Construction workers remain a crucial component of the American workforce, and contribute significantly to the country's economic development. Using the latest data available, researchers at Construction Coverage identified the U.S. states and metros with the largest shares of employment in the construction industry.
Although there was a modest rebound in single-family construction post-2015, which gained momentum during the pandemic, this surge has since subsided. In 2023, only 61.8% of new construction was allocated to single-family units. This ongoing underinvestment has led to an estimated shortfall of approximately 6.5 million single-family homes—a primary contributor to elevated housing prices. Researchers calculated the percentage of housing units that are single-family and ranked locations accordingly.
Advances in geological understanding and technology like horizontal drilling and fracking have transformed the U.S.'s oil business. Imports have fallen sharply, while production and exports have grown. In fact, the U.S. became a net exporter of oil for the first time ever in 2020, and average oil production in 2023 was nearly 22 million barrels per day. These are the U.S.'s biggest oil states.
The U.S. is short between 2.3 and 6.5 million housing units relative to the needs of the current population. And with fewer new homes coming onto the market, many buyers are increasingly competing for older homes. Researchers calculated the median age of residential housing units based on the year each unit was built, and ranked U.S. cities and states accordingly.
Nationally, plumbers earn about 30% more than the typical worker—but more localized data shows a highly regional industry. We ranked U.S. states and metros according to the median annual wage for plumbers, adjusted for the cost of living.
We calculated the proportion of jobs requiring no communication, seldom communication, or occasional communication within each occupation and ranked those occupations accordingly.
The U.S. is increasingly moving towards electrification—replacing technologies that use fossil fuels with those that use electricity. Not only are private sector companies like Tesla pushing for the adoption of electric technologies to replace those that use greenhouse gas-emitting energy…
Due to the increased cost of non-renewable energy sources like oil, gas, and coal, heating bills have reached their highest level in 10 years. Energy sources continue to be limited by economic and political conditions, such as OPEC+ cutting oil…
After a record-setting surge in home prices during the COVID-19 pandemic, the cooling of the real estate market seems to have fully set in. Mortgage rates doubled over the course of 2022 as the U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates…
As concerns over climate change continue to grow, there has been a sustained effort towards electrification, or the process of replacing technologies that use fossil fuels (including coal, oil, and natural gas) with technologies that use electricity for energy. States…
The housing market is entering the traditionally quieter winter season, but recent indicators suggest that the market has already been slowing in the last few months. New listings, pending sales, and prices are all on the decline, signs of rapid…
In recent years, policymakers and economic experts have embraced efforts to bring more manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. From the “America First” trade deals in the Trump Administration to historic investments in domestic manufacturing under the Biden Administration, industrial…
The last few years have brought rising demand for housing construction, home improvement projects, and durable goods. But amid supply chain challenges and an unusual labor market since the COVID-19 pandemic began, construction and related businesses have had a hard…
The residential real estate market in the U.S. experienced an unprecedented spike in home prices between 2020 and 2022, but signs from this spring and summer indicate that the market is cooling off. Existing home sales in the U.S. have…
Experts of all stripes agree that the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are critical to the U.S. economy. A recent study estimated that STEM supports 67% of jobs in the U.S. and 69% of the country’s GDP.…