Find a Job You Really Want In
Architects are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as architects in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.
Since architects are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where architects 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 architects.
After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s architects:
So there you have it — Architects, Except Landscape And Naval is the best of the best when it comes to being an architect.
How did Architects, Except Landscape And Naval end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for architects and for more on the top ten states.
If youĂÂre interested, you can read more about the job scene here:
How we determined the best states to be an architect
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 architects in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well architects get paid. This led to the following criteria taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Occupational Employment Statistics for 2018:
- 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 architects in California is $95,060 and the average salary in Illinois is $79,520, 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 architects in America.
So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for architects.
1. Alabama
Total Jobs: 1,210
Average Annual Salary: $91,380
Average Entry Level Salary: $51,300
Average Experienced Salary: $142,700
Location Quotient: 0.86
2. Texas
Total Jobs: 8,560
Average Annual Salary: $99,580
Average Entry Level Salary: $47,390
Average Experienced Salary: $158,230
Location Quotient: 0.98
3. Nebraska
Total Jobs: 650
Average Annual Salary: $86,410
Average Entry Level Salary: $50,030
Average Experienced Salary: $131,730
Location Quotient: 0.92
4. Oklahoma
Total Jobs: 840
Average Annual Salary: $86,270
Average Entry Level Salary: $52,910
Average Experienced Salary: $126,550
Location Quotient: 0.73
5. Arizona
Total Jobs: 1,160
Average Annual Salary: $95,220
Average Entry Level Salary: $60,560
Average Experienced Salary: $149,270
Location Quotient: 0.58
6. North Carolina
Total Jobs: 2,330
Average Annual Salary: $84,980
Average Entry Level Salary: $51,570
Average Experienced Salary: $125,570
Location Quotient: 0.74
7. Minnesota
Total Jobs: 1,850
Average Annual Salary: $88,020
Average Entry Level Salary: $56,130
Average Experienced Salary: $129,450
Location Quotient: 0.9
8. Wyoming
Total Jobs: 100
Average Annual Salary: $85,400
Average Entry Level Salary: $55,020
Average Experienced Salary: $126,150
Location Quotient: 0.54
9. West Virginia
Total Jobs: 170
Average Annual Salary: $89,200
Average Entry Level Salary: $53,800
Average Experienced Salary: $135,580
Location Quotient: 0.33
10. Kansas
Total Jobs: 940
Average Annual Salary: $77,950
Average Entry Level Salary: $41,230
Average Experienced Salary: $128,710
Location Quotient: 0.94
There You Have It – The Best States To Be An Architect
If you’re looking to start out your career as an architect 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 an architect in America:
Detailed List Of The Best States For architects
| Rank | State | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | $91,380 |
| 2 | Texas | $99,580 |
| 3 | Nebraska | $86,410 |
| 4 | Oklahoma | $86,270 |
| 5 | Arizona | $95,220 |
| 6 | North Carolina | $84,980 |
| 7 | Minnesota | $88,020 |
| 8 | Wyoming | $85,400 |
| 9 | West Virginia | $89,200 |
| 10 | Kansas | $77,950 |
| 11 | Tennessee | $80,750 |
| 12 | Ohio | $82,640 |
| 13 | Indiana | $79,760 |
| 14 | New York | $109,520 |
| 15 | Virginia | $85,380 |
| 16 | Missouri | $76,580 |
| 17 | South Carolina | $85,610 |
| 18 | Illinois | $79,520 |
| 19 | Mississippi | $72,780 |
| 20 | Washington | $79,020 |
| 21 | Michigan | $75,100 |
| 22 | Florida | $82,710 |
| 23 | Massachusetts | $103,920 |
| 24 | Pennsylvania | $79,440 |
| 25 | Wisconsin | $78,110 |
| 26 | Iowa | $76,290 |
| 27 | Delaware | $83,410 |
| 28 | Louisiana | $75,710 |
| 29 | Colorado | $73,090 |
| 30 | Arkansas | $69,470 |
| 31 | Kentucky | $73,580 |
| 32 | Oregon | $84,430 |
| 33 | New Mexico | $72,740 |
| 34 | Idaho | $71,190 |
| 35 | New Hampshire | $89,260 |
| 36 | North Dakota | $79,570 |
| 37 | Alaska | $93,390 |
| 38 | Maryland | $87,790 |
| 39 | California | $95,060 |
| 40 | Utah | $67,540 |
| 41 | South Dakota | $80,310 |
| 42 | Vermont | $71,770 |
| 43 | New Jersey | $83,590 |
| 44 | Hawaii | $75,410 |
| 45 | Maine | $70,470 |
| 46 | Connecticut | $83,530 |
| 47 | Nevada | $74,620 |
| 48 | Rhode Island | $79,120 |
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.
