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Auto Body Technicians are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as auto body technicians in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.
Since auto body technicians are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where auto body technicians 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 auto body technicians.
After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s auto body technicians:
So there you have it — Automotive Body And Related Repairers is the best of the best when it comes to being an auto body technician.
How did Automotive Body And Related Repairers end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for auto body technicians and for more on the top ten states.
If youâre interested, you can read more about the job scene here:
- 10 Best Companies to Work For in Saginaw, MI
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Detroit
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Warren
How we determined the best states to be an auto body technician
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 auto body technicians in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well auto body technicians 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 auto body technicians in California is $47,150 and the average salary in Illinois is $48,110, 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 auto body technicians in America.
So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for auto body technicians.
1. Michigan
Total Jobs: 5,110
Average Annual Salary: $51,710
Average Entry Level Salary: $26,800
Average Experienced Salary: $86,560
Location Quotient: 1.18
2. North Dakota
Total Jobs: 590
Average Annual Salary: $49,720
Average Entry Level Salary: $31,400
Average Experienced Salary: $76,590
Location Quotient: 1.36
3. North Carolina
Total Jobs: 5,050
Average Annual Salary: $50,750
Average Entry Level Salary: $26,640
Average Experienced Salary: $76,400
Location Quotient: 1.16
4. Illinois
Total Jobs: 6,770
Average Annual Salary: $48,110
Average Entry Level Salary: $26,190
Average Experienced Salary: $72,150
Location Quotient: 1.12
5. Georgia
Total Jobs: 4,710
Average Annual Salary: $50,770
Average Entry Level Salary: $22,850
Average Experienced Salary: $92,960
Location Quotient: 1.09
6. Wyoming
Total Jobs: 240
Average Annual Salary: $48,870
Average Entry Level Salary: $26,490
Average Experienced Salary: $75,620
Location Quotient: 0.84
7. Virginia
Total Jobs: 4,200
Average Annual Salary: $48,600
Average Entry Level Salary: $26,070
Average Experienced Salary: $78,380
Location Quotient: 1.09
8. Missouri
Total Jobs: 3,360
Average Annual Salary: $42,860
Average Entry Level Salary: $24,940
Average Experienced Salary: $61,160
Location Quotient: 1.19
9. Indiana
Total Jobs: 3,190
Average Annual Salary: $44,390
Average Entry Level Salary: $23,570
Average Experienced Salary: $67,470
Location Quotient: 1.04
10. Nebraska
Total Jobs: 1,410
Average Annual Salary: $42,890
Average Entry Level Salary: $22,140
Average Experienced Salary: $67,720
Location Quotient: 1.42
There You Have It – The Best States To Be An Auto Body Technician
If you’re looking to start out your career as an auto body technician 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 auto body technician in America:
For more reading, check out:
Detailed List Of The Best States For auto body technicians
| Rank | State | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michigan | $51,710 |
| 2 | North Dakota | $49,720 |
| 3 | North Carolina | $50,750 |
| 4 | Illinois | $48,110 |
| 5 | Georgia | $50,770 |
| 6 | Wyoming | $48,870 |
| 7 | Virginia | $48,600 |
| 8 | Missouri | $42,860 |
| 9 | Indiana | $44,390 |
| 10 | Nebraska | $42,890 |
| 11 | Idaho | $44,050 |
| 12 | Arizona | $47,290 |
| 13 | Alabama | $41,370 |
| 14 | Washington | $51,290 |
| 15 | Minnesota | $47,960 |
| 16 | Texas | $44,080 |
| 17 | Utah | $43,980 |
| 18 | Delaware | $45,570 |
| 19 | Ohio | $42,200 |
| 20 | Maryland | $58,320 |
| 21 | Arkansas | $38,230 |
| 22 | Colorado | $48,580 |
| 23 | Wisconsin | $39,600 |
| 24 | New Mexico | $43,300 |
| 25 | Kansas | $42,900 |
| 26 | Iowa | $39,720 |
| 27 | Pennsylvania | $42,650 |
| 28 | South Dakota | $39,300 |
| 29 | Louisiana | $41,720 |
| 30 | Tennessee | $38,750 |
| 31 | Kentucky | $42,610 |
| 32 | Montana | $42,080 |
| 33 | Florida | $41,170 |
| 34 | Oklahoma | $39,510 |
| 35 | Mississippi | $37,410 |
| 36 | Vermont | $42,830 |
| 37 | West Virginia | $38,010 |
| 38 | New Jersey | $49,460 |
| 39 | Rhode Island | $46,280 |
| 40 | Maine | $40,010 |
| 41 | Nevada | $44,680 |
| 42 | Alaska | $53,540 |
| 43 | New Hampshire | $42,070 |
| 44 | Massachusetts | $47,150 |
| 45 | Connecticut | $48,740 |
| 46 | Oregon | $42,300 |
| 47 | South Carolina | $38,860 |
| 48 | California | $47,150 |
| 49 | Hawaii | $50,720 |
| 50 | New York | $42,510 |
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.
