Which Us State is The Best For Developing Your Career? 

At first thought, you might not be willing to relocate to get a job, however, relocating can often kick-start or help progress your career further. Each state across the US can offer more or less depending on what your chosen industry is. It can be a hard decision to make, but we want to make that decision easier by revealing the best states to work in. 

Here at AgilePR, we’ve used our expertise in starting your job search to uncover the best states to work in for each industry. We’ve looked at 15 different industries, as well as a number of different factors to help you decide the best state to live in to help progress your career. These factors include the cost of living, the number of relevant companies, the percentage of employees who have access to healthcare and retirement benefits, as well as how many companies are included in Fortune’s 100 best companies to work for. 

Best States to Work in Each Industry

1. 1. Texas – The best place to work in 14 industries

Texas has been ranked as the best place to work in 14 different industries, taking the top spot by a country mile! Other than the sales industry, Texas ranked as the best place to work in, scoring a minimum of 6.58/10. 

2. 2. California – The best place to work in 1 industry

California was the only state to rank higher than Texas for one industry only, the sales industry. California had a score of 6.56, followed by New York and Texas in second and third place respectively. Although the average wage in California for the sales industry is lower than New York, California has 1,435 sales and retail companies, more than second and third place combined. 

Worst States to Work in Each Industry

1. 1. Idaho – The worst place to work in 9 industries

Idaho takes the crown as the worst state to work in across the US. Idaho was ranked the worst state to work in for nine different industries. Idaho’s score in the healthcare practitioners and technical industry was the highest to be ranked the worst in, scoring 1.66 out of 10.

2. 2. Montana – The worst place to work in 5 industries

Montana is the second worst state to work in across the country, ranking the worst state in five different industries. Montana was ranked joint last with Idaho in the office and administrative support industry. Montana was also ranked last in management, community and social services, architecture and engineering, and sales. Montana also recorded the lowest score in all of our lists with just 0.96 in the management industry. 

3. 3. Nevada – The worst place to work in 2 industries

Nevada completes our top three and is ranked the third worst state to work in. Nevada was ranked the worst state to work in for the farming, fishing, and forestry industry, and the personal care and service industry. 

Highest Average Salary

1. 1. New York – $75,486 average salary 

Across all of our 15 industries, New York had the highest average salary at just over $75,000 a year. A management role in New York offers the highest average salary across all states and all of our industries, at just over $156,000 a year. However, New York’s cost of living is also the highest across our states, with a score of 148.2. 

2. 2. California – $73,795.33 average salary

California takes second place with an average salary of $73,795.33 a year. Once again it’s the management industry which brings the average higher, with an average salary of $141,440. However, like New York, California comes with a high cost of living with a score of 142.2, the second highest score on our list. 

3. 3. Massachusetts – $73,704.67 average salary

Massachusetts completes our top three with an average salary of $73,705, just over $90 less than New York. The highest average salary in Massachusetts is in the management industry once again, averaging higher than California at $143,000. Massachusetts’ cost of living is still very high with a score of 135. 

Most Expensive States to Live in the US

The cost of living score is calculated using a baseline of 100, representing the average across America, therefore anything above 100 is above average, and anything under 100 is below average. The higher above the average, the higher cost of living. 

1. 1. Hawaii – 193.3 cost of living score

Hawaii takes the top spot with a cost of living score of 193.3, 45 points higher than second place. Interestingly, Hawaii has one of the lowest poverty rates in the US. Despite its high cost of living, the average salary in Hawaii across our 15 industries ranks 12th out of the 50 states.

2. 2. New York – 148.2 cost of living score

New York takes second place with a cost of living score of 148.2. Despite its high cost of living score, New York has one of the highest average salaries across our 15 industries to help soften the blow. 

3. 3. California 142.2 cost of living score

California completes our top three of the most expensive states to live with a cost of living score of 142.2. California also has the second highest average salary across all 15 of our industries.

Cheapest States to Live in the US

1. 1. Mississippi – 83.3 cost of living score

Mississippi is crowned the cheapest state to live in with a cost of living score of 83.3, 16.7 below the baseline average of 100. However, as attractive as the low cost of living is, Mississippi also has the lowest average salary in the US across our 15 industries

2. 2. Kansas – 86.5 cost of living score

Kansas is the second cheapest state to live in the US with a cost of living score of 86.5. Although Kansas’ average salary is low, it is ranked 41st out of the 50 states which could make it a sensible choice for relocating. 

3. 3. Alabama – 87.9 cost of living score

Alabama completes our top three with a cost of living score of 87.9. Alabama sits in 38th place for average salaries across our 15 states, which makes it a great state to relocate to if you are looking for a new job, as it’s just 1.4 points higher than second-placed Kansas.

Best States to Find a Job

Finding a job can be hard, so moving to a state which has a lot of companies to work for can give you the best chance possible. We’ve totalled the number of companies across each of our 15 industries to reveal which state has the most companies. 

1. 1. California – 704,587 companies to work for

California takes the top spot with over 700,000 companies to work for across all of our 15 industries. California tops the list for the most companies in 12 out of the 15 industries included. California also has 24 companies on the Fortune 500 list of best companies to work for. 

2. 2. Texas – 435,014 companies to work for

Texas takes second place with just over 435,000 companies to work for across our 15 industries. Texas has the most construction and extraction companies, with 6,219 companies, 3,800 more than Oklahoma in second place. California has just 488 companies in this industry. 

3. 3. Florida – 428,697 companies to work for

Florida completes our top three with 428,000 companies across our 15 industries. Florida has the highest number of companies in the US for the building and grounds cleaning and maintenance industry with a total of 8,365 companies, 900 more than California in second place for this industry. Florida’s cost of living is around average, with a score of 100.3.

Best States for Healthcare Benefits

Healthcare benefits are really important when relocating for work, and can help ease some of the stress if you ever need to use them. That’s why we’ve looked at which states have the highest percentage of workers that have access to healthcare benefits.

1. 1. Oklahoma/Arkansas/Texas/Louisiana – 96% of workers with access to healthcare benefits

Four states take the top spot for the percentage of workers with access to healthcare benefits, with Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana boasting a total of 96%.

2. 2. Mississippi/Alabama/Tennessee/Kentucky – 92% of workers with access to healthcare benefits

In second place are Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky who share the second spot with 92% of workers who have access to healthcare benefits. 

3. 3. Georgia/South Carolina/North Carolina/Florida – 91% of workers with access to healthcare benefits

Completing our top three are another four states, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Florida, who have 91% of workers in these states with access to healthcare benefits. 

The lowest percentage of workers with access to healthcare benefits was 83%, which was shared between five states: Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

Best States for Retirement Benefits

Deciding to retire can be a long and difficult decision, and what can often help that decision is the number of retirement benefits available to you. That’s why we’ve looked at the percentage of workers who have access to retirement benefits. 

1. 1. Oklahoma/Arkansas/Texas/Louisiana – 97% of workers with access to retirement benefits

Four states share the top spot with 97% of workers having access to retirement benefits. Those four states are Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana.

2. 2. Mississippi/Alabama/Tennessee/Kentucky – 94% of workers with access to retirement benefits

It’s another four states that share second place, with 94% of employees in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky having access to retirement benefits. Mississippi is a particularly attractive option to settle down with it having the lowest cost of living in the US. 

3. 3. West Virginia/Virginia/Pennsylvania/Delaware/New Jersey/Maryland/New York – 93% of workers with access to retirement benefits

There are seven states which complete our top three with 93% of workers in these states having access to retirement benefits. These states are West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, and New York.

The lowest percentage of workers with access to retirement benefits was 86%, with 14 states recording this figure: New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Wyoming, Utah, Montana, Idaho, Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada. 

States with the Best Companies to Work For

We’ve looked at how many of Fortune 500’s best companies to work for are in each state to see which state has the most. 

1. 1. California – 24 companies 

California takes the top spot with almost a quarter of the 100 companies in Fortune 500’s list based in this state. California’s total of 24 puts them comfortably at the top with three times as many as second place. California also ranks top of the most companies across our 15 industries.

2. 2. Texas/New York – 8 companies

Texas and New York share second place with 8 companies in Fortune 500’s list of the best companies to work for. Texas was ranked as the best state to work in for 14 of the 15 industries, with New York ranking in the top three for 13 of the 15 industries. New York’s lowest ranking was 5th for the architecture and engineering industry – surprising considering how incredible the New York skyline is! 

3. 3. Illinois – 7 companies 

Completing our top three is Illinois which makes the top three for the first time in our lists. Illinois recorded seven companies on the Fortune 500 list of the 100 best companies to work for. Illinois had the fifth highest number of companies across our 15 industries. 

Easiest State to Find a Job

We’ve used our own data to find out which states have the most job listings in each of our 15 industries, to reveal the easiest state to find a job. 

1. 1. California – 8,958,180 job listings

California takes the top spot once again with almost 9 million job listings in our 15 industries. California has the most job listings in every industry apart from one which is the food preparation and serving industry where it has the third highest number of job listings, behind Massachusetts and Texas which are first and second in this industry respectively. 

2. 2. Texas – 6,535,012 job listings

Texas takes second place with just over 6.5 million job listings. It’s no surprise that the second most populated state is also the state with the second-highest number of job listings. In fact, it has the second most job listings for 13 out of our 15 industries. It had the third most job listings for the farming, fishing, and forestry industry, and the fourth most job listings in the legal industry. 

3. 3. New York – 4,848,322 job listings

New York takes third place with almost 5 million job listings across our 15 industries. Despite having a smaller population than Florida (the third most populated state), New York completes our top three with just over 100,000 more job listings. New York had the second most farming, fishing, and forestry jobs available

Methodology. 

We used a variety of factors to determine the best and worst states to live in for 15 industries. 

Cost of living per region – World Population Review

Number of ‘Fortune 100 best companies to work for’ HQ per region – Fortune 500

Paid sick leave – XpertHR

Percentage of workers with access to healthcare benefits per region – US Bureau of Labor Statistics

Percentage of workers with access to retirement benefits per region – US Bureau of Labor Statistics

Annual Mean Wage per industry – US Bureau of Labor Statistics

Number of companies per industry – US Census Bureau – 

We then normalized each factor out of 10 before taking an average of these scores to get an overall score for each state and each industry.

For paid sick leave, we replaced ‘yes’ with ‘1’ and ‘no’ with ‘0’ to make the data comparable across each factor.