AI tools spread.
The Fastest Growing Industries in the US, 2025 to 2035
The first ten rows are the BLS list of fastest growing industries by percentage, from Table 2.3. The next eight are the industries adding the most jobs in absolute terms, from Table 2.5, so both kinds of growth sit side by side. Employment is in thousands. The annual growth rate is our own calculation from the published 2025 and 2035 figures.
| Industry | NAICS code | Jobs 2025 (000s) | Jobs 2035 (000s) | Change (000s) | Change % | Annual rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar electric power generation | 221114 | 17.1 | 43.3 | 26.2 | 152.9% | 9.7% |
| Wind electric power generation | 221115 | 13.4 | 21.8 | 8.3 | 62.1% | 5.0% |
| Geothermal electric power generation | 221116 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 31.9% | 2.7% |
| Offices of mental health practitioners (except physicians) | 621330 | 287.7 | 367.1 | 79.4 | 27.6% | 2.5% |
| Other electrical equipment and component manufacturing | 335900 | 175.9 | 221.4 | 45.5 | 25.9% | 2.3% |
| Offices of physical, occupational and speech therapists, and audiologists | 621340 | 515.0 | 645.6 | 130.6 | 25.4% | 2.3% |
| Computing infrastructure, data processing and web hosting | 518000 | 479.9 | 600.3 | 120.4 | 25.1% | 2.3% |
| Services for the elderly and persons with disabilities | 624120 | 2,802.3 | 3,427.7 | 625.4 | 22.3% | 2.0% |
| Outpatient mental health and substance abuse centres | 621420 | 330.2 | 400.2 | 70.0 | 21.2% | 1.9% |
| Other electric power generation | 221118 | 5.1 | 6.2 | 1.0 | 20.1% | 2.0% |
| Home healthcare services | 621600 | 1,810.1 | 2,146.4 | 336.3 | 18.6% | 1.7% |
| R&D in the physical, engineering and life sciences | 541710 | 857.0 | 1,000.7 | 143.7 | 16.8% | 1.6% |
| Management, scientific and technical consulting | 541600 | 1,863.2 | 2,144.1 | 280.9 | 15.1% | 1.4% |
| Computer systems design and related services | 541500 | 2,399.6 | 2,713.3 | 313.7 | 13.1% | 1.2% |
| Offices of physicians | 621100 | 3,008.8 | 3,221.5 | 212.7 | 7.1% | 0.7% |
| General medical and surgical hospitals (private) | 62210P | 5,185.7 | 5,427.1 | 241.4 | 4.7% | 0.5% |
| Full-service restaurants | 722511 | 5,393.2 | 5,558.6 | 165.4 | 3.1% | 0.3% |
| Local government (excluding education and hospitals) | 999300 | 6,180.5 | 6,304.4 | 123.9 | 2.0% | 0.2% |
| All wage and salary jobs | TE1200 | 160,458.6 | 166,224.3 | 5,765.7 | 3.6% | 0.35% |
Small differences between a change column and the two employment columns come from BLS rounding its published figures.
Fast Growth and Big Growth Are Different Things
Percentages flatter small industries. Solar generation more than doubles, yet the whole thing ends the decade at 43,300 payroll jobs. Add wind, geothermal and other generation and the four power industries create about 35,800 jobs between them, the BLS release says. Services for the elderly create more than 17 times as many.
We ran the numbers on the absolute leaders. The top four job creators (elder services, home healthcare, computer systems design and management consulting) add 1.56 million jobs between them, roughly 27% of the 5.77 million new wage and salary jobs in the whole economy. Every one of them is a service business that can start with a handful of people.
Growth by Sector: The Bigger Picture
At the level of the 21 major sectors, utilities grow fastest at 9.8%, but add only 58,800 jobs. Private healthcare and social assistance grows 9.5% and adds 2.2 million, according to a BLS Economics Daily note from 2 September 2026.
| Major sector | Projected change, 2025 to 2035 | Jobs added or lost |
|---|---|---|
| Utilities | 9.8% | 58,800 |
| Healthcare and social assistance (private) | 9.5% | 2,204,800 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 8.6% | 926,700 |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 5.7% | 153,100 |
| Information | 5.3% | 151,000 |
| Construction | 5.0% | 410,700 |
| Accommodation and food services | 4.3% | 607,400 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 3.1% | 207,300 |
| Finance and insurance | 2.3% | 154,300 |
| Manufacturing | 0.6% | 72,100 |
| Retail trade | -0.2% | -27,500 |
| Federal government | -3.4% | -98,500 |
Construction and accommodation and food services stand out as large sectors with above-average growth. Retail is the odd one out: BLS expects e-commerce to keep limiting jobs in stores, with transportation and warehousing taking up part of the slack.
What Is Driving Each Fast Growing Industry
Solar, Wind and Power Generation
BLS links utility growth to rising demand for electricity, including the power needs of artificial intelligence, and expects solar and wind generation to keep expanding. Two of the fastest growing occupations sit here too: solar photovoltaic installers (36.5%) and wind turbine service technicians (29.5%), although together they account for fewer than 15,000 new jobs.
Mental Health and Therapy Practices
Offices of mental health practitioners and outpatient mental health centres together add about 149,400 jobs, growth of roughly 24% on our arithmetic. The release ties this to the prevalence of behavioural health disorders and the demand to diagnose and manage them. Physical, occupational and speech therapy offices grow 25.4% on the same ageing and chronic-care logic.
Elder Care and Home Health
BLS points to an older population and higher rates of heart disease, cancer and diabetes. It also expects growing demand for care delivered at home, which is why services for the elderly (22.3%) and home healthcare (18.6%) grow faster than hospitals (4.7%). Nurse practitioners, up 41.0%, are the fastest growing occupation in the entire projection.
Data Centres and Computing Infrastructure
Computing infrastructure, data processing and web hosting adds 120,400 jobs, a 25.1% rise that the release credits to accelerated AI adoption. Data scientists (34.6%) and computer and information research scientists (21.8%) are among the fastest growing roles.
Electrical Equipment Manufacturing
The 25.9% rise in other electrical equipment manufacturing reflects demand for batteries for energy storage and electric vehicles, and for fibre optic cable that carries data across AI and telecom networks. In a manufacturing sector growing just 0.6% overall, this is a rare bright spot.
Professional, Technical and Consulting Services
Demand for AI-based systems, research and development and the consulting around them drives an 8.6% rise and 926,700 new jobs. Computer systems design, management consulting and R&D labs each add well over 100,000 positions.
Where the Openings Are for Founders
Job projections are a proxy for demand, not a business plan. Still, an industry hiring hundreds of thousands of extra people is one where customers are paying for more of something. Our reading of the data for a small US founder:
- Non-medical home care and senior services: companion care, meal delivery, home safety modifications and transport for older adults sit inside the biggest job engine in the table. Licensing rules vary by state, so check yours first.
- Software for small clinics: thousands of new therapy, mental health and home health practices will need scheduling, billing, intake and telehealth tools sized for a five-person office.
- Staffing and training: nurse practitioners, therapy assistants, solar installers and wind technicians are all scarce, fast-growing roles. Recruiting agencies and certification courses follow the shortage.
- Solar installation and energy services: residential installation, maintenance, panel cleaning and battery storage fitting ride the fastest percentage growth in the economy, with low starting headcount.
- AI implementation consulting: the professional services boom is partly about helping firms adopt AI. A specialist consultancy for one vertical can compete without a big sales team.
- Back-office automation: the projected loss of 752,100 office and administrative jobs means firms are buying tools and services that replace manual admin work.
Leisure is worth a second look too. Arts, entertainment and recreation grows 5.7%, ahead of the economy, which supports the kind of experience businesses we have covered in how escape rooms make money and starting a bounce house business in Texas. Pet and personal services fall under other services, up 3.8%, the territory of a mobile dog grooming business.
Industries Projected to Shrink
Federal government employment falls 3.4% and retail trade slips 0.2%, a loss of about 27,500 jobs. By occupation, office and administrative support drops 4.0%, the steepest decline of any major group, which BLS attributes to automation tools, including AI, being built into everyday workflows. Sales and related occupations fall 1.4%.
How to Read These Projections
- They count payroll jobs: the industry tables cover wage and salary employment, so self-employed owners and gig workers are not in them.
- They assume full employment in 2035: BLS models a fully employed economy and says it does not project an overall labour shortage or surplus.
- They are national: for state-level projections, the BLS release points readers to Projections Central.
- They are revised every year: the 2025 to 2035 set replaced the 2024 to 2034 projections, so check the period when you cite a figure.
Before committing to a sector, test the economics with our break-even calculator, and when you are ready to brand it, try the business name generator. More founder guides sit in our Startups section.
Fastest-Growing Jobs, Shrinking Industries and BLS Update Timing
What Is the Fastest Growing Industry in the US?
By percentage, solar electric power generation, projected to grow 152.9% from 2025 to 2035. By the number of jobs added, services for the elderly and persons with disabilities, with 625,400.
Which Sector Will Add the Most Jobs by 2035?
Private healthcare and social assistance, with more than 2.2 million new jobs, about 37% of all US job growth projected by BLS for the decade.
What Is the Fastest Growing Job in the US?
Nurse practitioners, projected to grow 41.0%, followed by solar photovoltaic installers at 36.5% and data scientists at 34.6%.
Which Industries Are Declining in the US?
Federal government (-3.4%) and retail trade (-0.2%) are the shrinking sectors. Office and administrative support is the fastest declining occupation group, at -4.0%.
How Often Does BLS Update Employment Projections?
Every year. The current 10-year set, covering 2025 to 2035, was released on 27 August 2026.
BLS Projections Release, Industry Tables and The Economics Daily
- BLS: Employment Projections 2025 to 2035 news release (27 August 2026)
- BLS Table 2.3: Industries with the fastest growing wage and salary employment
- BLS Table 2.5: Industries with the largest wage and salary employment growth
- BLS The Economics Daily: Utilities fastest job growth, healthcare most new jobs (2 September 2026)
