A small town has 25 percent of its jobs in the education sector, but the...

The location quotient (LQ) measures the concentration of an industry in a local area compared to a larger reference area (e.g., the nation). It is calculated as:

LQ = (Local industry share / National industry share).

Here, the town’s education sector share is 25% (0.25), and the national share is 10% (0.10).

LQ = 0.25 / 0.10 = 2.5.

Option B (2.5) is correct, indicating the town has 2.5 times the national concentration of education jobs. Option A (0.25) inverts the ratio. Options C (15) and D (35) are incorrect calculations. The APA’sAICP Certification Exam Content Outline(2022), under “Research and Assessment Methods,” defines the location quotient as “the ratio of a local industry’s share to the national share, used to measure industry concentration.” TheCPC Study Manual(2024) provides an example: “If a town has 25% of jobs in a sector and the nation has 10%, the LQ is 2.5,” supporting option B.