Find a Job You Really Want In
Buyers are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as buyers in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.
Since buyers are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where buyers 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 buyers.
After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s buyers:
So there you have it — Wholesale And Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products is the best of the best when it comes to being a buyer.
How did Wholesale And Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for buyers and for more on the top ten states.
If youâre interested, you can read more about the job scene here:
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Kansas City
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In St. Louis
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Missouri
How we determined the best states to be a buyer
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 buyers in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well buyers 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 buyers in California is $59,300 and the average salary in Illinois is $64,700, 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 buyers in America.
So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for buyers.
1. Missouri
Total Jobs: 3,130
Average Annual Salary: $60,020
Average Entry Level Salary: $31,310
Average Experienced Salary: $96,080
Location Quotient: 1.46
2. Minnesota
Total Jobs: 3,650
Average Annual Salary: $66,200
Average Entry Level Salary: $32,970
Average Experienced Salary: $112,500
Location Quotient: 1.66
3. Oklahoma
Total Jobs: 1,300
Average Annual Salary: $60,470
Average Entry Level Salary: $32,890
Average Experienced Salary: $96,590
Location Quotient: 1.05
4. Ohio
Total Jobs: 4,340
Average Annual Salary: $60,390
Average Entry Level Salary: $36,540
Average Experienced Salary: $93,350
Location Quotient: 1.04
5. Georgia
Total Jobs: 2,630
Average Annual Salary: $64,640
Average Entry Level Salary: $30,660
Average Experienced Salary: $102,120
Location Quotient: 0.8
6. Illinois
Total Jobs: 4,010
Average Annual Salary: $64,700
Average Entry Level Salary: $31,590
Average Experienced Salary: $100,450
Location Quotient: 0.87
7. Nebraska
Total Jobs: 860
Average Annual Salary: $55,530
Average Entry Level Salary: $31,470
Average Experienced Salary: $84,840
Location Quotient: 1.14
8. Washington
Total Jobs: 3,460
Average Annual Salary: $62,440
Average Entry Level Salary: $34,320
Average Experienced Salary: $99,860
Location Quotient: 1.45
9. Texas
Total Jobs: 9,290
Average Annual Salary: $58,920
Average Entry Level Salary: $27,750
Average Experienced Salary: $103,280
Location Quotient: 1.01
10. North Carolina
Total Jobs: 2,780
Average Annual Salary: $58,080
Average Entry Level Salary: $31,650
Average Experienced Salary: $90,900
Location Quotient: 0.84
There You Have It – The Best States To Be A Buyer
If you’re looking to start out your career as a buyer 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 buyer in America:
For more reading, check out:
Detailed List Of The Best States For buyers
| Rank | State | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Missouri | $60,020 |
| 2 | Minnesota | $66,200 |
| 3 | Oklahoma | $60,470 |
| 4 | Ohio | $60,390 |
| 5 | Georgia | $64,640 |
| 6 | Illinois | $64,700 |
| 7 | Nebraska | $55,530 |
| 8 | Washington | $62,440 |
| 9 | Texas | $58,920 |
| 10 | North Carolina | $58,080 |
| 11 | Tennessee | $52,430 |
| 12 | Kansas | $53,940 |
| 13 | Iowa | $59,700 |
| 14 | West Virginia | $56,260 |
| 15 | Florida | $65,140 |
| 16 | Wisconsin | $55,440 |
| 17 | Arizona | $57,100 |
| 18 | New York | $72,070 |
| 19 | Delaware | $57,540 |
| 20 | Nevada | $58,140 |
| 21 | South Carolina | $60,280 |
| 22 | Pennsylvania | $57,690 |
| 23 | Utah | $50,000 |
| 24 | Kentucky | $52,090 |
| 25 | New Jersey | $69,000 |
| 26 | North Dakota | $50,700 |
| 27 | Michigan | $51,590 |
| 28 | Colorado | $55,650 |
| 29 | South Dakota | $54,630 |
| 30 | Indiana | $49,980 |
| 31 | Massachusetts | $65,990 |
| 32 | Alabama | $53,350 |
| 33 | Mississippi | $48,530 |
| 34 | Oregon | $51,850 |
| 35 | Maine | $54,600 |
| 36 | New Mexico | $53,790 |
| 37 | Connecticut | $66,110 |
| 38 | New Hampshire | $54,590 |
| 39 | California | $59,300 |
| 40 | Vermont | $45,200 |
| 41 | Montana | $44,450 |
| 42 | Idaho | $42,050 |
| 43 | Alaska | $56,360 |
| 44 | Rhode Island | $56,710 |
| 45 | Louisiana | $45,870 |
| 46 | Hawaii | $43,520 |
| 47 | Maryland | $54,530 |
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.
