Best states for a representative

Q: What is the best state for representatives?

The best state to be a representative is Pennsylvania based on representative salaries and job opportunities.

Q: What is the highest paying state for representatives?

The highest paying state for representatives is Mississippi based on Zippia’s salary database.

Q: What is the worst state for representatives?

The worst state for representatives is New Mexico, due to a combination of low salaries and few job opportunities.

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Are you wondering which place in the United States is the best state for representatives? Knowing how challenging it is to figure out where to start your career or where to move to advance your career, we decided to bring you a list of best states for representative jobs.In order to help you decide which state is the best for representatives, we ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia from best to worst for representative jobs.

To that end, we dove into our dataset of job and salary numbers to figure out which states have the best opportunities for representatives. Pennsylvania is the best state for representatives, where the median salary is $47,319.If you are currently seeking employment as a representative, you can find open job positions using Zippia's search tools.

10 best states for representatives in 2025

1. Pennsylvania
Total representative jobs: 7,042
Average annual salary: $47,319
Lowest 10 percent earn: $27,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $82,000
Location Quotient:
1.24
Representative jobs in Pennsylvania
2. New Jersey
Total representative jobs: 4,346
Average annual salary: $50,276
Lowest 10 percent earn: $28,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $88,000
Location Quotient:
1.12
Representative jobs in New Jersey
3. Rhode Island
Total representative jobs: 702
Average annual salary: $46,818
Lowest 10 percent earn: $27,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $80,000
Location Quotient:
1.18
Representative jobs in Rhode Island
4. New York
Total representative jobs: 5,691
Average annual salary: $56,253
Lowest 10 percent earn: $32,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $98,000
Location Quotient:
0.91
Representative jobs in New York
5. Maine
Total representative jobs: 1,055
Average annual salary: $42,389
Lowest 10 percent earn: $25,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $69,000
Location Quotient:
1.62
Representative jobs in Maine
6. Massachusetts
Total representative jobs: 3,899
Average annual salary: $51,392
Lowest 10 percent earn: $30,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $87,000
Location Quotient:
0.87
Representative jobs in Massachusetts
7. Delaware
Total representative jobs: 403
Average annual salary: $56,212
Lowest 10 percent earn: $32,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $98,000
Location Quotient:
0.66
Representative jobs in Delaware
8. New Hampshire
Total representative jobs: 869
Average annual salary: $45,668
Lowest 10 percent earn: $27,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $76,000
Location Quotient:
1.01
Representative jobs in New Hampshire
9. District of Columbia
Total representative jobs: 354
Average annual salary: $63,139
Lowest 10 percent earn: $36,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $109,000
Location Quotient:
0.43
Representative jobs in District of Columbia
10. Illinois
Total representative jobs: 6,296
Average annual salary: $43,100
Lowest 10 percent earn: $28,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $65,000
Location Quotient:
1.08
Representative jobs in Illinois

Representative jobsNear Columbus, OH

How Zippia determines the best states to be a representative

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

Detailed list of the best states for a representative

Rank	State	Average salary	Lowest 10% earn	Population	Job count
1	Pennsylvania	$47,319	$27,000	12,805,537	7,042
2	New Jersey	$50,276	$28,000	9,005,644	4,346
3	Rhode Island	$46,818	$27,000	1,059,639	702
4	New York	$56,253	$32,000	19,849,399	5,691
5	Maine	$42,389	$25,000	1,335,907	1,055
6	Massachusetts	$51,392	$30,000	6,859,819	3,899
7	Delaware	$56,212	$32,000	961,939	403
8	New Hampshire	$45,668	$27,000	1,342,795	869
9	District of Columbia	$63,139	$36,000	693,972	354
10	Illinois	$43,100	$28,000	12,802,023	6,296
11	North Dakota	$38,996	$27,000	755,393	593
12	Ohio	$39,493	$24,000	11,658,609	6,067
13	Connecticut	$49,658	$28,000	3,588,184	1,302
14	Minnesota	$42,120	$28,000	5,576,606	3,319
15	Maryland	$50,112	$28,000	6,052,177	2,418
16	Iowa	$37,492	$25,000	3,145,711	2,186
17	Vermont	$44,310	$26,000	623,657	348
18	West Virginia	$37,381	$22,000	1,815,857	939
19	Kansas	$39,266	$26,000	2,913,123	1,544
20	Michigan	$42,264	$25,000	9,962,311	3,553
21	Montana	$36,491	$26,000	1,050,493	837
22	Wisconsin	$39,876	$26,000	5,795,483	2,612
23	North Carolina	$39,679	$24,000	10,273,419	4,828
24	Kentucky	$34,879	$22,000	4,454,189	2,202
25	Nebraska	$35,554	$24,000	1,920,076	1,214
26	Indiana	$36,069	$23,000	6,666,818	3,317
27	Wyoming	$34,048	$24,000	579,315	372
28	Washington	$39,752	$28,000	7,405,743	2,470
29	Virginia	$40,807	$23,000	8,470,020	3,987
30	Alaska	$39,425	$30,000	739,795	254
31	South Dakota	$33,603	$23,000	869,666	634
32	Alabama	$35,236	$22,000	4,874,747	2,089
33	Texas	$33,707	$22,000	28,304,596	11,031
34	Missouri	$34,984	$23,000	6,113,532	2,907
35	California	$39,225	$26,000	39,536,653	12,032
36	Arizona	$33,246	$22,000	7,016,270	3,300
37	Tennessee	$33,260	$21,000	6,715,984	3,030
38	Colorado	$35,876	$25,000	5,607,154	2,336
39	Oregon	$35,256	$24,000	4,142,776	1,819
40	Utah	$33,147	$23,000	3,101,833	1,529
41	Florida	$31,995	$20,000	20,984,400	8,903
42	South Carolina	$31,137	$19,000	5,024,369	2,408
43	Idaho	$30,824	$22,000	1,716,943	836
44	Arkansas	$31,688	$21,000	3,004,279	1,091
45	Oklahoma	$31,134	$21,000	3,930,864	1,430
46	Nevada	$31,271	$21,000	2,998,039	1,001
47	Hawaii	$33,941	$26,000	1,427,538	322
48	Mississippi	$29,598	$19,000	2,984,100	1,103
49	Louisiana	$30,690	$20,000	4,684,333	1,467
50	Georgia	$31,211	$20,000	10,429,379	4,588
51	New Mexico	$30,356	$20,000	2,088,070	954

Highest paying states for representatives

Rank	State	Avg. Representative Salary
1	Pennsylvania	$47,319
2	New Jersey	$50,276
3	Rhode Island	$46,818
4	New York	$56,253
5	Maine	$42,389
6	Massachusetts	$51,392
7	Delaware	$56,212
8	New Hampshire	$45,668
9	District of Columbia	$63,139
10	Illinois	$43,100
11	North Dakota	$38,996
12	Ohio	$39,493
13	Connecticut	$49,658
14	Minnesota	$42,120
15	Maryland	$50,112
16	Iowa	$37,492
17	Vermont	$44,310
18	West Virginia	$37,381
19	Kansas	$39,266
20	Michigan	$42,264
21	Montana	$36,491
22	Wisconsin	$39,876
23	North Carolina	$39,679
24	Kentucky	$34,879
25	Nebraska	$35,554
26	Indiana	$36,069
27	Wyoming	$34,048
28	Washington	$39,752
29	Virginia	$40,807
30	Alaska	$39,425
31	South Dakota	$33,603
32	Alabama	$35,236
33	Texas	$33,707
34	Missouri	$34,984
35	California	$39,225
36	Arizona	$33,246
37	Tennessee	$33,260
38	Colorado	$35,876
39	Oregon	$35,256
40	Utah	$33,147
41	Florida	$31,995
42	South Carolina	$31,137
43	Idaho	$30,824
44	Arkansas	$31,688
45	Oklahoma	$31,134
46	Nevada	$31,271
47	Hawaii	$33,941
48	Mississippi	$29,598
49	Louisiana	$30,690
50	Georgia	$31,211
51	New Mexico	$30,356

Representative best states FAQs

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What is the worst state for representatives?

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Search for representative jobs

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs

Total representative jobs:	7,042
Average annual salary:	$47,319
Lowest 10 percent earn:	$27,000
Highest 10 percent earn:	$82,000
Location Quotient:	1.24

Best states for a representative

10 best states for representatives in 2025

1. Pennsylvania

2. New Jersey

3. Rhode Island

4. New York

5. Maine

6. Massachusetts

7. Delaware

8. New Hampshire

9. District of Columbia

10. Illinois