Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of owner salary by state for the United States:
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New Jersey has the highest owner salary of $153,245
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Nebraska has the lowest owner salary of $52,847
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The national average salary for owners is $90,334
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The national hourly pay for owners is $43.43
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 owners 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 owner 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 owners after this adjustment? That would be New Jersey.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for owner salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Owners By State
| Rank | State | Average Owner Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey | $153,245 | $110,000 | $212,000 |
| 2 | New York | $134,092 | $95,000 | $188,000 |
| 3 | Delaware | $129,855 | $92,000 | $182,000 |
| 4 | Connecticut | $121,422 | $86,000 | $170,000 |
| 5 | Virginia | $119,771 | $83,000 | $171,000 |
| 6 | Rhode Island | $119,186 | $84,000 | $167,000 |
| 7 | Massachusetts | $118,604 | $84,000 | $166,000 |
| 8 | Washington | $116,071 | $76,000 | $175,000 |
| 9 | Maine | $111,283 | $78,000 | $157,000 |
| 10 | Michigan | $109,626 | $76,000 | $157,000 |
| 11 | Illinois | $108,127 | $72,000 | $160,000 |
| 12 | West Virginia | $108,058 | $74,000 | $157,000 |
| 13 | Pennsylvania | $106,057 | $75,000 | $149,000 |
| 14 | Vermont | $105,890 | $74,000 | $151,000 |
| 15 | North Carolina | $105,617 | $70,000 | $157,000 |
| 16 | California | $105,250 | $65,000 | $167,000 |
| 17 | Montana | $104,318 | $70,000 | $154,000 |
| 18 | Maryland | $101,715 | $71,000 | $143,000 |
| 19 | South Carolina | $98,793 | $64,000 | $150,000 |
| 20 | North Dakota | $95,188 | $65,000 | $139,000 |
| 21 | Ohio | $93,825 | $64,000 | $136,000 |
| 22 | Minnesota | $91,246 | $61,000 | $135,000 |
| 23 | Georgia | $87,605 | $55,000 | $137,000 |
| 24 | New Mexico | $87,093 | $53,000 | $141,000 |
| 25 | Arkansas | $84,858 | $52,000 | $137,000 |
| 26 | Oregon | $84,206 | $54,000 | $129,000 |
| 27 | Florida | $83,536 | $53,000 | $130,000 |
| 28 | Kansas | $79,415 | $49,000 | $127,000 |
| 29 | Texas | $79,054 | $48,000 | $127,000 |
| 30 | Mississippi | $78,249 | $48,000 | $125,000 |
| 31 | Utah | $78,059 | $49,000 | $123,000 |
| 32 | Colorado | $76,507 | $47,000 | $122,000 |
| 33 | Arizona | $74,953 | $46,000 | $120,000 |
| 34 | Indiana | $74,789 | $49,000 | $112,000 |
| 35 | South Dakota | $74,595 | $49,000 | $112,000 |
| 36 | Oklahoma | $73,842 | $45,000 | $119,000 |
| 37 | Wisconsin | $73,109 | $49,000 | $107,000 |
| 38 | Nevada | $71,202 | $44,000 | $114,000 |
| 39 | Tennessee | $71,138 | $44,000 | $112,000 |
| 40 | Kentucky | $70,562 | $45,000 | $108,000 |
| 41 | New Hampshire | $69,129 | $48,000 | $97,000 |
| 42 | Missouri | $68,717 | $43,000 | $109,000 |
| 43 | Alabama | $68,532 | $43,000 | $109,000 |
| 44 | Iowa | $67,885 | $44,000 | $103,000 |
| 45 | Louisiana | $67,287 | $41,000 | $108,000 |
| 46 | Alaska | $66,026 | $44,000 | $98,000 |
| 47 | Hawaii | $62,846 | $42,000 | $93,000 |
| 48 | Idaho | $59,279 | $38,000 | $90,000 |
| 49 | Wyoming | $57,231 | $37,000 | $88,000 |
| 50 | Nebraska | $52,847 | $33,000 | $82,000 |
Methodology: Owner Salary By State
To better understand owner 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 owners by state.
We took the average annual salary data for owners from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for owners.
Owner Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for owners?
The highest-paid state for owners is New Jersey with an average salary of $153,245 per year.
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What city pays owners the most?
New York, NY pays owners the most with an average salary of $134,539 per year.
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What is the worst state for owners?
The worst state for owners is Nebraska with an average salary of $52,847 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.
