District 12: Coal | Cataract & OPD

District 12 specializes in mining (mainly coal) and is the farthest from the capitol. They are at a disadvantage in the Hunger Games because they don't learn their district specialty until they are 18. Katniss, Peeta and other major characters come from District 12. It is located in the Appalachian Mountains, and the district itself is split into two distinct housing areas and social classes. "The Seam" is a slum where those who work in the coal mines live, whereas the mercantile class lives in the town, centered around the "Square". Both classes are easy to distinguish physically and generally socialize amongst themselves. Those from the Seam generally have dark hair, grey eyes, and olive skin, and those from merchant families typically have blond hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. Katniss and Gale are from The Seam, whereas Peeta is a baker's son from town.

District 10: Livestock | Residents & Junior Consultants

District 10 specializes in livestock. At least one job is mentioned throughout the book: keeping embryos of cattle to keep enough livestock to send to the Capitol. Katniss does not note any major tributes from District 10, except one boy with a crippled leg who is mentioned several times. At the 75th Hunger Games, Katniss notes that the District 10 tributes, who are dressed as cows, have flaming belts on as if they are broiling themselves, an imitation of Cinna and Portia's techniques to showcase Katniss and Peeta at the 74th Hunger Games.

District 9: Grain | Staff (Laser, OR, VLC)

District 9 specializes in producing grain. The District 9 boy tribute in the 74th Hunger Games is described as having hazel eyes, but whether that is a common trait in his region is not stated. He and Katniss struggled over a backpack of supplies until he was knifed in the back by Clove, the District 2 female tribute. District 9 is the only district to lose both tributes in the initial bloodbath phase of both the 74th and 75th Games.

District 8: Textile | Retina

District 8 specializes in textiles (including at least one factory in which Peacekeeper uniforms are made).

District 8 was one of the first districts to rebel, as Katniss saw on Mayor Undersee's television. Two people from District 8, Bonnie and Twill, escaped during one of the uprisings and informed Katniss of the theory that District 13 still existed. It is implied that security is strict in District 8 following the uprising, and the citizens are desperate for hope.

District 7: Lumber | Low Vision & Uveitis

District 7 specializes in lumber and paper. Apparently a large proportion of District 7's forest consists of pine, as Johanna Mason, the tribute for the 3rd quarter quell, comments that pine needles "smell like home."

District 6: Transportation | Pediatric Ophthalmology & Neuro-ophthalmology

District 6 specializes in transportation, serving as a hub for the transport network. During the 74th Hunger Games, both male and female tributes were killed during the first day. In the film the male was targeted by Cato, who accused him of taking his knife during a pre-Games training exercise (though it was actually stolen by Rue). During the 75th Hunger Games the female tribute dies when a monkey mutation bites her on the chest and ruptures her internal organs as she blocks it from Peeta, who was its initial target. Peeta allows her to paint flowers on his face with her blood, and describes many colors to her as she dies. 

District 4: Fishing | Glaucoma

District 4 is a coastal district that specializes in fishing. It is another wealthy district in which children often train to become Career tributes (tributes from this district are not considered careers in the film adaption). It is said that District 4 has the most "decent-looking" people. The most popular bread baked in this District is a salty, fish-shaped loaf tinted green by seaweed.

District 3: Electronics | External Disease & Cornea

District 3 specializes in the production of electronics. Most of its inhabitants work in factories and are very adept in skills such as engineering, which its tributes have used to their advantage in the Games. In the 74th Hunger Games, the male tribute from District 3 managed to reactivate the land-mines surrounding the Cornucopia so they could be used to protect the supplies of the Careers. One of the previous victors to come from District 3, Beetee won his Games by setting a trap that electrocuted many of the other tributes. He also used his skills after being chosen to compete in the 75th Hunger Games in Catching Fire. The other Victor chosen to compete in the 75th Hunger Games was a woman named Wiress, who discovered that the arena operated like a clock and told Katniss how to detect force fields, after she pointed (or at least started to point) out the force field put up between the Game Makers and the victors.

District 2: Masonry & Peacekeepers | Orbit

District 2 is in charge of stone cutting, fighting, and weapon making, though it was revealed in Mockingjay that it is also a center of training for the Capitol's army of Peacekeepers. District 2 is a large district in the Rocky Mountains, not far from the Capitol itself. Its citizens have better living conditions than most other districts; support for Capitol control is stronger here than in any other district. Some citizens of District 2 give their children names of Ancient Roman or Greek style, like those common in the Capitol. District 2 tributes often volunteer for the Games even when not selected in the drawing (this is said to make the Reapings very difficult). As such, their tributes are among those referred to as "careers".

District 1: Luxury | Core Group

District 1 specializes in producing luxury items such as jewelry. Children living there take pride in representing District 1 in the Games, and are often among the group of tributes nicknamed "Careers", who illegally train for the Games from a young age. Katniss calls them "the Capitol's lap dogs" in The Hunger Games book. Once the Games begin, the tributes from the Career-heavy districts (typically Districts 1, 2, and 4) tend to form an alliance until they are forced to fight among themselves to determine the winner. District 1 is heavily favored by the Capitol and is fairly wealthy compared to the rest of the districts.