Work Context Index
Jobs where you walk the most
O*NET asks people in every occupation "How much does this job require walking or running?" and publishes the mean answer on a 1-to-5 scale. This page lists the 25 occupations whose mean sits highest, with the BLS wage, education and outlook for each.
Which jobs involve the most walking or running?
Across the 894 occupations O*NET 30.3 rates, the 25 highest for Spend Time Walking or Running average between 4.02 and 4.86 on O*NET's 1-to-5 scale, where 1 means "Never" and 5 means "Continually or almost continually"; the median across all occupations is 2.42. Highest are Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers (4.86), Textile Winding, Twisting, and Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders (4.73), Orderlies (4.62). Their median BLS wage is $38,670 (2025, 25 of 25 with a BLS line item), and 25 of the 25 with BLS education data typically need less than a bachelor's degree.
- Occupations compared
- 894 O*NET 30.3 occupations with published Work Context ratings
- What O*NET asks incumbents
- Spend Time Walking or Running: "How much does this job require walking or running?"
- Scale
- 1 = Never; 3 = About half the time; 5 = Continually or almost continually. Values are mean incumbent ratings.
- Wage and outlook source
- BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, Table 1.2 Occupational projections, 2025–35, and worker characteristics, 2025 (Employment in thousands). 10 of the 25 occupations listed have a dedicated RoleSprint page.
Source and method
O*NET 30.3 Database (Work Context), U.S. Department of Labor, and BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2. Verified 2026-09-05. Ratings are reproduced from O*NET as published mean incumbent responses on each question's own 1-to-5 scale. Percentile ranks, composite averages and the resulting order are RoleSprint's computation and are described on the methodology page. Wage, education and outlook fields are reproduced from BLS for the matching SOC code and left blank where BLS publishes no line item.
The 25 occupations
Ordered by mean rating for Spend Time Walking or Running, highest first. Scale: 1 = Never; 5 = Continually or almost continually.
| # | Occupation | O*NET value | Rank | BLS wage and education |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers O*NET-SOC 35-9011.00 | 4.86 of 5 Continually or almost continually | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $33,980 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +5.3% 2025-35 |
| 2 | Textile Winding, Twisting, and Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders O*NET-SOC 51-6064.00 | 4.73 of 5 between "More than half the time" and "Continually or almost continually" | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $38,670 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -10.3% 2025-35 |
| 3 | Orderlies O*NET-SOC 31-1132.00 | 4.62 of 5 between "More than half the time" and "Continually or almost continually" | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $38,290 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +4% 2025-35 |
| 4 | Food Servers, Nonrestaurant O*NET-SOC 35-3041.00 | 4.56 of 5 between "More than half the time" and "Continually or almost continually" | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $35,360 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +4.5% 2025-35 |
| 5 | Nursing Assistants O*NET-SOC 31-1131.00 | 4.54 of 5 between "More than half the time" and "Continually or almost continually" | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $42,260 median (2025) Postsecondary nondegree award · +2.6% 2025-35 |
| 6 | Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners O*NET-SOC 37-2011.00 | 4.52 of 5 between "More than half the time" and "Continually or almost continually" | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $36,840 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +2.2% 2025-35 |
| 7 | Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners O*NET-SOC 37-2012.00 | 4.49 of 5 between "More than half the time" and "Continually or almost continually" | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $35,510 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +0.6% 2025-35 |
| 8 | Waiters and Waitresses O*NET-SOC 35-3031.00 | 4.47 of 5 between "More than half the time" and "Continually or almost continually" | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $35,230 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +2% 2025-35 |
| 9 | Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop O*NET-SOC 35-9031.00 | 4.47 of 5 between "More than half the time" and "Continually or almost continually" | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $31,200 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +3.4% 2025-35 |
| 10 | Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers O*NET-SOC 47-2051.00 | 4.40 of 5 between "More than half the time" and "Continually or almost continually" | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $57,020 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +1.6% 2025-35 |
| 11 | Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders O*NET-SOC 51-9192.00 | 4.35 of 5 between "More than half the time" and "Continually or almost continually" | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $43,530 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +3.4% 2025-35 |
| 12 | Roof Bolters, Mining O*NET-SOC 47-5043.00 | 4.34 of 5 between "More than half the time" and "Continually or almost continually" | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $78,540 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -18.9% 2025-35 |
| 13 | Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders O*NET-SOC 51-3093.00 | 4.29 of 5 between "More than half the time" and "Continually or almost continually" | Higher than 99% of 894 occupations | $41,590 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -0.3% 2025-35 |
| 14 | Electricians O*NET-SOC 47-2111.00 | 4.23 of 5 More than half the time | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $63,190 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +9.2% 2025-35 |
| 15 | Floor Sanders and Finishers O*NET-SOC 47-2043.00 | 4.20 of 5 More than half the time | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $50,440 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +1.4% 2025-35 |
| 16 | Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers O*NET-SOC 27-1026.00 | 4.18 of 5 More than half the time | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $39,390 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +2.7% 2025-35 |
| 17 | Food Service Managers O*NET-SOC 11-9051.00 | 4.16 of 5 More than half the time | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $69,390 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +5.8% 2025-35 |
| 18 | Crossing Guards and Flaggers O*NET-SOC 33-9091.00 | 4.10 of 5 More than half the time | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $38,100 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +3.5% 2025-35 |
| 19 | Occupational Therapy Assistants O*NET-SOC 31-2011.00 | 4.10 of 5 More than half the time | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $72,300 median (2025) Associate's degree · +21.5% 2025-35 |
| 20 | Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers O*NET-SOC 31-9096.00 | 4.09 of 5 More than half the time | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $38,150 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +9.1% 2025-35 |
| 21 | Automotive and Watercraft Service Attendants O*NET-SOC 53-6031.00 | 4.07 of 5 More than half the time | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $35,670 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +3.8% 2025-35 |
| 22 | Textile Bleaching and Dyeing Machine Operators and Tenders O*NET-SOC 51-6061.00 | 4.07 of 5 More than half the time | Higher than 98% of 894 occupations | $38,180 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · -12.5% 2025-35 |
| 23 | Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria O*NET-SOC 35-2012.00 | 4.06 of 5 More than half the time | Higher than 97% of 894 occupations | $37,450 median (2025) No formal educational credential · +2.8% 2025-35 |
| 24 | Medical Equipment Preparers O*NET-SOC 31-9093.00 | 4.05 of 5 More than half the time | Higher than 97% of 894 occupations | $47,700 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +10.8% 2025-35 |
| 25 | Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic O*NET-SOC 51-4021.00 | 4.02 of 5 More than half the time | Higher than 97% of 894 occupations | $47,720 median (2025) High school diploma or equivalent · +0.7% 2025-35 |
Values are mean ratings from O*NET 30.3; most come from surveys of people in the occupation, some from occupational experts, and some for newer occupations from O*NET analysts. Wage, education and outlook are from BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2 for the matching SOC code and are blank where BLS publishes no line item.
How this was measured
Spend Time Walking or Running (O*NET element 4.C.2.d.1.d). The question put to incumbents: “How much does this job require walking or running?”
- 1
Never
- 2
Less than half the time
- 3
About half the time
- 4
More than half the time
- 5
Continually or almost continually
894 of 894 occupations have a published, unsuppressed value for this element. The percentile beside each occupation is its position among them.
The full method, including how ties are broken and what the data cannot tell you, is on the methodology page.
Narrow the list with BLS data
Each variant keeps the same measure and restricts the occupations by a published BLS threshold. A variant exists only where the restriction actually changes the list rather than the heading; the combinations that left the answer much as it was were not published.
Combine this with other conditions
The explorer ranks all occupations on any set of measures you choose, with the same values and the same arithmetic as this page.
Open the explorer with this selectionThis page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. RoleSprint has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Wage, education and outlook figures are reproduced from BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
What to do next
These rankings describe occupations in general. The next question is whether a specific opening in one of them actually matches what you can show, and that is answered by comparing the posting with your resume.