Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of trainee salary by state for the United States:
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Hawaii has the highest trainee salary of $60,970
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Mississippi has the lowest trainee salary of $32,274
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The national average salary for trainees is $39,185
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The national hourly pay for trainees is $18.84
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 trainees 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 trainee 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 trainees after this adjustment? That would be Hawaii.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for trainee salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Trainees By State
| Rank | State | Average Trainee Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaii | $60,970 | $52,000 | $70,000 |
| 2 | Alaska | $60,919 | $47,000 | $77,000 |
| 3 | California | $44,846 | $31,000 | $63,000 |
| 4 | Oregon | $43,768 | $31,000 | $60,000 |
| 5 | Rhode Island | $43,466 | $27,000 | $68,000 |
| 6 | Connecticut | $42,735 | $27,000 | $67,000 |
| 7 | Washington | $42,400 | $30,000 | $58,000 |
| 8 | Montana | $41,985 | $30,000 | $57,000 |
| 9 | Nevada | $40,979 | $29,000 | $57,000 |
| 10 | New York | $40,597 | $25,000 | $63,000 |
| 11 | Arizona | $40,583 | $29,000 | $56,000 |
| 12 | Iowa | $40,293 | $28,000 | $56,000 |
| 13 | Massachusetts | $40,092 | $25,000 | $63,000 |
| 14 | Wyoming | $40,072 | $29,000 | $54,000 |
| 15 | Ohio | $39,581 | $26,000 | $58,000 |
| 16 | Illinois | $39,523 | $27,000 | $56,000 |
| 17 | Louisiana | $39,471 | $28,000 | $54,000 |
| 18 | North Dakota | $39,375 | $28,000 | $55,000 |
| 19 | Minnesota | $39,228 | $27,000 | $55,000 |
| 20 | New Jersey | $39,057 | $25,000 | $60,000 |
| 21 | Alabama | $38,915 | $28,000 | $53,000 |
| 22 | Vermont | $38,718 | $24,000 | $60,000 |
| 23 | South Dakota | $38,145 | $27,000 | $53,000 |
| 24 | Delaware | $38,035 | $24,000 | $58,000 |
| 25 | Texas | $37,780 | $27,000 | $52,000 |
| 26 | South Carolina | $37,741 | $27,000 | $52,000 |
| 27 | Pennsylvania | $36,998 | $23,000 | $57,000 |
| 28 | Utah | $36,889 | $26,000 | $50,000 |
| 29 | Wisconsin | $36,526 | $25,000 | $52,000 |
| 30 | Michigan | $36,337 | $24,000 | $54,000 |
| 31 | North Carolina | $35,598 | $25,000 | $50,000 |
| 32 | Idaho | $35,388 | $25,000 | $48,000 |
| 33 | Georgia | $35,146 | $25,000 | $48,000 |
| 34 | Colorado | $35,042 | $25,000 | $48,000 |
| 35 | Indiana | $34,849 | $24,000 | $49,000 |
| 36 | Kansas | $34,685 | $25,000 | $47,000 |
| 37 | Virginia | $34,599 | $23,000 | $51,000 |
| 38 | Maryland | $34,243 | $22,000 | $51,000 |
| 39 | New Hampshire | $33,058 | $21,000 | $51,000 |
| 40 | Nebraska | $33,008 | $23,000 | $45,000 |
| 41 | Arkansas | $32,989 | $24,000 | $45,000 |
| 42 | Oklahoma | $32,904 | $24,000 | $44,000 |
| 43 | Kentucky | $32,902 | $23,000 | $46,000 |
| 44 | Missouri | $32,874 | $23,000 | $45,000 |
| 45 | West Virginia | $32,861 | $22,000 | $48,000 |
| 46 | Florida | $32,804 | $23,000 | $45,000 |
| 47 | New Mexico | $32,603 | $23,000 | $44,000 |
| 48 | Maine | $32,561 | $20,000 | $50,000 |
| 49 | Tennessee | $32,490 | $23,000 | $44,000 |
| 50 | Mississippi | $32,274 | $23,000 | $44,000 |
Methodology: Trainee Salary By State
To better understand trainee 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 trainees by state.
We took the average annual salary data for trainees from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for trainees.
Trainee Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for trainees?
The highest-paid state for trainees is Hawaii with an average salary of $60,970 per year.
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What city pays trainees the most?
Richmond, CA pays trainees the most with an average salary of $46,125 per year.
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What is the worst state for trainees?
The worst state for trainees is Mississippi with an average salary of $32,274 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.
