Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of associate salary by state for the United States:
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New York has the highest associate salary of $89,570
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Alabama has the lowest associate salary of $38,154
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The national average salary for associates is $69,556
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The national hourly pay for associates is $33.44
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do associates get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for associate by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for associates after this adjustment? That would be New York.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for associate salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Associates By State
| Rank | State | Average Associate Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | $89,570 | $48,000 | $166,000 |
| 2 | California | $79,213 | $41,000 | $152,000 |
| 3 | Connecticut | $75,022 | $39,000 | $142,000 |
| 4 | Massachusetts | $73,855 | $38,000 | $141,000 |
| 5 | New Jersey | $69,901 | $36,000 | $134,000 |
| 6 | Rhode Island | $65,297 | $34,000 | $125,000 |
| 7 | Delaware | $63,939 | $33,000 | $123,000 |
| 8 | Maryland | $58,149 | $29,000 | $114,000 |
| 9 | Pennsylvania | $57,790 | $29,000 | $112,000 |
| 10 | Nevada | $57,615 | $28,000 | $115,000 |
| 11 | Virginia | $56,720 | $28,000 | $113,000 |
| 12 | New Hampshire | $56,483 | $29,000 | $109,000 |
| 13 | Arizona | $56,052 | $28,000 | $110,000 |
| 14 | Vermont | $54,953 | $28,000 | $106,000 |
| 15 | Oregon | $54,157 | $27,000 | $106,000 |
| 16 | Washington | $53,104 | $27,000 | $102,000 |
| 17 | Maine | $51,794 | $27,000 | $99,000 |
| 18 | Michigan | $51,515 | $25,000 | $105,000 |
| 19 | North Carolina | $49,152 | $24,000 | $97,000 |
| 20 | Texas | $49,002 | $25,000 | $95,000 |
| 21 | New Mexico | $48,884 | $25,000 | $95,000 |
| 22 | Ohio | $48,561 | $23,000 | $99,000 |
| 23 | Illinois | $47,860 | $23,000 | $97,000 |
| 24 | Hawaii | $47,222 | $36,000 | $61,000 |
| 25 | Utah | $46,242 | $23,000 | $90,000 |
| 26 | West Virginia | $46,042 | $22,000 | $93,000 |
| 27 | Florida | $45,798 | $23,000 | $88,000 |
| 28 | Colorado | $45,634 | $24,000 | $86,000 |
| 29 | Idaho | $45,201 | $23,000 | $87,000 |
| 30 | Wisconsin | $44,622 | $21,000 | $91,000 |
| 31 | Minnesota | $44,031 | $21,000 | $88,000 |
| 32 | Indiana | $42,793 | $21,000 | $87,000 |
| 33 | Iowa | $42,730 | $21,000 | $84,000 |
| 34 | North Dakota | $42,603 | $22,000 | $82,000 |
| 35 | Louisiana | $42,369 | $21,000 | $82,000 |
| 36 | Alaska | $41,024 | $27,000 | $60,000 |
| 37 | South Carolina | $40,403 | $21,000 | $77,000 |
| 38 | Oklahoma | $40,053 | $21,000 | $75,000 |
| 39 | Kentucky | $40,041 | $20,000 | $79,000 |
| 40 | Tennessee | $40,034 | $20,000 | $76,000 |
| 41 | Missouri | $39,956 | $20,000 | $77,000 |
| 42 | South Dakota | $39,954 | $20,000 | $77,000 |
| 43 | Montana | $39,521 | $21,000 | $74,000 |
| 44 | Nebraska | $39,466 | $20,000 | $76,000 |
| 45 | Wyoming | $39,407 | $20,000 | $74,000 |
| 46 | Kansas | $39,292 | $20,000 | $75,000 |
| 47 | Arkansas | $38,595 | $20,000 | $72,000 |
| 48 | Mississippi | $38,306 | $20,000 | $72,000 |
| 49 | Georgia | $38,259 | $20,000 | $72,000 |
| 50 | Alabama | $38,154 | $20,000 | $72,000 |
Methodology: Associate Salary By State
To better understand associate pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for associates by state.
We took the average annual salary data for associates from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for associates.
Associate Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for associates?
The highest-paid state for associates is New York with an average salary of $89,570 per year.
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What city pays associates the most?
Washington, DC pays associates the most with an average salary of $93,302 per year.
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What is the worst state for associates?
The worst state for associates is Alabama with an average salary of $38,154 per year.
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.
