Find a Job You Really Want In
Planners are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as planners in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.
Since planners are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where planners 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 planners. After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s planners:
So there you have it — Washington is the best of the best when it comes to being a planners.
How did it end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for planners and for more on the top ten states.
How we determined the best states to be a planner
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
- Pay
So in order to find out the best states for planners in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well planners get paid. This led to the following criteria taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Occupational Employment Statistics for 2015:
- 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 planners in California is $82,770 and the average salary in Illinois is $81,990, 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 planners in America.
So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for planners.
1. Washington
Total Jobs: 2,150
Average Annual Salary: $78,030
Average Entry Level Salary: $54,150
Average Experienced Salary: $102,720
Location Quotient: 2.8
2. Colorado
Total Jobs: 830
Average Annual Salary: $78,470
Average Entry Level Salary: $51,370
Average Experienced Salary: $108,510
Location Quotient: 1.31
3. Nebraska
Total Jobs: 240
Average Annual Salary: $66,510
Average Entry Level Salary: $43,700
Average Experienced Salary: $96,300
Location Quotient: 0.99
4. Wyoming
Total Jobs: 110
Average Annual Salary: $62,700
Average Entry Level Salary: $42,880
Average Experienced Salary: $91,830
Location Quotient: 1.55
5. Nevada
Total Jobs: 180
Average Annual Salary: $83,830
Average Entry Level Salary: $58,810
Average Experienced Salary: $110,830
Location Quotient: 0.55
6. Illinois
Total Jobs: 680
Average Annual Salary: $81,990
Average Entry Level Salary: $48,270
Average Experienced Salary: $118,130
Location Quotient: 0.45
7. Arizona
Total Jobs: 770
Average Annual Salary: $68,910
Average Entry Level Salary: $47,570
Average Experienced Salary: $95,990
Location Quotient: 1.16
8. Minnesota
Total Jobs: 1,020
Average Annual Salary: $69,400
Average Entry Level Salary: $51,010
Average Experienced Salary: $93,180
Location Quotient: 1.43
9. Texas
Total Jobs: 2,000
Average Annual Salary: $66,790
Average Entry Level Salary: $40,950
Average Experienced Salary: $101,400
Location Quotient: 0.67
10. Virginia
Total Jobs: 1,190
Average Annual Salary: $69,860
Average Entry Level Salary: $43,360
Average Experienced Salary: $101,220
Location Quotient: 1.26
There You Have It
If you’re looking to start out your career as a planner 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 planner in America:
Detailed List Of The Best States For Planners
| Rank | State | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $78,030 |
| 2 | Colorado | $78,470 |
| 3 | Nebraska | $66,510 |
| 4 | Wyoming | $62,700 |
| 5 | Nevada | $83,830 |
| 6 | Illinois | $81,990 |
| 7 | Arizona | $68,910 |
| 8 | Minnesota | $69,400 |
| 9 | Texas | $66,790 |
| 10 | Virginia | $69,860 |
| 11 | Oregon | $77,820 |
| 12 | Missouri | $65,600 |
| 13 | Oklahoma | $68,320 |
| 14 | Florida | $67,640 |
| 15 | Utah | $62,410 |
| 16 | Delaware | $64,240 |
| 17 | Ohio | $64,420 |
| 18 | Montana | $65,530 |
| 19 | North Carolina | $61,540 |
| 20 | Kansas | $58,560 |
| 21 | Mississippi | $59,240 |
| 22 | Alaska | $81,130 |
| 23 | Michigan | $60,140 |
| 24 | Alabama | $60,680 |
| 25 | California | $82,770 |
| 26 | Connecticut | $81,990 |
| 27 | Wisconsin | $63,870 |
| 28 | New Mexico | $58,430 |
| 29 | Idaho | $56,330 |
| 30 | South Carolina | $61,540 |
| 31 | Iowa | $59,500 |
| 32 | Rhode Island | $72,400 |
| 33 | New Jersey | $78,730 |
| 34 | Tennessee | $57,620 |
| 35 | West Virginia | $56,210 |
| 36 | Maine | $65,330 |
| 37 | Georgia | $55,810 |
| 38 | South Dakota | $52,940 |
| 39 | Massachusetts | $75,410 |
| 40 | Pennsylvania | $58,970 |
| 41 | Kentucky | $54,470 |
| 42 | Louisiana | $57,440 |
| 43 | Vermont | $57,230 |
| 44 | Maryland | $66,100 |
| 45 | Hawaii | $68,960 |
| 46 | Indiana | $51,200 |
| 47 | New Hampshire | $63,410 |
| 48 | North Dakota | $55,680 |
| 49 | New York | $73,800 |
| 50 | Arkansas | $46,840 |
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.
