For the past year, Construction Junkie has been analyzing hourly wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine the Top States to Work in Construction. Now that all 50 states have been ranked, this post will serve as the complete recap for all states in the countdown.
Read moreThe Top States to Work in Construction: #13 Iowa
By many statistical categories, Iowa is a pretty average state. It ranks 26th in land area, 30th in population, and was even the 29th state to be admitted. It does, however, have a above average median household income across all industries. Add to that a low lost of living index, at 8.1% below average and Iowa lands at #13 on our list.
Read moreThe Top States to Work in Construction: #14 Alaska
Alaska is a very interesting state, because it really doesn’t follow the typical rules when it comes to wages or cost of living. Although the country’s biggest state by area and the least dense in population, it’s cost of living is still 30% higher than the national average. Unlike Hawaii, though, Alaska is more than able to make up for that cost of living with higher average wages.
Read moreThe Top States to Work in Construction: #15 Nevada
Nevada, the home to seemingly every construction related conference in existence, lands at #15 on our list. Although it’s a fairly large state by geographical size, nearly 75% of all of its residents reside in Clark County, which is home to Las Vegas and surrounding suburbs. Perhaps because of that, in addition to their large tourism traffic, Nevada’s cost of living is around 5.4% higher than the national average, which dropped its ranking slightly.
Read moreThe Top States to Work in Construction: #16 Delaware
Despite being located in the Northeast, the state of Delware is a relatively affordable place to live. According to MERIC data, the cost of living in Delaware is only 2.2% higher than the national average and is the lowest in the Northeast.
Read moreThe Top States to Work in Construction: #17 New Jersey
Despite having the 8th highest cost of living in the country, New Jersey relatively high construction wages were enough to keep them in the top 20. According to MERIC, it costs 22.5% more to live in the state, as compared to the national average.
Read moreThe Top States to Work in Construction: #18 West Virginia
West Virginia is either the southern most northern state and the northern most southern state, but either way it has done well and landed at #18 on our countdown. The wildest and wonderfullest state was helped on our list by having a cost of living 4.1% lower than the national average, according to MERIC, moving it approximately 8 spots up the list.
Read moreThe Top States to Work in Construction: #19 Louisiana
Louisiana, home of jazz music, gumbo, and next door neighbor to #20 Texas, is the first one on our list to reach the teens in the rankings. America’s most swamp heavy state benefits from a low cost of living, 5.4% below the national average, according to MERIC.
Read moreThe Top States to Work in Construction: #20 Texas
Texas is the second largest state in the entire country by land area, trailing only Alaska. It’s significant land mass and relatively low population density help the state have a very low cost of living, according to MERIC, at 9.4% below average. That allowed Texas to drop over 12 spots in our ranking.
Read moreThe Top States to Work in Construction: #21 Connecticut
Connecticut is a relatively small state with a very high population density, ranking 48th in total area and 4th in density. The state also has a very high cost of living, at 16.5% above the national average, according to MERIC.
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