Best states for a legislative director

Q: What is the best state for legislative directors?

The best state to be a legislative director is Connecticut based on legislative director salaries and job opportunities.

Q: What is the highest paying state for legislative directors?

The highest paying state for legislative directors is Florida based on Zippia’s salary database.

Q: What is the worst state for legislative directors?

The worst state for legislative directors is South Carolina, due to a combination of low salaries and few job opportunities.

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Legislative director opportunities vary in different parts of the country. In order to help you determine the best states for legislative directors, we ranked all fifty states from best to worst for legislative directors.As legislative directors are popular in the U.S., we wanted to bring you a list of the best states for legislative directors. In case you are trying to decide where to start your career as a legislative director, or if you are considering moving to a different city or state, we got you covered.

To that end, we dove into our dataset of job and salary numbers to figure out which states have the best opportunities for legislative directors. Connecticut is the best state for legislative directors, where the median salary is $105,703.We found that the South is best for legislative directors, and the Northeast is the worst. Washington, DC is the best city in the country for legislative director jobs, where as Connecticut is the best state in the country.

10 best states for legislative directors in 2026

1. Connecticut
Total legislative director jobs: 12
Average annual salary: $105,703
Lowest 10 percent earn: $62,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $178,000
Location Quotient:
0.28
Legislative director jobs in Connecticut
2. Delaware
Total legislative director jobs: 4
Average annual salary: $105,433
Lowest 10 percent earn: $61,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $179,000
Location Quotient:
0.25
Legislative director jobs in Delaware
3. New Jersey
Total legislative director jobs: 38
Average annual salary: $102,164
Lowest 10 percent earn: $59,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $174,000
Location Quotient:
0.37
Legislative director jobs in New Jersey
4. District of Columbia
Total legislative director jobs: 88
Average annual salary: $102,749
Lowest 10 percent earn: $59,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $177,000
Location Quotient:
4.03
Legislative director jobs in District of Columbia
5. New York
Total legislative director jobs: 85
Average annual salary: $93,649
Lowest 10 percent earn: $54,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $160,000
Location Quotient:
0.51
Legislative director jobs in New York
6. Massachusetts
Total legislative director jobs: 56
Average annual salary: $92,578
Lowest 10 percent earn: $53,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $159,000
Location Quotient:
0.47
Legislative director jobs in Massachusetts
7. Alaska
Total legislative director jobs: 2
Average annual salary: $110,317
Lowest 10 percent earn: $77,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $156,000
Location Quotient:
0.18
Legislative director jobs in Alaska
8. Vermont
Total legislative director jobs: 2
Average annual salary: $96,273
Lowest 10 percent earn: $55,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $167,000
Location Quotient:
0.2
Legislative director jobs in Vermont
9. California
Total legislative director jobs: 134
Average annual salary: $94,512
Lowest 10 percent earn: $51,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $172,000
Location Quotient:
0.35
Legislative director jobs in California
10. Michigan
Total legislative director jobs: 17
Average annual salary: $94,051
Lowest 10 percent earn: $54,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $163,000
Location Quotient:
0.17
Legislative director jobs in Michigan

Legislative director jobsNear Columbus, OH

How Zippia determines the best states to be a legislative director

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

Detailed list of the best states for a legislative director

Rank	State	Average salary	Lowest 10% earn	Population	Job count
1	Connecticut	$105,703	$62,000	3,588,184	12
2	Delaware	$105,433	$61,000	961,939	4
3	New Jersey	$102,164	$59,000	9,005,644	38
4	District of Columbia	$102,749	$59,000	693,972	88
5	New York	$93,649	$54,000	19,849,399	85
6	Massachusetts	$92,578	$53,000	6,859,819	56
7	Alaska	$110,317	$77,000	739,795	2
8	Vermont	$96,273	$55,000	623,657	2
9	California	$94,512	$51,000	39,536,653	134
10	Michigan	$94,051	$54,000	9,962,311	17
11	Illinois	$87,380	$49,000	12,802,023	64
12	Pennsylvania	$89,031	$51,000	12,805,537	37
13	Oregon	$85,872	$46,000	4,142,776	28
14	Nevada	$96,197	$52,000	2,998,039	3
15	Rhode Island	$88,155	$50,000	1,059,639	4
16	New Mexico	$86,251	$45,000	2,088,070	5
17	Virginia	$83,986	$46,000	8,470,020	37
18	Washington	$83,894	$46,000	7,405,743	24
19	North Dakota	$86,980	$49,000	755,393	0
20	Arkansas	$69,544	$35,000	3,004,279	493
21	Maryland	$80,845	$45,000	6,052,177	22
22	New Hampshire	$78,608	$44,000	1,342,795	5
23	South Dakota	$79,350	$43,000	869,666	1
24	Arizona	$73,579	$38,000	7,016,270	20
25	Wisconsin	$78,632	$44,000	5,795,483	8
26	Iowa	$66,522	$36,000	3,145,711	518
27	North Carolina	$75,244	$39,000	10,273,419	22
28	Louisiana	$66,273	$32,000	4,684,333	492
29	Maine	$75,431	$42,000	1,335,907	3
30	Indiana	$75,150	$41,000	6,666,818	5
31	Georgia	$70,265	$35,000	10,429,379	28
32	Hawaii	$85,618	$49,000	1,427,538	0
33	Ohio	$70,446	$39,000	11,658,609	18
34	Montana	$65,579	$35,000	1,050,493	4
35	West Virginia	$71,150	$39,000	1,815,857	0
36	Utah	$63,626	$32,000	3,101,833	13
37	Kansas	$71,034	$37,000	2,913,123	4
38	Oklahoma	$57,933	$29,000	3,930,864	446
39	Kentucky	$64,618	$34,000	4,454,189	10
40	Idaho	$66,685	$34,000	1,716,943	4
41	Minnesota	$65,465	$36,000	5,576,606	19
42	Alabama	$55,910	$28,000	4,874,747	503
43	Texas	$59,403	$29,000	28,304,596	60
44	Mississippi	$52,939	$26,000	2,984,100	302
45	Tennessee	$61,535	$31,000	6,715,984	12
46	Colorado	$63,430	$33,000	5,607,154	13
47	Nebraska	$62,470	$33,000	1,920,076	4
48	Missouri	$58,543	$31,000	6,113,532	7
49	Wyoming	$56,484	$29,000	579,315	0
50	Florida	$52,067	$25,000	20,984,400	33
51	South Carolina	$54,330	$27,000	5,024,369	2

Highest paying states for legislative directors

Rank	State	Avg. Legislative Director Salary
1	Connecticut	$105,703
2	Delaware	$105,433
3	New Jersey	$102,164
4	District of Columbia	$102,749
5	New York	$93,649
6	Massachusetts	$92,578
7	Alaska	$110,317
8	Vermont	$96,273
9	California	$94,512
10	Michigan	$94,051
11	Illinois	$87,380
12	Pennsylvania	$89,031
13	Oregon	$85,872
14	Nevada	$96,197
15	Rhode Island	$88,155
16	New Mexico	$86,251
17	Virginia	$83,986
18	Washington	$83,894
19	North Dakota	$86,980
20	Arkansas	$69,544
21	Maryland	$80,845
22	New Hampshire	$78,608
23	South Dakota	$79,350
24	Arizona	$73,579
25	Wisconsin	$78,632
26	Iowa	$66,522
27	North Carolina	$75,244
28	Louisiana	$66,273
29	Maine	$75,431
30	Indiana	$75,150
31	Georgia	$70,265
32	Hawaii	$85,618
33	Ohio	$70,446
34	Montana	$65,579
35	West Virginia	$71,150
36	Utah	$63,626
37	Kansas	$71,034
38	Oklahoma	$57,933
39	Kentucky	$64,618
40	Idaho	$66,685
41	Minnesota	$65,465
42	Alabama	$55,910
43	Texas	$59,403
44	Mississippi	$52,939
45	Tennessee	$61,535
46	Colorado	$63,430
47	Nebraska	$62,470
48	Missouri	$58,543
49	Wyoming	$56,484
50	Florida	$52,067
51	South Carolina	$54,330

Best states for a legislative director

10 best states for legislative directors in 2026

1. Connecticut

2. Delaware

3. New Jersey

4. District of Columbia

5. New York

6. Massachusetts

7. Alaska

8. Vermont

9. California

10. Michigan

Legislative director jobsNear Columbus, OH

How Zippia determines the best states to be a legislative director

Detailed list of the best states for a legislative director

Highest paying states for legislative directors

Legislative director best states FAQs

What is the best state for legislative directors?

What is the highest paying state for legislative directors?

What is the worst state for legislative directors?

Search for legislative director jobs

Total legislative director jobs:	12
Average annual salary:	$105,703
Lowest 10 percent earn:	$62,000
Highest 10 percent earn:	$178,000
Location Quotient:	0.28