Best states for a language specialist

Q: What is the best state for language specialists?

The best state to be a language specialist is New Hampshire based on language specialist salaries and job opportunities.

Q: What is the highest paying state for language specialists?

The highest paying state for language specialists is New Mexico based on Zippia’s salary database.

Q: What is the worst state for language specialists?

The worst state for language specialists is Oklahoma, due to a combination of low salaries and few job opportunities.

Quoted expert

Dr. Vanessa Lazo

Rank 1 - 10
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Do you want to become a language specialist at United States Army Corps of Engineers, and you wonder what that means or entails? We have the full list of best states for language specialists that you can check out, before you begin your journey. In order to help you decide which state is the best for language specialists, we ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia from best to worst for language specialist jobs.

We figured that the best places for language specialist jobs has three things everyone would agree on. There would be high annual wages, good career prospects (no matter what phase of the career you are in), and a lot of job opportunities.We found that the South is best for language specialists, and the Northeast is the worst. Santa Rosa, CA is the best city in the country for language specialist jobs, where as New Hampshire is the best state in the country.

10 best states for language specialists in 2025

1. New Hampshire
Total language specialist jobs: 250
Average annual salary: $77,280
Lowest 10 percent earn: $50,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $117,000
Location Quotient:
3.17
Language specialist jobs in New Hampshire
2. Massachusetts
Total language specialist jobs: 571
Average annual salary: $71,097
Lowest 10 percent earn: $46,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $108,000
Location Quotient:
1.38
Language specialist jobs in Massachusetts
3. Vermont
Total language specialist jobs: 112
Average annual salary: $65,096
Lowest 10 percent earn: $43,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $98,000
Location Quotient:
3.23
Language specialist jobs in Vermont
4. California
Total language specialist jobs: 1,418
Average annual salary: $72,938
Lowest 10 percent earn: $47,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $112,000
Location Quotient:
1.07
Language specialist jobs in California
5. New York
Total language specialist jobs: 508
Average annual salary: $71,047
Lowest 10 percent earn: $46,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $109,000
Location Quotient:
0.88
Language specialist jobs in New York
6. Delaware
Total language specialist jobs: 81
Average annual salary: $57,755
Lowest 10 percent earn: $37,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $89,000
Location Quotient:
1.43
Language specialist jobs in Delaware
7. North Dakota
Total language specialist jobs: 41
Average annual salary: $63,413
Lowest 10 percent earn: $46,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $86,000
Location Quotient:
0.98
Language specialist jobs in North Dakota
8. Connecticut
Total language specialist jobs: 215
Average annual salary: $57,657
Lowest 10 percent earn: $37,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $88,000
Location Quotient:
1.44
Language specialist jobs in Connecticut
9. Washington
Total language specialist jobs: 372
Average annual salary: $60,742
Lowest 10 percent earn: $41,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $88,000
Location Quotient:
1.13
Language specialist jobs in Washington
10. Maryland
Total language specialist jobs: 338
Average annual salary: $60,329
Lowest 10 percent earn: $38,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $93,000
Location Quotient:
1.18
Language specialist jobs in Maryland

Language specialist jobsNear Columbus, OH

How Zippia determines the best states to be a language specialist

You can read about how the best state rankings are calculated here.

Detailed list of the best states for a language specialist

Rank	State	Average salary	Lowest 10% earn	Population	Job count
1	New Hampshire	$77,280	$50,000	1,342,795	250
2	Massachusetts	$71,097	$46,000	6,859,819	571
3	Vermont	$65,096	$43,000	623,657	112
4	California	$72,938	$47,000	39,536,653	1,418
5	New York	$71,047	$46,000	19,849,399	508
6	Delaware	$57,755	$37,000	961,939	81
7	North Dakota	$63,413	$46,000	755,393	41
8	Connecticut	$57,657	$37,000	3,588,184	215
9	Washington	$60,742	$41,000	7,405,743	372
10	Maryland	$60,329	$38,000	6,052,177	338
11	Michigan	$58,781	$39,000	9,962,311	331
12	New Jersey	$68,446	$44,000	9,005,644	245
13	Pennsylvania	$65,010	$42,000	12,805,537	311
14	Nevada	$60,624	$39,000	2,998,039	78
15	Rhode Island	$57,923	$37,000	1,059,639	51
16	Alaska	$62,489	$51,000	739,795	18
17	Florida	$50,155	$33,000	20,984,400	1,000
18	District of Columbia	$66,641	$43,000	693,972	28
19	Montana	$50,968	$36,000	1,050,493	54
20	Louisiana	$49,714	$33,000	4,684,333	152
21	Wisconsin	$51,785	$36,000	5,795,483	207
22	Maine	$52,025	$34,000	1,335,907	40
23	Idaho	$50,615	$34,000	1,716,943	64
24	Iowa	$46,695	$33,000	3,145,711	184
25	Virginia	$49,547	$32,000	8,470,020	515
26	Illinois	$47,455	$33,000	12,802,023	623
27	Oregon	$50,010	$34,000	4,142,776	181
28	Indiana	$48,877	$33,000	6,666,818	256
29	Nebraska	$46,894	$33,000	1,920,076	105
30	Minnesota	$51,734	$37,000	5,576,606	197
31	Wyoming	$47,729	$33,000	579,315	24
32	Kansas	$43,235	$30,000	2,913,123	183
33	Hawaii	$42,829	$35,000	1,427,538	54
34	Texas	$43,839	$29,000	28,304,596	965
35	Tennessee	$46,590	$32,000	6,715,984	125
36	Missouri	$45,820	$32,000	6,113,532	225
37	Arizona	$43,445	$29,000	7,016,270	259
38	North Carolina	$43,370	$29,000	10,273,419	453
39	South Carolina	$40,934	$28,000	5,024,369	255
40	South Dakota	$43,062	$30,000	869,666	41
41	Ohio	$43,711	$29,000	11,658,609	303
42	West Virginia	$35,127	$23,000	1,815,857	211
43	Utah	$44,410	$30,000	3,101,833	42
44	Colorado	$42,431	$29,000	5,607,154	247
45	New Mexico	$30,774	$20,000	2,088,070	133
46	Kentucky	$38,869	$26,000	4,454,189	158
47	Georgia	$40,708	$28,000	10,429,379	328
48	Mississippi	$38,909	$26,000	2,984,100	72
49	Alabama	$40,051	$27,000	4,874,747	119
50	Arkansas	$37,363	$26,000	3,004,279	67
51	Oklahoma	$31,672	$22,000	3,930,864	82

Highest paying states for language specialists

Rank	State	Avg. Language Specialist Salary
1	New Hampshire	$77,280
2	Massachusetts	$71,097
3	Vermont	$65,096
4	California	$72,938
5	New York	$71,047
6	Delaware	$57,755
7	North Dakota	$63,413
8	Connecticut	$57,657
9	Washington	$60,742
10	Maryland	$60,329
11	Michigan	$58,781
12	New Jersey	$68,446
13	Pennsylvania	$65,010
14	Nevada	$60,624
15	Rhode Island	$57,923
16	Alaska	$62,489
17	Florida	$50,155
18	District of Columbia	$66,641
19	Montana	$50,968
20	Louisiana	$49,714
21	Wisconsin	$51,785
22	Maine	$52,025
23	Idaho	$50,615
24	Iowa	$46,695
25	Virginia	$49,547
26	Illinois	$47,455
27	Oregon	$50,010
28	Indiana	$48,877
29	Nebraska	$46,894
30	Minnesota	$51,734
31	Wyoming	$47,729
32	Kansas	$43,235
33	Hawaii	$42,829
34	Texas	$43,839
35	Tennessee	$46,590
36	Missouri	$45,820
37	Arizona	$43,445
38	North Carolina	$43,370
39	South Carolina	$40,934
40	South Dakota	$43,062
41	Ohio	$43,711
42	West Virginia	$35,127
43	Utah	$44,410
44	Colorado	$42,431
45	New Mexico	$30,774
46	Kentucky	$38,869
47	Georgia	$40,708
48	Mississippi	$38,909
49	Alabama	$40,051
50	Arkansas	$37,363
51	Oklahoma	$31,672

Expert opinions on the best states for language specialists

Are there any particularly good places in the United States for language specialists to find work opportunities?
Dr. Vanessa Lazo
Department Chair, Professor of Spanish, Faculty Leader of the Year 2020-2021, Austin Community College
The beauty of studying any one of our foreign languages is that each language can be a field of study of its own if the depth of understanding is sought from a historical, linguistic, or literature perspective. The study of foreign languages also merges with any other field of study to build bridges of understanding between several areas. Furthermore, students of foreign languages can better communicate with any given audience, be these clients, patients, students, or any other citizen of the community, and beyond, for whom they provide service.

Language specialist best states FAQs

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Best states for Language Specialists

Updated January 8, 2025

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Total language specialist jobs:	250
Average annual salary:	$77,280
Lowest 10 percent earn:	$50,000
Highest 10 percent earn:	$117,000
Location Quotient:	3.17

Best states for a language specialist

10 best states for language specialists in 2025

1. New Hampshire

2. Massachusetts

3. Vermont

4. California

5. New York

6. Delaware

7. North Dakota

8. Connecticut

9. Washington

10. Maryland