Find a Job You Really Want In
Computer Aided Design Designers are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as computer aided design designers in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.
Since computer aided design designers are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where computer aided design designers 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 computer aided design designers.
After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s computer aided design designers:
So there you have it — Computer Hardware Engineers is the best of the best when it comes to being a computer aided design designer.
How did Computer Hardware Engineers end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for computer aided design designers and for more on the top ten states.
If youâre interested, you can read more about the job scene here:
How we determined the best states to be a computer aided design designer
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 computer aided design designers in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well computer aided design designers 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 computer aided design designers in California is $136,630 and the average salary in Illinois is $95,270, 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 computer aided design designers in America.
So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for computer aided design designers.
1. Alabama
Total Jobs: 1,460
Average Annual Salary: $110,050
Average Entry Level Salary: $70,860
Average Experienced Salary: $155,290
Location Quotient: 1.47
2. Texas
Total Jobs: 3,590
Average Annual Salary: $112,090
Average Entry Level Salary: $71,060
Average Experienced Salary: $158,850
Location Quotient: 0.59
3. Virginia
Total Jobs: 1,380
Average Annual Salary: $121,330
Average Entry Level Salary: $75,100
Average Experienced Salary: $164,690
Location Quotient: 0.71
4. Colorado
Total Jobs: 3,700
Average Annual Salary: $115,750
Average Entry Level Salary: $72,950
Average Experienced Salary: $161,430
Location Quotient: 2.84
5. Utah
Total Jobs: 1,330
Average Annual Salary: $104,830
Average Entry Level Salary: $57,420
Average Experienced Salary: $163,150
Location Quotient: 1.86
6. Idaho
Total Jobs: 330
Average Annual Salary: $103,760
Average Entry Level Salary: $63,070
Average Experienced Salary: $150,080
Location Quotient: 0.94
7. Minnesota
Total Jobs: 1,600
Average Annual Salary: $109,120
Average Entry Level Salary: $65,550
Average Experienced Salary: $157,330
Location Quotient: 1.09
8. Iowa
Total Jobs: 280
Average Annual Salary: $105,520
Average Entry Level Salary: $61,470
Average Experienced Salary: $169,470
Location Quotient: 0.35
9. North Carolina
Total Jobs: 1,560
Average Annual Salary: $103,140
Average Entry Level Salary: $59,660
Average Experienced Salary: $152,470
Location Quotient: 0.71
10. Mississippi
Total Jobs: 290
Average Annual Salary: $94,260
Average Entry Level Salary: $53,090
Average Experienced Salary: $153,430
Location Quotient: 0.5
There You Have It – The Best States To Be A Computer Aided Design Designer
If you’re looking to start out your career as a computer aided design designer 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 computer aided design designer in America:
Detailed List Of The Best States For computer aided design designers
| Rank | State | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | $110,050 |
| 2 | Texas | $112,090 |
| 3 | Virginia | $121,330 |
| 4 | Colorado | $115,750 |
| 5 | Utah | $104,830 |
| 6 | Idaho | $103,760 |
| 7 | Minnesota | $109,120 |
| 8 | Iowa | $105,520 |
| 9 | North Carolina | $103,140 |
| 10 | Mississippi | $94,260 |
| 11 | California | $136,630 |
| 12 | Oklahoma | $104,160 |
| 13 | Washington | $108,540 |
| 14 | Arizona | $103,260 |
| 15 | Kansas | $92,460 |
| 16 | Tennessee | $90,990 |
| 17 | Maryland | $118,390 |
| 18 | Illinois | $95,270 |
| 19 | Missouri | $99,740 |
| 20 | Nebraska | $81,920 |
| 21 | Georgia | $89,120 |
| 22 | West Virginia | $91,220 |
| 23 | Florida | $91,940 |
| 24 | Ohio | $90,510 |
| 25 | Louisiana | $88,360 |
| 26 | South Carolina | $92,340 |
| 27 | Massachusetts | $111,720 |
| 28 | Pennsylvania | $94,480 |
| 29 | Indiana | $83,350 |
| 30 | New Jersey | $103,330 |
| 31 | Wisconsin | $77,350 |
| 32 | Rhode Island | $94,560 |
| 33 | Connecticut | $101,790 |
| 34 | Vermont | $103,190 |
| 35 | New York | $109,340 |
| 36 | Nevada | $90,290 |
| 37 | Arkansas | $70,330 |
| 38 | Hawaii | $82,780 |
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.
