Find a Job You Really Want In
Insurance Agents are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as insurance agents in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.
Since insurance agents are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where insurance agents 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 insurance agents.
After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s insurance agents:
So there you have it — Insurance Sales Agents is the best of the best when it comes to being an insurance agent.
How did Insurance Sales Agents end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for insurance agents 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 an insurance agent
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 insurance agents in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well insurance agents 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 insurance agents in California is $76,420 and the average salary in Illinois is $69,520, 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 insurance agents in America.
So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for insurance agents.
1. Nebraska
Total Jobs: 3,740
Average Annual Salary: $72,040
Average Entry Level Salary: $32,080
Average Experienced Salary: $128,310
Location Quotient: 1.4
2. Iowa
Total Jobs: 6,530
Average Annual Salary: $63,130
Average Entry Level Salary: $30,800
Average Experienced Salary: $108,370
Location Quotient: 1.56
3. Alabama
Total Jobs: 5,550
Average Annual Salary: $81,410
Average Entry Level Salary: $26,400
Average Experienced Salary: $180,910
Location Quotient: 1.05
4. Wisconsin
Total Jobs: 8,710
Average Annual Salary: $74,690
Average Entry Level Salary: $31,440
Average Experienced Salary: $126,330
Location Quotient: 1.12
5. Indiana
Total Jobs: 9,450
Average Annual Salary: $65,310
Average Entry Level Salary: $28,310
Average Experienced Salary: $122,480
Location Quotient: 1.14
6. Kansas
Total Jobs: 3,760
Average Annual Salary: $68,100
Average Entry Level Salary: $28,480
Average Experienced Salary: $123,640
Location Quotient: 1.0
7. Pennsylvania
Total Jobs: 14,270
Average Annual Salary: $80,970
Average Entry Level Salary: $31,980
Average Experienced Salary: $142,480
Location Quotient: 0.9
8. Michigan
Total Jobs: 11,130
Average Annual Salary: $66,910
Average Entry Level Salary: $27,670
Average Experienced Salary: $121,170
Location Quotient: 0.95
9. Oklahoma
Total Jobs: 4,540
Average Annual Salary: $60,010
Average Entry Level Salary: $29,870
Average Experienced Salary: $103,690
Location Quotient: 1.05
10. Minnesota
Total Jobs: 7,120
Average Annual Salary: $74,140
Average Entry Level Salary: $33,440
Average Experienced Salary: $131,410
Location Quotient: 0.91
There You Have It – The Best States To Be An Insurance Agent
If you’re looking to start out your career as an insurance agent 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 insurance agent in America:
Detailed List Of The Best States For insurance agents
| Rank | State | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nebraska | $72,040 |
| 2 | Iowa | $63,130 |
| 3 | Alabama | $81,410 |
| 4 | Wisconsin | $74,690 |
| 5 | Indiana | $65,310 |
| 6 | Kansas | $68,100 |
| 7 | Pennsylvania | $80,970 |
| 8 | Michigan | $66,910 |
| 9 | Oklahoma | $60,010 |
| 10 | Minnesota | $74,140 |
| 11 | North Carolina | $69,020 |
| 12 | Arkansas | $58,340 |
| 13 | Florida | $63,180 |
| 14 | North Dakota | $63,940 |
| 15 | Illinois | $69,520 |
| 16 | Colorado | $68,560 |
| 17 | Missouri | $59,420 |
| 18 | South Dakota | $63,180 |
| 19 | Mississippi | $61,650 |
| 20 | Connecticut | $80,120 |
| 21 | Georgia | $59,940 |
| 22 | Texas | $62,760 |
| 23 | Massachusetts | $89,100 |
| 24 | South Carolina | $58,600 |
| 25 | Montana | $63,620 |
| 26 | Delaware | $60,450 |
| 27 | Ohio | $60,500 |
| 28 | Nevada | $70,870 |
| 29 | Tennessee | $57,460 |
| 30 | Wyoming | $57,190 |
| 31 | New Jersey | $76,160 |
| 32 | Kentucky | $55,800 |
| 33 | New York | $84,540 |
| 34 | Idaho | $57,410 |
| 35 | Maine | $60,840 |
| 36 | Arizona | $59,160 |
| 37 | Utah | $54,370 |
| 38 | Virginia | $60,100 |
| 39 | Washington | $61,930 |
| 40 | Louisiana | $50,420 |
| 41 | Rhode Island | $67,880 |
| 42 | West Virginia | $52,240 |
| 43 | California | $76,420 |
| 44 | New Hampshire | $65,310 |
| 45 | Maryland | $66,590 |
| 46 | Oregon | $65,040 |
| 47 | New Mexico | $47,070 |
| 48 | Alaska | $71,150 |
| 49 | Hawaii | $66,150 |
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.
