About 1 in 5 Florida workers are in science and engineering or related fields, placing the Sunshine State near the bottom of the list of states whose workforce is made up of STEM jobs.

New figures released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau show that just 8.9 percent of Florida workers between ages 25 and 64 worked in science, technology, engineering and math jobs, also known as STEM jobs.

Another 12 percent were in related fields, like architecture or health care management.

Florida had more than 450,000 workers in STEM or STEM-related jobs.

Only four other states — Wyoming, New York, Nevada and Georgia — and the District of Columbia had lower rates of workers in science and technology or related fields than Florida.

State officials in recent years have made efforts to bring high-tech science businesses to Orlando and Palm Beach County.

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Rate of STEM & STEM-related jobs by state

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 American Community Survey, released July 10, 2014

RANK STATE STEM & STEM-RELATED JOBS
1 Maryland 29.3%
2 Washington 29.1%
3 West Virginia 26.9%
4 Massachusetts 26.6%
5 Alaska 26.5%
6 Michigan 26.3%
7 New Mexico 26.1%
8 New Hampshire 25.4%
9 Pennsylvania 25.2%
10 Oregon 25.2%
11 Arizona 25.2%
12 Colorado 25.2%
13 California 25.1%
14 Virginia 25.0%
15 South Dakota 24.9%
16 Wisconsin 24.8%
17 Delaware 24.8%
18 Louisiana 24.7%
19 Idaho 24.7%
20 Montana 24.2%
21 Utah 24.2%
22 New Jersey 24.0%
23 Minnesota 23.9%
UNITED STATES 23.7%
24 Nebraska 23.7%
25 North Carolina 23.7%
26 Ohio 23.5%
27 Alabama 23.5%
28 Texas 23.4%
29 Indiana 23.1%
30 Rhode Island 23.0%
31 Vermont 23.0%
32 Maine 22.9%
33 Connecticut 22.9%
34 Tennessee 22.4%
35 Missouri 22.4%
36 Illinois 22.4%
37 Iowa 22.3%
38 Mississippi 22.2%
39 North Dakota 22.1%
40 Kentucky 22.0%
41 Kansas 22.0%
42 Arkansas 21.7%
43 South Carolina 21.7%
44 Oklahoma 21.6%
45 Hawaii 21.5%
46 FLORIDA 20.8%
47 Georgia 20.6%
48 Nevada 20.2%
49 New York 20.1%
50 Wyoming 19.2%
51 District of Columbia 19.0%