Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of consultant salary by state for the United States:
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New Jersey has the highest consultant salary of $93,100
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Arkansas has the lowest consultant salary of $55,786
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The national average salary for consultants is $78,912
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The national hourly pay for consultants is $37.94
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do consultants get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for consultant by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for consultants after this adjustment? That would be New Jersey.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for consultant salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Consultants By State
| Rank | State | Average Consultant Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey | $93,100 | $69,000 | $125,000 |
| 2 | Maryland | $91,828 | $68,000 | $123,000 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | $91,297 | $68,000 | $122,000 |
| 4 | Alaska | $90,651 | $74,000 | $109,000 |
| 5 | New York | $87,380 | $64,000 | $117,000 |
| 6 | Washington | $86,737 | $62,000 | $119,000 |
| 7 | Connecticut | $85,585 | $63,000 | $114,000 |
| 8 | California | $83,756 | $59,000 | $118,000 |
| 9 | Virginia | $83,736 | $62,000 | $112,000 |
| 10 | Colorado | $82,226 | $59,000 | $114,000 |
| 11 | Rhode Island | $81,603 | $60,000 | $109,000 |
| 12 | New Hampshire | $81,107 | $60,000 | $108,000 |
| 13 | North Carolina | $80,858 | $60,000 | $108,000 |
| 14 | Illinois | $80,510 | $59,000 | $108,000 |
| 15 | Oregon | $79,866 | $57,000 | $111,000 |
| 16 | Texas | $78,983 | $57,000 | $108,000 |
| 17 | Minnesota | $78,007 | $58,000 | $104,000 |
| 18 | Alabama | $77,398 | $57,000 | $104,000 |
| 19 | Michigan | $76,651 | $56,000 | $103,000 |
| 20 | Ohio | $76,344 | $56,000 | $103,000 |
| 21 | Delaware | $76,287 | $56,000 | $102,000 |
| 22 | Maine | $76,237 | $57,000 | $101,000 |
| 23 | Vermont | $76,121 | $56,000 | $102,000 |
| 24 | Wisconsin | $75,871 | $56,000 | $102,000 |
| 25 | Hawaii | $75,853 | $60,000 | $94,000 |
| 26 | Pennsylvania | $75,241 | $55,000 | $101,000 |
| 27 | Georgia | $74,586 | $55,000 | $100,000 |
| 28 | Missouri | $74,221 | $54,000 | $100,000 |
| 29 | Arizona | $73,682 | $53,000 | $102,000 |
| 30 | Iowa | $72,420 | $53,000 | $97,000 |
| 31 | Louisiana | $72,227 | $52,000 | $98,000 |
| 32 | West Virginia | $72,093 | $53,000 | $97,000 |
| 33 | Oklahoma | $69,797 | $50,000 | $95,000 |
| 34 | South Carolina | $69,330 | $51,000 | $93,000 |
| 35 | Nevada | $68,752 | $48,000 | $97,000 |
| 36 | Indiana | $68,136 | $50,000 | $92,000 |
| 37 | Tennessee | $67,220 | $49,000 | $90,000 |
| 38 | Florida | $66,985 | $49,000 | $91,000 |
| 39 | Montana | $66,652 | $48,000 | $91,000 |
| 40 | Kentucky | $66,131 | $48,000 | $89,000 |
| 41 | North Dakota | $65,974 | $49,000 | $88,000 |
| 42 | Nebraska | $65,806 | $48,000 | $89,000 |
| 43 | South Dakota | $65,548 | $48,000 | $88,000 |
| 44 | Mississippi | $65,420 | $48,000 | $88,000 |
| 45 | Kansas | $65,375 | $47,000 | $89,000 |
| 46 | Idaho | $65,198 | $46,000 | $91,000 |
| 47 | New Mexico | $65,025 | $46,000 | $90,000 |
| 48 | Wyoming | $63,922 | $46,000 | $88,000 |
| 49 | Utah | $59,894 | $42,000 | $84,000 |
| 50 | Arkansas | $55,786 | $40,000 | $75,000 |
Methodology: Consultant Salary By State
To better understand consultant pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for consultants by state.
We took the average annual salary data for consultants from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for consultants.
Consultant Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for consultants?
The highest-paid state for consultants is New Jersey with an average salary of $93,100 per year.
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What city pays consultants the most?
Washington, DC pays consultants the most with an average salary of $95,478 per year.
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What is the worst state for consultants?
The worst state for consultants is Arkansas with an average salary of $55,786 per year.
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.
