These Are The 10 Best States For Business Analysts

We used the most recent data to determine the best states for Business Analysts.

Business Analysts are one of the best jobs in America for recent college graduates. Additionally, a significant number of people out of college work as business analysts in every state in the union -- it's not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.

Since Business Analysts are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where business analysts have it the best: where there are plenty of jobs to go around, and people get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.

To that end, we dove into the numbers from the BLS to figure out which states have the best opportunities for business analysts. After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America's Business Analysts:

1. Virginia
2. Georgia
3. Washington
4. Texas
5. Illinois
6. Michigan
7. North Carolina
8. Alabama
9. Colorado
10. Kansas

So there you have it -- Virginia is the best of the best when it comes to being a business analysts.

How did it end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for business analysts and for more on the top ten states.

How we determined the best states to be a business analyst

Here at Zippia, we talk to a lot of people of all different backgrounds looking for jobs. Our research has concluded that there are two common things people want in a job:

• Availability of jobs
• Pay

So in order to find out the best states for business analysts in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well business analysts get paid. This led to the following criteria taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics's Occupational Employment Statistics for 2015:

• Location quotient. A measure of how common a job is a given state.
• Average annual salary.
• Average annual salary for entry level work.
• Average annual salary for experienced professionals.

To make all the salary numbers more apples to apples across states, we compared the salary data relative to the state's cost of living.

Applying this standardization allows us to account for that fact that it costs more to live in certain in states. For example, the average salary for business analysts in California is $96,550 and the average salary in Oregon is $83,780, but the Illinois salary actually goes further in paying for life's essentials.

In order to develop and overall ranking, we ranked each state for each criteria from 1 to 50 where 1 was the best.

We then averaged all the rankings for a state into a Job Score with the state having the lowest overall Job Score earning the distinction of being the best state for business analysts in America.

So without further ado, let's get into just what made each state so great for business analysts.

1. Virginia

Total Jobs: 45,960 Average Annual Salary: $102,810 Average Entry Level Salary: $55,110 Average Experienced Salary: $159,020 Location Quotient: 2.8

2. Georgia

Total Jobs: 24,750 Average Annual Salary: $92,790 Average Entry Level Salary: $43,770 Average Experienced Salary: $152,190 Location Quotient: 1.35

3. Washington

Total Jobs: 16,040 Average Annual Salary: $102,000 Average Entry Level Salary: $53,380 Average Experienced Salary: $161,250 Location Quotient: 1.21

4. Texas

Total Jobs: 36,090 Average Annual Salary: $96,030 Average Entry Level Salary: $48,420 Average Experienced Salary: $155,260 Location Quotient: 0.7

5. Illinois

Total Jobs: 28,510 Average Annual Salary: $91,380 Average Entry Level Salary: $44,450 Average Experienced Salary: $150,880 Location Quotient: 1.09

6. Michigan

Total Jobs: 13,970 Average Annual Salary: $86,780 Average Entry Level Salary: $47,510 Average Experienced Salary: $136,780 Location Quotient: 0.76

7. North Carolina

Total Jobs: 14,430 Average Annual Salary: $88,880 Average Entry Level Salary: $43,420 Average Experienced Salary: $146,860 Location Quotient: 0.79

8. Alabama

Total Jobs: 4,380 Average Annual Salary: $91,020 Average Entry Level Salary: $44,590 Average Experienced Salary: $146,270 Location Quotient: 0.52

9. Colorado

Total Jobs: 8,430 Average Annual Salary: $92,070 Average Entry Level Salary: $48,420 Average Experienced Salary: $156,280 Location Quotient: 0.77

10. Kansas

Total Jobs: 3,580 Average Annual Salary: $83,680 Average Entry Level Salary: $44,120 Average Experienced Salary: $137,420 Location Quotient: 0.59

There You Have It

If you're looking to start out your career as a business analyst these are the states that should be at the top of your list. You'll find high pay, available jobs, and chances for career advancement. If you're curious, here are the worst states to be a business analyst in America:

1. Maine
2. North Dakota
3. Hawaii

Detailed List Of The Best States For Business Analysts

Rank	State	Average Salary	Entry Level Salary	# Of People
1	Virginia	$102,810	$55,110	45,960
2	Georgia	$92,790	$43,770	24,750
3	Washington	$102,000	$53,380	16,040
4	Texas	$96,030	$48,420	36,090
5	Illinois	$91,380	$44,450	28,510
6	Michigan	$86,780	$47,510	13,970
7	North Carolina	$88,880	$43,420	14,430
8	Alabama	$91,020	$44,590	4,380
9	Colorado	$92,070	$48,420	8,430
10	Kansas	$83,680	$44,120	3,580
11	Minnesota	$84,250	$50,530	12,200
12	Delaware	$83,360	$49,160	2,000
13	Indiana	$76,400	$41,000	10,030
14	Florida	$82,440	$39,460	41,560
15	Tennessee	$81,840	$41,180	6,920
16	Pennsylvania	$85,680	$43,670	21,230
17	Montana	$92,350	$46,640	560
18	Ohio	$81,280	$41,070	16,700
19	Nebraska	$79,080	$47,960	2,410
20	Iowa	$79,410	$42,080	3,560
21	Idaho	$80,960	$33,230	1,810
22	Utah	$77,810	$36,090	5,740
23	New York	$106,760	$50,490	40,520
24	Missouri	$77,800	$43,210	5,670
25	Wisconsin	$78,490	$45,310	8,500
26	New Jersey	$98,690	$53,490	12,490
27	New Hampshire	$96,850	$46,430	2,020
28	Maryland	$96,490	$54,870	18,330
29	Rhode Island	$90,940	$54,210	3,210
30	Connecticut	$98,550	$53,680	8,230
31	Arizona	$76,420	$41,070	11,030
32	Kentucky	$76,810	$39,280	3,460
33	Wyoming	$105,730	$42,570	390
34	Oklahoma	$70,810	$41,470	4,730
35	Massachusetts	$101,950	$51,460	22,490
36	South Dakota	$76,190	$42,820	2,370
37	Nevada	$81,600	$43,480	3,110
38	Mississippi	$71,150	$38,880	1,460
39	California	$96,550	$51,440	94,660
40	Oregon	$83,780	$51,030	5,420
41	New Mexico	$72,570	$39,570	2,330
42	Vermont	$92,040	$46,550	740
43	South Carolina	$72,580	$37,270	8,170
44	Louisiana	$72,690	$38,380	3,550
45	Arkansas	$58,040	$23,710	3,860
46	Alaska	$91,500	$55,130	640
47	West Virginia	$68,210	$30,190	1,810
48	Hawaii	$74,290	$44,410	1,960
49	North Dakota	$69,750	$38,680	600
50	Maine	$65,330	$38,730	1,040

How To Become A Business Analyst

About Zippia

Zippia is the career expert site, where recent college graduates can study the pathways of previous graduates to learn about which career routes they want to pursue. Career job data can be found on https://www.zippia.com/colleges-and-majors/.