To Find a Job, Go Northwest, Young Man
Twenty cities around the country are hoping for the job-creating boost of hosting Amazon’s second North American headquarters. With visions of Amazon building its HQ2 in their CBD, civic leaders in any of these markets might take either encouragement or warning from news that the state with the brightest overall prospects for employment is the one that is already home to HQ1.
Washington was ranked as the best state to find a job in WalletHub’s comparison of all 50 states across 29 key indicators of job-market strength, opportunity and a healthy economy. These indicators ranged from employment growth, to median annual income, to average commute time.
Not far behind Washington State’s overall score of 71.45 in the WalletHub study is Colorado’s 70.04. In fact, the Centennial State actually ranks first in terms of the overall score’s job-market component, which includes indicators such as unemployment rate, industry variety, job security and employer-based retirement access.
However, Colorado’s overall score is pulled down by its comparatively low ranking in the economic environment component, where Washington tops the list. This component is the sum of factors such as median annual income, average commute time and state income-tax burden for low, medium and high-income earners.
Since sheer numbers of job openings theoretically factor into the equation, how do the nation’s most populous states—the homes of its largest cities—compare to Washington or Colorado for job-seeking prospects? All are comparatively far down the list, although Texas does rank first in average starting salary.
The Lone Star State also manages to crack the top 10 for overall score, albeit just barely. California comes in at No. 17, while New York State manages 28th place.
In a number of metrics, California posts below-average rankings: median annual income, monthly average starting salary and, surprisingly, job opportunities. At the bottom of the overall list is West Virginia, with a total score of 33.61.
For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Paul Bubny
- ◦Economy
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