NALP Bulletin, January 2006 

Among Class of 2004 graduates, not quite 1,200 obtained a job with a state government. Interestingly, only 40% of these jobs were located in state capital cities, suggesting that students interested in state government jobs should not limit their searches to just these cities. The table below shows the prevalence of state government 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 2004 graduates, the percentage of jobs in state government was highest in Tallahassee, Topeka, and Harrisburg. Most state capitals, including such sizable cities as Atlanta and Richmond, provide only a handful of state government jobs.

• When comparing opportunities over time, they have been relatively constant in cities such as Tallahassee and Harrisburg. This is also true of Austin and Phoenix.

• Few cities offered more jobs in 2004 than in 1997. Columbus, St. Paul, Oklahoma City, and Topeka are among them.

• A greater number of cities, however, have seen a decrease since 1997 or 2001. These cities include Boston, Albany, Sacramento, Indianapolis, Springfield, IL, Hartford, and Columbia, SC, to name a few.

• A number of state capitals offered few or no state government opportunities in 2004, and fewer in 2004 than in 2001 or 1997. Charleston, Providence, and Boise are among the cities notable for offering a reasonable number of jobs overall, but few or none in state government in 2004, and fewer than in 2001 or 1997.

State Government Jobs in State Capitals — Classes of 1997, 2001, and 2004