Find a Job You Really Want In
General Managers are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as general managers in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.
Since general managers are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where general managers 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 general managers.
After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s general managers:
So there you have it — General And Operations Managers is the best of the best when it comes to being a general manager.
How did General And Operations Managers end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for general managers and for more on the top ten states.
If youĂÂre interested, you can read more about the job scene here:
How we determined the best states to be a general manager
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 general managers in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well general managers 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 general managers in California is $107,670 and the average salary in Illinois is $, 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 general managers in America.
So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for general managers.
1. Wyoming
Total Jobs: 5,250
Average Annual Salary: $105,920
Average Entry Level Salary: $41,230
Average Experienced Salary: $187,630
Location Quotient: 1.23
2. Oklahoma
Total Jobs: 25,770
Average Annual Salary: $104,860
Average Entry Level Salary: $41,240
Average Experienced Salary: $199,990
Location Quotient: 1.02
3. Indiana
Total Jobs: 54,610
Average Annual Salary: $103,370
Average Entry Level Salary: $38,250
Average Experienced Salary: $196,670
Location Quotient: 1.13
4. Missouri
Total Jobs: 46,490
Average Annual Salary: $105,280
Average Entry Level Salary: $36,480
Average Experienced Salary: $204,180
Location Quotient: 1.05
5. Minnesota
Total Jobs: 46,440
Average Annual Salary: $112,120
Average Entry Level Salary: $46,800
Average Experienced Salary: $202,560
Location Quotient: 1.02
6. South Dakota
Total Jobs: 3,670
Average Annual Salary: $125,490
Average Entry Level Salary: $72,140
Average Experienced Salary: $197,630
Location Quotient: 0.55
7. Nebraska
Total Jobs: 16,950
Average Annual Salary: $96,900
Average Entry Level Salary: $36,550
Average Experienced Salary: $181,310
Location Quotient: 1.1
8. North Dakota
Total Jobs: 7,550
Average Annual Salary: $103,100
Average Entry Level Salary: $47,100
Average Experienced Salary: $174,300
Location Quotient: 1.15
9. Iowa
Total Jobs: 23,570
Average Annual Salary: $99,720
Average Entry Level Salary: $39,050
Average Experienced Salary: $183,090
Location Quotient: 0.97
10. Arizona
Total Jobs: 50,540
Average Annual Salary: $102,470
Average Entry Level Salary: $39,860
Average Experienced Salary: $181,770
Location Quotient: 1.15
There You Have It – The Best States To Be A General Manager
If you’re looking to start out your career as a general manager 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 general manager in America:
Detailed List Of The Best States For general managers
| Rank | State | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wyoming | $105,920 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | $104,860 |
| 3 | Indiana | $103,370 |
| 4 | Missouri | $105,280 |
| 5 | Minnesota | $112,120 |
| 6 | South Dakota | $125,490 |
| 7 | Nebraska | $96,900 |
| 8 | North Dakota | $103,100 |
| 9 | Iowa | $99,720 |
| 10 | Arizona | $102,470 |
| 11 | Kansas | $97,920 |
| 12 | New Mexico | $101,720 |
| 13 | South Carolina | $101,400 |
| 14 | Arkansas | $87,650 |
| 15 | Mississippi | $77,800 |
| 16 | Kentucky | $89,750 |
| 17 | Alaska | $112,580 |
| 18 | Utah | $82,370 |
| 19 | Oregon | $107,670 |
| 20 | Montana | $98,990 |
| 21 | Maine | $98,100 |
| 22 | Idaho | $79,370 |
| 23 | West Virginia | $87,430 |
| 24 | Vermont | $96,950 |
| 25 | Hawaii | $114,040 |
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.
