Advertiser Disclosure
GOBankingRates works with many financial advertisers to showcase their products and services to our audiences. These brands compensate us through a variety of commercial arrangements, including advertising placements and performance-based compensation, such as when users click on links, submit applications, open accounts, or fund accounts. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site but does not affect the content of any product review or rating. We are not a comparison tool, and these offers do not represent all available deposit, investment, loan, or credit products.
Looking For Your First Job? These 10 States Have the Most Job Openings
Written by
Travis Woods
Edited by
Levi Leidy

Commitment to Our Readers
GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.
20 YearsHelping You Live Richer
Reviewed by Experts
Trusted by Millions of Readers
The primary question on the mind of anyone searching for a new job is likely some variation of, “Where are all the job openings at?” Where are they to be found? Where are they hiding at?
Luckily, the leading job search and recruitment firm Keller Executive Search recently conducted a study to discover which states in the U.S. had the most job openings per year, utilizing Bureau of Labor Statistics research regarding job vacancy and labor trends across the country. The study collated the percentage of job vacancy rates from 2019 to 2024 against the average population of each state, finding that job availability rates above 6% indicated a rather high job vacancy.
Alaska has the highest demand for workers in the country, far head of the next state on the list, West Virginia. There is no real regional concentration to the high demand for jobs, with the 10 states with the most job openings falling from the East Coast to the Midwest to the American South and Southwest.
Curious if your state is on the list? Want to know where to go to find the highest concentration of job openings? Keep reading.
Alaska
- Population: 733,406
- Job openings rate: 7.3%
West Virginia
- Population: 1,770,070
- Job opening rate: 6.7%
Montana
- Population: 1,132,810
- Job opening rate: 6.4%
South Carolina
- Population: 5,373,560
- Job opening rate: 6.3%
Georgia
- Population: 11,029,200
- Job opening rate: 6.2%
Maryland
- Population: 6,180,250
- Job opening rate: 6.1%
New Mexico
- Population: 2,114,370
- Job opening rate: 6.06%
Wyoming
- Population: 584,057
- Job opening rate: 6.1%
North Carolina
- Population: 10,835,500
- Job opening rate: 6.0%
Virginia
- Population: 8,715,700
- Job opening rate: 6.0%
More From GOBankingRates
Share This Article:
You May Also Like
8 Top Cities With the Most Remote Workers -- and How Much It Costs To Live in Them
March 30, 2026
2 min Read
6 Grocery Purchases That Are Getting Harder To Afford on Social Security in 2026
March 27, 2026
2 min Read
If Boomer Wealth Were Evenly Distributed Across the US, How Much Would Everyone Get?
March 31, 2026
2 min Read
Here Are 8 Coins You Should Never Spend -- They Could Pay for Your Retirement
March 26, 2026
2 min Read
Here's the Average Salary for an Executive in New York -- How Does Your Salary Measure Up?
March 26, 2026
2 min Read
Make your money work for you
Get the latest news on investing, money, and more with our free newsletter.
By subscribing, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Unsubscribe at any time.

Thanks!
You're now subscribed to our newsletter.
Check your inbox for more details.

Sending you timely financial stories that you can bank on.
Sign up for our daily newsletter for the latest financial news and trending topics.
For our full Privacy Policy, click here.
Looks like you're using an adblocker
Please disable your adblocker to enjoy the optimal web experience and access the quality content you appreciate from GOBankingRates.
- AdBlock / uBlock / Brave
- Click the ad blocker extension icon to the right of the address bar
- Disable on this site
- Refresh the page
- Firefox / Edge / DuckDuckGo
- Click on the icon to the left of the address bar
- Disable Tracking Protection
- Refresh the page
- Ghostery
- Click the blue ghost icon to the right of the address bar
- Disable Ad-Blocking, Anti-Tracking, and Never-Consent
- Refresh the page








