Highest-paying state for 50 different jobs

From Stacker.com, March, 2021

Location, location, location isn’t just a mantra for real estate—labor, too, is assigned a different value depending on where that labor takes place, even for the same job. Compensation for the same occupation can swing by thousands, or even tens of thousands, of dollars a year and from state to state.

Stacker analyzed 50 occupations across a wide range of industries and pay scales to determine the highest-paying state for 50 jobs. To compile the list, we analyzed 2019 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, last updated in April 2020. Then, we examined average annual wage data to determine the five states that pay the most for each of those chosen positions.

Sometimes, salaries are dictated by regions. Neighboring states that rely heavily on tourism, for example, might pay people in that industry more than states that aren’t popular destinations. Other times, variations in salary are industry-specific. Major oil states, for example, tend to pay their chemical engineers much more than the national average. In other cases, spikes and dips in pay seem arbitrary.

The list consists of a wide variety of jobs and identifies the states that pay well for them. Jobs on the list are arranged alphabetically. The analysis does not take into account the cost of living in each state, although cost-of-living dynamics are occasionally discussed because median pay is frequently influenced by how expensive or inexpensive it is to live in a particular state or region….

Waiters and waitresses: Hawaii

Highest-paying states:
- #1: Hawaii (average annual wage: $55,200; employment: 19,500)
- #2: Washington D.C. (average annual wage: $49,570; employment: 10,940)
- #3: Washington (average annual wage: $38,750; employment: 55,090)
- #4: New York (average annual wage: $37,150; employment: 160,470)
- #5: Arizona (average annual wage: $36,550; employment: 50,880)

Tourism is the #1 industry in Hawaii, and it relies heavily on the state’s massive restaurant industry. The state had steeled itself for recovery efforts as COVID-19 vaccines became more readily available in the winter of 2021, hoping the tourism industry could be revived before more restaurants were forced to close.

Hawaii is also #1 for Bakers, Cooks, Hotel Clerks, Motorboat Mechanics, and Carpenters….

read … Full Report

Related: How Minimum Wage Worker Makes $72K