These are the most common jobs in California, rest of the nation

What do the most common wage jobs pay?

The nation’s most common jobs tend to pay lower wages.

On average, home health aides, retail and fast food workers earned less than $40,000 annually. By comparison, the average U.S. worker earned more than $59,384 per year.

Among the nation’s 10 most common occupations, only registered nurses earned an average salary above the national average for all jobs.

Jobs report: Economy added 206,000 jobs in June, unemployment at 4.1%

Jobs vary by state

The most common occupation in 14 states was fast food and counter workers.

In states like Massachusetts, where the population is aging quicker than other states, home health aide was the most common occupation. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that more than a quarter of Massachusetts’s population will be 60 and older by 2030.

Washington, DC is the only region where the top occupation was business operations specialist.

A decade ago, home health and personal care aides were not on the top 10 list of most common jobs.

Instead, the most common occupation in 2013 was retail salesperson, employing 4.5 million people. The average annual income for retail sales workers was $25,370.