5 Best and 5 Worst States To Work In: How Does Their Cost of Living Compare?
Written by
Angela Mae
Edited by
Amber Barkley
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It’s no secret that the United States is expensive — a frequent source of stress for many. According to a Q4 2022 American Psychological Association poll, more than a quarter of U.S. adults said they feel so stressed they can’t function most of the time. This stress is due to a variety of factors, including work and finances.
While people are stressed nationwide, some parts of the country have the dubious honor of having more stressful workplaces than others. As per research by Premier Law Group cited in Newsweek, these are the best and worst states to work in terms of workplace stress — and the typical cost of living and salary in each. Note that a higher workplace stress score indicates the stress levels of the typical worker in that state.
5 Best States To Work In
These are the five best states to work in based on their workplace stress score as determined by Premier Law Group, as well as each state’s average and median salary and cost of living, from GOBankingRates’ research.
Minnesota
- Workplace stress score: 32.6 out of 100
- Total annual expenditures: $68,662
- Average household income: $111,341
- Median household income: $84,313
Vermont
- Workplace stress score: 34.2 out of 100
- Total annual expenditures: $84,131
- Average household income: $97,810
- Median household income: $74,014
Utah
- Workplace stress score: 36.6 out of 100
- Total annual expenditures: $75,302
- Average household income: $111,416
- Median household income: $86,833
New Hampshire
- Workplace stress score: 36.9 out of 100
- Total annual expenditures: $83,255
- Average household income: $118,118
- Median household income: $90,845
Connecticut
- Workplace stress score: 37.5 out of 100
- Total annual expenditures: $82,307
- Average household income: $130,601
- Median household income: $90,213
5 Worst States To Work In
In terms of workplace stress score, these are the five worst states to work in.
Louisiana
- Workplace stress score: 73.8 out of 100
- Total annual expenditures: $66,400
- Average household income: $83,169
- Median household income: $57,852
West Virginia
- Workplace stress score: 71.1 out of 100
- Total annual expenditures: $63,992
- Average household income: $75,575
- Median household income: $55,217
Mississippi
- Workplace stress score: 69.2 out of 100
- Total annual expenditures: $62,971
- Average household income: $74,149
- Median household income: $52,985
Kentucky
- Workplace stress score: 64.1 out of 100
- Total annual expenditures: $67,130
- Average household income: $83,093
- Median household income: $60,183
Nevada
- Workplace stress score: 61.6 out of 100
- Total annual expenditures: $73,697
- Average household income: $97,955
- Median household income: $71,646
Takeaway
Keep in mind that these states are ranked by a combination of factors, including how stressful the jobs and overall workplace are. But other considerations include average incomes — and how far that money goes.
Take Louisiana, the most stressful state to work in, as an example. The state has the longest typical workweek in the country, with people working an average of 36.5 hours each week. Hourly wages tend to be below the national average, while commute times are nearly 30 minutes each way. Louisiana also has 6.4 fatal work-related injuries per 100,000 employees — nearly 33% higher than the national average.
As for Minnesota, the least stressful state to work in, the average workweek is 33 hours. Average wages are higher than the typical cost of living and fatal workplace injury rates are well under the national average — just 2.8 per 100,000 employees.
Methodology: GOBankingRates analyzed the cost of living in every state across America by looking at the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center’s 2023 annual cost-of-living indexes and calculating the average costs using the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2023 Consumer Expenditure Survey across multiple factors, including: (1) total annual expenditures; (2) annual grocery (“food at home”) expenditures; (3) annual housing (“shelter”) expenditures; (4) annual utilities (“utilities, fuel, and public services”) expenditures; (5) annual transportation (“Gasoline, other fuels, and motor oil” + “other vehicle expenses”) expenditures; (6) annual healthcare expenditures; and (7) annual miscellaneous expenditures. Only factor (1) was used to determine final rankings. Data was collected and is up to date as of May 23, 2024. In order to determine each state’s average income (mean income), GOBankingRates used the five-year estimates from the 2022 American Community Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The same information was used to find each state’s median household income. Data was collected on and is up to date as of Sept. 10, 2024.
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