Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of student worker salary by state for the United States:
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Connecticut has the highest student worker salary of $34,106
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Mississippi has the lowest student worker salary of $18,008
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The national average salary for student workers is $25,735
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The national hourly pay for student workers is $12.37
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 student workers 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 student worker 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 student workers after this adjustment? That would be Connecticut.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for student worker salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Student Workers By State
| Rank | State | Average Student Worker Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Connecticut | $34,106 | $26,000 | $43,000 |
| 2 | New York | $32,837 | $25,000 | $42,000 |
| 3 | New Hampshire | $30,747 | $24,000 | $38,000 |
| 4 | Minnesota | $30,661 | $23,000 | $40,000 |
| 5 | Maine | $30,516 | $24,000 | $37,000 |
| 6 | California | $29,931 | $21,000 | $41,000 |
| 7 | Washington | $29,584 | $21,000 | $40,000 |
| 8 | Massachusetts | $29,382 | $23,000 | $37,000 |
| 9 | Utah | $29,331 | $21,000 | $40,000 |
| 10 | Oregon | $28,739 | $21,000 | $39,000 |
| 11 | New Jersey | $28,620 | $21,000 | $37,000 |
| 12 | Delaware | $28,505 | $21,000 | $37,000 |
| 13 | New Mexico | $28,442 | $20,000 | $39,000 |
| 14 | West Virginia | $27,870 | $20,000 | $37,000 |
| 15 | Nevada | $27,781 | $20,000 | $38,000 |
| 16 | Vermont | $27,593 | $22,000 | $34,000 |
| 17 | Iowa | $27,279 | $20,000 | $36,000 |
| 18 | Wisconsin | $26,476 | $20,000 | $34,000 |
| 19 | Kansas | $26,363 | $19,000 | $35,000 |
| 20 | Colorado | $26,162 | $19,000 | $35,000 |
| 21 | Arkansas | $25,801 | $19,000 | $34,000 |
| 22 | Montana | $25,778 | $19,000 | $34,000 |
| 23 | North Dakota | $25,554 | $19,000 | $33,000 |
| 24 | Illinois | $25,325 | $18,000 | $33,000 |
| 25 | Idaho | $25,244 | $18,000 | $34,000 |
| 26 | South Carolina | $25,157 | $18,000 | $33,000 |
| 27 | Rhode Island | $24,675 | $19,000 | $31,000 |
| 28 | Maryland | $24,324 | $18,000 | $32,000 |
| 29 | Virginia | $23,866 | $17,000 | $31,000 |
| 30 | Georgia | $23,840 | $17,000 | $31,000 |
| 31 | Pennsylvania | $23,805 | $18,000 | $31,000 |
| 32 | Hawaii | $23,790 | $19,000 | $28,000 |
| 33 | North Carolina | $23,525 | $17,000 | $31,000 |
| 34 | Arizona | $23,476 | $17,000 | $32,000 |
| 35 | Wyoming | $23,398 | $17,000 | $31,000 |
| 36 | Alaska | $23,371 | $18,000 | $29,000 |
| 37 | South Dakota | $23,172 | $17,000 | $30,000 |
| 38 | Oklahoma | $23,041 | $16,000 | $31,000 |
| 39 | Tennessee | $23,028 | $17,000 | $30,000 |
| 40 | Michigan | $22,706 | $17,000 | $29,000 |
| 41 | Texas | $22,614 | $16,000 | $31,000 |
| 42 | Nebraska | $22,553 | $16,000 | $30,000 |
| 43 | Indiana | $22,410 | $16,000 | $29,000 |
| 44 | Alabama | $21,710 | $16,000 | $29,000 |
| 45 | Ohio | $21,600 | $16,000 | $28,000 |
| 46 | Florida | $21,141 | $15,000 | $28,000 |
| 47 | Louisiana | $21,054 | $15,000 | $28,000 |
| 48 | Kentucky | $20,606 | $15,000 | $27,000 |
| 49 | Missouri | $19,979 | $14,000 | $27,000 |
| 50 | Mississippi | $18,008 | $13,000 | $24,000 |
Methodology: Student Worker Salary By State
To better understand student worker 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 student workers by state.
We took the average annual salary data for student workers from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for student workers.
Student Worker Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for student workers?
The highest-paid state for student workers is Connecticut with an average salary of $34,106 per year.
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What city pays student workers the most?
Albany, NY pays student workers the most with an average salary of $33,403 per year.
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What is the worst state for student workers?
The worst state for student workers is Mississippi with an average salary of $18,008 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.
