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Technical Support Specialists are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as technical support specialists in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.
Since technical support specialists are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where technical support specialists have it the best: where there are plenty of jobs to go around and people get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.
To that end, we dove into the numbers from the BLS to figure out which states have the best opportunities for technical support specialists.
After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s technical support specialists:
So there you have it — Computer User Support Specialists is the best of the best when it comes to being a technical support specialist.
How did Computer User Support Specialists end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for technical support specialists and for more on the top ten states.
If youâre interested, you can read more about the job scene here:
- 10 Best Startups to Work For in Denver
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Denver
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Colorado
How we determined the best states to be a technical support specialist
Here at Zippia, we talk to a lot of people of all different backgrounds looking for jobs. Our research has concluded that there are two common things people want in a job:
- Availability of jobs
- Higher Pay
So in order to find out the best states for technical support specialists in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well technical support specialists get paid. This led to the following criteria taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Occupational Employment Statistics for 2016:
- Location quotient. A measure of how common a job is a given state.
- Average annual salary.
- Average annual salary for entry level work.
- Average annual salary for experienced professionals.
To make all the salary numbers more apples to apples across states, we compared the salary data relative to the state’s cost of living.
Applying this standardization allows us to account for that fact that it costs more to live in certain in states. For example, the average salary for technical support specialists in California is $61,820 and the average salary in Illinois is $54,710, but the Illinois salary actually goes further in paying for life’s essentials.
In order to develop and overall ranking, we ranked each state for each criteria from 1 to 50 where 1 was the best.
We then averaged all the rankings for a state into a Job Score with the state having the lowest overall Job Score earning the distinction of being the best state for technical support specialists in America.
So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for technical support specialists.
1. Colorado
Total Jobs: 13,890
Average Annual Salary: $60,020
Average Entry Level Salary: $34,060
Average Experienced Salary: $94,520
Location Quotient: 1.29
2. Georgia
Total Jobs: 23,120
Average Annual Salary: $53,530
Average Entry Level Salary: $27,680
Average Experienced Salary: $88,680
Location Quotient: 1.28
3. Michigan
Total Jobs: 19,620
Average Annual Salary: $51,670
Average Entry Level Salary: $27,220
Average Experienced Salary: $80,920
Location Quotient: 1.08
4. Texas
Total Jobs: 57,340
Average Annual Salary: $52,140
Average Entry Level Salary: $28,040
Average Experienced Salary: $80,950
Location Quotient: 1.14
5. Illinois
Total Jobs: 25,010
Average Annual Salary: $54,710
Average Entry Level Salary: $31,770
Average Experienced Salary: $82,180
Location Quotient: 0.99
6. Virginia
Total Jobs: 20,490
Average Annual Salary: $55,230
Average Entry Level Salary: $31,690
Average Experienced Salary: $83,070
Location Quotient: 1.27
7. North Carolina
Total Jobs: 21,970
Average Annual Salary: $51,770
Average Entry Level Salary: $28,490
Average Experienced Salary: $81,600
Location Quotient: 1.21
8. Washington
Total Jobs: 15,310
Average Annual Salary: $56,460
Average Entry Level Salary: $34,300
Average Experienced Salary: $85,600
Location Quotient: 1.16
9. Minnesota
Total Jobs: 13,240
Average Annual Salary: $53,860
Average Entry Level Salary: $32,860
Average Experienced Salary: $79,430
Location Quotient: 1.1
10. Missouri
Total Jobs: 14,200
Average Annual Salary: $47,350
Average Entry Level Salary: $27,640
Average Experienced Salary: $71,190
Location Quotient: 1.2
There You Have It – The Best States To Be A Technical Support Specialist
If you’re looking to start out your career as a technical support specialist these are the states that should be at the top of your list. You’ll find high pay, available jobs, and chances for career advancement.
If you’re curious, here are the worst states to be a technical support specialist in America:
For more reading, check out:
Detailed List Of The Best States For technical support specialists
| Rank | State | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colorado | $60,020 |
| 2 | Georgia | $53,530 |
| 3 | Michigan | $51,670 |
| 4 | Texas | $52,140 |
| 5 | Illinois | $54,710 |
| 6 | Virginia | $55,230 |
| 7 | North Carolina | $51,770 |
| 8 | Washington | $56,460 |
| 9 | Minnesota | $53,860 |
| 10 | Missouri | $47,350 |
| 11 | Tennessee | $48,610 |
| 12 | Delaware | $55,950 |
| 13 | Indiana | $48,800 |
| 14 | Pennsylvania | $52,090 |
| 15 | North Dakota | $52,750 |
| 16 | Oklahoma | $45,310 |
| 17 | Arizona | $49,670 |
| 18 | Nebraska | $46,840 |
| 19 | Utah | $46,570 |
| 20 | Kansas | $45,050 |
| 21 | Wisconsin | $49,460 |
| 22 | Alabama | $46,870 |
| 23 | Wyoming | $47,750 |
| 24 | Massachusetts | $62,430 |
| 25 | Ohio | $46,590 |
| 26 | Nevada | $50,720 |
| 27 | Kentucky | $46,400 |
| 28 | New Jersey | $59,150 |
| 29 | Florida | $45,970 |
| 30 | Mississippi | $44,510 |
| 31 | New Hampshire | $55,400 |
| 32 | West Virginia | $45,660 |
| 33 | California | $61,820 |
| 34 | Arkansas | $40,350 |
| 35 | Louisiana | $45,960 |
| 36 | Iowa | $44,090 |
| 37 | Vermont | $54,070 |
| 38 | Maine | $50,020 |
| 39 | Oregon | $51,580 |
| 40 | New Mexico | $43,750 |
| 41 | South Carolina | $46,160 |
| 42 | Idaho | $41,060 |
| 43 | Connecticut | $56,680 |
| 44 | Montana | $44,970 |
| 45 | New York | $56,510 |
| 46 | Maryland | $54,320 |
| 47 | Rhode Island | $54,350 |
| 48 | Alaska | $57,350 |
| 49 | South Dakota | $38,490 |
| 50 | Hawaii | $47,530 |
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
