Top Occupations in Washington by Political Donations

See which occupations donate the most in Washington. 100 occupations, $66.7M in donations from Washington.

The occupational breakdown of political donors in Washington reflects the state's economic makeup. This ranking shows which professions contribute the most to federal campaigns from within Washington, with both state-level and national totals provided for comparison. The mix of top occupations can differ substantially from one state to another based on local industries and workforce composition.

#OccupationWashington TotalNational Total
1PARTNER$11.6M$91.1M
2INVESTOR$5.1M$245.5M
3ANALYST$4.7M$12.9M
4SOFTWARE ENGINEER$3.9M$34.6M
5ENGINEER$3.2M$69.4M
6WEALTH ADVISOR$2.4M$3.0M
7FOUNDER$2.0M$119.1M
8THERAPIST$1.9M$6.5M
9MANAGER$1.7M$70.3M
10PHILANTHROPIST$1.5M$59.2M
11CO-FOUNDER$1.5M$40.9M
12VENTURE CAPITALIST$1.4M$21.8M
13VENTURE CAPITAL$1.3M$28.0M
14VICE PRESIDENT$1.1M$26.8M
15TEACHER$1.0M$28.4M
16WRITER$707K$38.7M
17SOFTWARE DEVELOPER$700K$6.5M
18SCIENTIST$641K$17.7M
19PSYCHOLOGIST$608K$15.3M
20PRODUCT MANAGER$598K$3.9M
21REAL ESTATE BROKER$586K$19.8M
22PRESIDENT & CEO$562K$20.9M
23ARTIST$560K$25.5M
24ACCOUNTANT$530K$14.2M
25FINANCIAL ADVISOR$493K$13.8M
26MARKETING$477K$13.0M
27EDUCATOR$455K$10.0M
28PROGRAM MANAGER$441K$3.9M
29PROGRAMMER$441K$6.0M
30CONTRACTOR$405K$14.0M
31PIPEFITTER$398K$583K
32ADMINISTRATOR$391K$8.8M
33BOARD MEMBER$362K$8.4M
34ARCHITECT$354K$16.2M
35SOFTWARE$340K$3.0M
36SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT$337K$7.0M
37OFFICE MANAGER$313K$4.0M
38SELF$310K$11.9M
39OFFICER$298K$1.6M
40MUSICIAN$298K$7.8M
41FIRE FIGHTER / EMS$294K$3.4M
42DESIGNER$294K$11.0M
43RESEARCHER$291K$11.7M
44PROJECT MANAGER$286K$7.2M
45AUTHOR$282K$12.6M
46RESEARCH SCIENTIST$274K$2.1M
47RESEARCH ENGINEER$270K$474K
48STUDENT$270K$6.1M
49NOT-EMPLOYED$262K$8.1M
50INVESTMENT BANKER$261K$7.7M
51GENERAL MANAGER$260K$5.6M
52RN$242K$5.3M
53ENGINEERING MANAGER$240K$2.2M
54PILOT$235K$6.9M
55RANCHER$233K$8.2M
56CTO$221K$4.3M
57AIRLINE PILOT$218K$3.9M
58RETAILER$213K$3.8M
59PROPERTY MANAGER$204K$4.5M
60REGISTERED NURSE$192K$4.1M
61DIRECTOR,NON-TECHNICAL$192K$192K
62TRUSTEE$191K$5.1M
63PHOTOGRAPHER$186K$6.5M
64PSYCHOTHERAPIST$179K$6.6M
65AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER$177K$5.8M
66ECONOMIST$177K$5.5M
67ADVISOR$174K$9.1M
68COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE$173K$3.1M
69NURSE$173K$4.7M
70IT$165K$3.9M
71SOCIAL WORKER$165K$6.2M
72ENGINEERING$161K$1.6M
73BOOKKEEPER$161K$2.6M
74UNEMPLOYED$157K$5.4M
75HOUSEWIFE$156K$2.0M
76WOODWORKER$155K$274K
77ADMINSTRATOR$153K$230K
78GENERAL CONTRACTOR$152K$3.0M
79TECHNOLOGY$147K$2.1M
80DATA SCIENTIST$146K$1.8M
81GEOLOGIST$141K$1.9M
82PROPERTY MANAGEMENT$131K$3.0M
83CAREGIVER$129K$1.4M
84ELECTRICIAN$128K$2.3M
85SOFTWARE ENGINEERING MANAGER$126K$498K
86COMMUNICATIONS$119K$2.8M
87TECH EXEC$118K$252K
88HOSPITALITY$117K$1.4M
89DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR$116K$638K
90CIVIL ENGINEER$115K$3.2M
91PRIVATE INVESTOR$113K$9.0M
92HISTORIAN$113K$1.2M
93TECH$110K$1.6M
94COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER$110K$2.3M
95PM$108K$645K
96PRINCIPAL,NON-TECHNICAL$104K$104K
97NURSE PRACTITIONER$102K$2.5M
98GENERAL PARTNER$100K$2.7M
99RESEARCH$100K$2.0M
100CORPORATE VICE PRESIDENT$98K$224K

Frequently Asked Questions

What occupations donate the most in Washington?

The top political donors by occupation in Washington typically include retirees, attorneys, executives, and physicians. Across 100 tracked occupations, Washington residents have contributed $66.7M to federal campaigns.

Does Washington's occupation mix differ from the national average?

Each state's occupational giving profile reflects its local economy. States with major financial centers see more banker and investor donations, while states with large university systems see more professor and researcher contributions. Compare the Washington and National Total columns to spot these differences.

How are occupation categories determined?

Donors self-report their occupation on FEC contribution forms. We normalize common variations (e.g., "ATTORNEY" and "LAWYER" are combined) to produce cleaner rankings, though some inconsistency remains due to the self-reported nature of the data.

More Washington Data

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