Find a Job You Really Want In
Biologists are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as biologists in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.
Since biologists are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where biologists 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 biologists.
After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s biologists:
So there you have it — Biological Scientists, All Other is the best of the best when it comes to being a biologist.
How did Biological Scientists, All Other end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for biologists and for more on the top ten states.
If youĂÂre interested, you can read more about the job scene here:
- Best Companies to Work For in Baltimore
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Baltimore
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Maryland
How we determined the best states to be a biologist
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 biologists in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well biologists 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 biologists in California is $91,340 and the average salary in Illinois is $84,180, 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 biologists in America.
So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for biologists.
1. Maryland
Total Jobs: 4,100
Average Annual Salary: $103,790
Average Entry Level Salary: $57,960
Average Experienced Salary: $162,760
Location Quotient: 5.19
2. Mississippi
Total Jobs: 300
Average Annual Salary: $80,690
Average Entry Level Salary: $38,030
Average Experienced Salary: $134,820
Location Quotient: 0.91
3. Texas
Total Jobs: 2,100
Average Annual Salary: $80,900
Average Entry Level Salary: $49,060
Average Experienced Salary: $111,050
Location Quotient: 0.59
4. Virginia
Total Jobs: 540
Average Annual Salary: $93,750
Average Entry Level Salary: $53,970
Average Experienced Salary: $171,740
Location Quotient: 0.48
5. North Carolina
Total Jobs: 1,070
Average Annual Salary: $83,380
Average Entry Level Salary: $42,710
Average Experienced Salary: $126,230
Location Quotient: 0.83
6. Washington
Total Jobs: 1,270
Average Annual Salary: $85,200
Average Entry Level Salary: $50,220
Average Experienced Salary: $121,030
Location Quotient: 1.32
7. Arkansas
Total Jobs: 250
Average Annual Salary: $74,380
Average Entry Level Salary: $45,630
Average Experienced Salary: $95,980
Location Quotient: 0.69
8. Wyoming
Total Jobs: 160
Average Annual Salary: $71,030
Average Entry Level Salary: $52,280
Average Experienced Salary: $88,060
Location Quotient: 2.02
9. Arizona
Total Jobs: 570
Average Annual Salary: $83,680
Average Entry Level Salary: $41,370
Average Experienced Salary: $122,830
Location Quotient: 0.69
10. Georgia
Total Jobs: 1,040
Average Annual Salary: $72,460
Average Entry Level Salary: $42,800
Average Experienced Salary: $97,610
Location Quotient: 0.8
There You Have It – The Best States To Be A Biologist
If you’re looking to start out your career as a biologist 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 biologist in America:
For more reading, check out:
Detailed List Of The Best States For biologists
| Rank | State | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maryland | $103,790 |
| 2 | Mississippi | $80,690 |
| 3 | Texas | $80,900 |
| 4 | Virginia | $93,750 |
| 5 | North Carolina | $83,380 |
| 6 | Washington | $85,200 |
| 7 | Arkansas | $74,380 |
| 8 | Wyoming | $71,030 |
| 9 | Arizona | $83,680 |
| 10 | Georgia | $72,460 |
| 11 | New Mexico | $73,610 |
| 12 | Illinois | $84,180 |
| 13 | Michigan | $75,110 |
| 14 | Wisconsin | $73,520 |
| 15 | Idaho | $70,770 |
| 16 | Utah | $74,290 |
| 17 | Indiana | $69,180 |
| 18 | West Virginia | $70,060 |
| 19 | South Carolina | $78,370 |
| 20 | Nebraska | $74,790 |
| 21 | Kansas | $64,560 |
| 22 | Missouri | $67,290 |
| 23 | Tennessee | $67,690 |
| 24 | Minnesota | $73,770 |
| 25 | California | $91,340 |
| 26 | Alabama | $67,200 |
| 27 | Connecticut | $93,180 |
| 28 | Massachusetts | $84,790 |
| 29 | Montana | $66,110 |
| 30 | Rhode Island | $89,210 |
| 31 | Oklahoma | $64,200 |
| 32 | Colorado | $71,380 |
| 33 | North Dakota | $70,590 |
| 34 | Louisiana | $66,100 |
| 35 | Nevada | $73,490 |
| 36 | Ohio | $67,780 |
| 37 | Florida | $71,200 |
| 38 | Pennsylvania | $73,550 |
| 39 | Kentucky | $64,780 |
| 40 | Oregon | $69,930 |
| 41 | Alaska | $77,430 |
| 42 | Iowa | $62,320 |
| 43 | New Hampshire | $78,780 |
| 44 | New York | $89,000 |
| 45 | Hawaii | $79,760 |
| 46 | South Dakota | $65,660 |
| 47 | Vermont | $78,070 |
| 48 | New Jersey | $76,330 |
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.
