Among the Class of 2002 graduates, somewhat more than 1,300 obtained a job with a state government. Interestingly, only roughly one-third of these jobs are located in state capital cities, suggesting that students interested in state government jobs should not limit their searches to just these cities. The table on the opposite page shows the prevalence of state jobs in state capitals. Not surprisingly, the number of opportunities varies greatly among cities and over time.
Among cities that provided 50 or more total jobs to Class of 2002 grads, the percentage of jobs in state government was highest in Tallahassee, Harrisburg, and Trenton.
When comparing 1997 and 2002, the number of opportunities has also been relatively constant in cities such as Tallahassee and Harrisburg. This is also true of Sacramento and Olympia.
A few cities, such as Denver, Trenton, and Topeka, offered more state government jobs, whether measured as counts of jobs or percentages, to 2002 grads than to 1997 grads.
A greater number of cities, however, have seen a decrease between 1997 and 2002. These include Albany, Columbia, Madison, Little Rock, Columbus, and Indianapolis, to name several.
A number of states offered few or no state government opportunities in 2002, and even fewer in 2002 than in 1997. Charleston and Boise are notable for offering a reasonable number of jobs, but virtually none in state government in 2002 (and just a few in 1997).
State Government Jobs in State Capitals — Class of 1997 and 2002
| 2002 | 1997 | |||||
| Total Jobs Taken | State Gov't Jobs | % of Jobs in State Gov't | Total Jobs Taken | State Gov't Jobs | % of Jobs in State Gov't | |
| Boston | 703 | 22 | 3.1% | 706 | 49 | 6.9% |
| Atlanta | 566 | 4 | 0.7 | 521 | 14 | 2.7 |
| Denver | 281 | 30 | 10.7 | 223 | 9 | 4.0 |
| Columbus | 257 | 25 | 9.7 | 250 | 37 | 14.8 |
| Austin | 237 | 37 | 15.6 | 206 | 33 | 16.0 |
| Indianapolis | 226 | 17 | 7.5 | 230 | 27 | 11.7 |
| Sacramento | 203 | 25 | 12.3 | 183 | 28 | 15.3 |
| Phoenix | 181 | 5 | 2.8 | 237 | 15 | 6.3 |
| Salt Lake City | 148 | 5 | 3.4 | 116 | 4 | 3.4 |
| Hartford | 129 | 7 | 5.4 | 140 | 15 | 10.7 |
| Jackson | 128 | 6 | 4.7 | 93 | 5 | 5.4 |
| St. Paul | 118 | 14 | 11.9 | 124 | 16 | 12.9 |
| Richmond | 115 | 5 | 4.3 | 146 | 11 | 7.5 |
| Oklahoma City | 115 | 11 | 9.6 | 81 | 9 | 11.1 |
| Albany | 110 | 21 | 19.1 | 133 | 31 | 23.3 |
| Raleigh | 103 | 6 | 5.8 | 102 | 6 | 5.9 |
| Nashville | 96 | 5 | 5.2 | 101 | 9 | 8.9 |
| Tallahassee | 93 | 29 | 31.2 | 79 | 27 | 34.2 |
| Honolulu | 86 | 9 | 10.5 | 103 | 11 | 10.7 |
| Baton Rouge | 81 | 6 | 7.4 | 58 | 6 | 10.3 |
| Columbia | 80 | 10 | 12.5 | 83 | 20 | 24.1 |
| Des Moines | 72 | 4 | 5.6 | 64 | 1 | 1.6 |
| Harrisburg | 70 | 19 | 27.1 | 68 | 22 | 32.4 |
| Madison | 70 | 8 | 11.4 | 79 | 16 | 20.3 |
| Montgomery | 60 | 3 | 5.0 | 56 | 8 | 14.3 |
| Charleston | 54 | 1 | 1.9 | 56 | 5 | 8.9 |
| Salem | 52 | 5 | 9.6 | 37 | 11 | |
| Little Rock | 51 | 4 | 7.8 | 94 | 13 | 13.8 |
| Trenton | 50 | 11 | 22.0 | 51 | 7 | 13.7 |
| Lansing | 47 | 9 | 19.1 | 60 | 13 | 21.7 |
| Lincoln | 47 | 8 | 17.0 | 45 | 7 | 15.6 |
| Providence | 42 | 4 | 9.5 | 74 | 3 | 4.1 |
| Jefferson City | 42 | 19 | 45.2 | 39 | 26 | 66.7 |
| Boise | 38 | — | — | 51 | 6 | 11.8 |
| Topeka | 36 | 11 | 30.6 | 41 | 7 | 17.1 |
| Olympia | 26 | 16 | 61.5 | 31 | 18 | 58.1 |
| Concord | 24 | 3 | 12.5 | 30 | 3 | 10.0 |
| Annapolis | 24 | 2 | 8.3 | 38 | 9 | 23.7 |
| Springfield | 20 | 4 | 20.0 | 36 | 18 | 50.0 |
| Santa Fe | 19 | 6 | 31.6 | 14 | 4 | 28.6 |
| Frankfort | 16 | 6 | 37.5 | 28 | 18 | 64.3 |
| Helena | 14 | 1 | 7.1 | 13 | — | — |
| Montpelier | 12 | 3 | 25.0 | 15 | 6 | 40.0 |
| Cheyenne | 11 | 1 | 9.1 | 17 | 5 | 29.4 |
| Bismarck | 10 | 1 | 10.0 | 9 | 2 | 22.2 |
| Dover | 10 | 1 | 10.0 | 7 | 1 | 14.3 |
| Carson City | 8 | 1 | 12.5 | 12 | 2 | 16.7 |
| Pierre | 7 | — | — | 7 | 1 | 14.3 |
| Juneau | 4 | — | — | 3 | — | — |
| Augusta | 2 | 1 | 50.0 | 8 | 5 | 62.5 |
Source: NALP Employment Report and Salary Survey data for the class year.
