Find a Job You Really Want In
Bartenders are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as bartenders in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.
Since bartenders are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where bartenders 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 bartenders.
After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s bartenders:
So there you have it — Bartenders is the best of the best when it comes to being a bartender.
How did Bartenders end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for bartenders and for more on the top ten states.
If youĂÂre interested, you can read more about the job scene here:
- These Are The 10 Best Cities For Bartenders
- Best Companies to Work For in Phoenix, AZ
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Phoenix
How we determined the best states to be a bartender
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 bartenders in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well bartenders 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 bartenders in California is $30,850 and the average salary in Illinois is $24,280, 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 bartenders in America.
So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for bartenders.
1. Arizona
Total Jobs: 11,990
Average Annual Salary: $31,320
Average Entry Level Salary: $21,850
Average Experienced Salary: $55,740
Location Quotient: 0.98
2. Washington
Total Jobs: 13,630
Average Annual Salary: $35,390
Average Entry Level Salary: $24,410
Average Experienced Salary: $53,940
Location Quotient: 0.96
3. Vermont
Total Jobs: 2,070
Average Annual Salary: $36,720
Average Entry Level Salary: $21,860
Average Experienced Salary: $54,770
Location Quotient: 1.56
4. Missouri
Total Jobs: 11,600
Average Annual Salary: $26,480
Average Entry Level Salary: $17,410
Average Experienced Salary: $44,450
Location Quotient: 0.95
5. Michigan
Total Jobs: 17,500
Average Annual Salary: $24,070
Average Entry Level Salary: $19,260
Average Experienced Salary: $38,000
Location Quotient: 0.93
6. Colorado
Total Jobs: 11,390
Average Annual Salary: $27,520
Average Entry Level Salary: $21,220
Average Experienced Salary: $43,420
Location Quotient: 1.0
7. Florida
Total Jobs: 45,170
Average Annual Salary: $26,040
Average Entry Level Salary: $17,860
Average Experienced Salary: $43,640
Location Quotient: 1.2
8. Maine
Total Jobs: 2,790
Average Annual Salary: $29,320
Average Entry Level Salary: $20,810
Average Experienced Salary: $47,440
Location Quotient: 1.06
9. Texas
Total Jobs: 42,410
Average Annual Salary: $27,240
Average Entry Level Salary: $16,540
Average Experienced Salary: $48,100
Location Quotient: 0.8
10. Illinois
Total Jobs: 28,570
Average Annual Salary: $24,280
Average Entry Level Salary: $18,100
Average Experienced Salary: $38,920
Location Quotient: 1.09
There You Have It – The Best States To Be A Bartender
If you’re looking to start out your career as a bartender 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 bartender in America:
For more reading, check out:
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Arizona
- These Are The 100 Largest Companies In Arizona
- These are the States with the Highest Paid Bartenders
Detailed List Of The Best States For bartenders
| Rank | State | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona | $31,320 |
| 2 | Washington | $35,390 |
| 3 | Vermont | $36,720 |
| 4 | Missouri | $26,480 |
| 5 | Michigan | $24,070 |
| 6 | Colorado | $27,520 |
| 7 | Florida | $26,040 |
| 8 | Maine | $29,320 |
| 9 | Texas | $27,240 |
| 10 | Illinois | $24,280 |
| 11 | Hawaii | $55,060 |
| 12 | Delaware | $25,310 |
| 13 | Nevada | $27,590 |
| 14 | Wyoming | $22,060 |
| 15 | Idaho | $22,920 |
| 16 | Utah | $26,380 |
| 17 | Nebraska | $22,140 |
| 18 | New York | $34,800 |
| 19 | Indiana | $21,970 |
| 20 | North Carolina | $25,510 |
| 21 | Oklahoma | $21,630 |
| 22 | Minnesota | $23,560 |
| 23 | Ohio | $21,880 |
| 24 | Wisconsin | $22,740 |
| 25 | Iowa | $21,220 |
| 26 | Oregon | $26,660 |
| 27 | Massachusetts | $31,170 |
| 28 | South Dakota | $22,300 |
| 29 | Arkansas | $21,140 |
| 30 | Rhode Island | $27,100 |
| 31 | New Jersey | $29,600 |
| 32 | Virginia | $26,420 |
| 33 | Tennessee | $21,180 |
| 34 | Pennsylvania | $23,380 |
| 35 | Alabama | $21,840 |
| 36 | Montana | $21,570 |
| 37 | Mississippi | $20,100 |
| 38 | West Virginia | $21,740 |
| 39 | Georgia | $21,590 |
| 40 | Alaska | $28,180 |
| 41 | North Dakota | $20,880 |
| 42 | Connecticut | $26,970 |
| 43 | California | $30,850 |
| 44 | New Hampshire | $23,540 |
| 45 | South Carolina | $22,010 |
| 46 | Kentucky | $19,530 |
| 47 | Kansas | $19,160 |
| 48 | Louisiana | $19,350 |
| 49 | New Mexico | $20,610 |
| 50 | Maryland | $23,500 |
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.
