Florida Ranks 33rd on Best Places to Make a Living List
Governor Rick Scott, the Florida Congressional delegation and the Florida legislature has been touting how many jobs have been created in the Sunshine state. As we have written jobs are not created by government, rather a job is created by one thing only, a profit. Allow companies to make a profit and that company will hire more people to meet demand. The question is are we creating jobs that allow our workers to make a living? A good living?
Government can help companies by cutting their taxes, reducing the regulatory burden on companies and get government out of the way of entrepreneurs.
But more is needed. New research gives Florida, and each state, an idea of the quality of jobs created in their state in 2017. Many of our contributors have argued that Florida needs to diversify its job market and attract high paying jobs. Florida’s job market is built on sand, with the majority of workers in service industries. Tourism, agriculture and construction are the top three job creators. What Florida lacks is high paying jobs in manufacturing, energy exploration, and high tech industries. A recent study shows why Florida must look beyond tourism, agriculture and construction.
Richard Barrington, Senior Financial Analyst MoneyRates.com, in an article titled, Best Places to Make a Living: MoneyRates.com Ranks the Top States wrote:
This nation has come a long way since the Great Recession, but some state economies are coming ahead farther than others. Unemployment nationally is down below 5 percent, and wages are finally starting to rise.
However, some states are grappling with unemployment rates more than twice as high as in others. The highest-paying states have median wages that are about $15,000 above those of the lowest-paying states. There are some areas where it’s not low wages that drag down the standard of living but expenses that drain savings accounts, as costs of living and/or state income tax rates are much higher than the national average. In still other cases, the risks are more tangible – a couple states have work-related health incident rates that are three times the national average.
Best states are in blue, worst states in red.
All of these financial factors are especially important if you are thinking of moving to another state, or finding a way to jump-start your career. Are things likely to be tougher or easier if you relocate? To help you look before you leap, MoneyRates.com has assembled a list of the best and worst states to make a living.
This list is based on the following factors:
- Cost of Living
- Workplace safety
- State tax burdens
- Median wages
- Unemployment rates
Based on a combination of the above five factors, these are the best and worst states to make a living in 2017:
Full Ranking of All 50 States
| Rank | State | Cost of Living Index | Median Income | Tax Rate on Average Income | Unemployment Rate | Incidents/100 Workers |
| 1 | Washington | 107.0 | 43,400 | 0.00% | 4.7 | 6.6 |
| 2 | Minnesota | 99.8 | 40,100 | 4.15% | 3.8 | 6.2 |
| 3 | Illinois | 95.2 | 38,270 | 3.54% | 4.9 | 6.1 |
| 4 | Texas | 90.8 | 35,480 | 0.00% | 5 | 7.1 |
| 5 | Colorado | 101.0 | 39,710 | 4.63% | 2.6 | 6.3** |
| 6 | Wyoming | 91.6 | 38,710 | 0.00% | 4.5 | 15.5 |
| 7 | Virginia | 100.1 | 39,070 | 4.51% | 3.8 | 5.4 |
| 8 | Ohio | 92.9 | 35,760 | 1.91% | 5.1 | 6.8 |
| 9 | Michigan | 93.5 | 36,030 | 3.78% | 5.1 | 6.5 |
| 10 | Kansas | 90.3 | 34,460 | 3.07% | 3.8 | 7.6 |
| 11 | Nebraska | 91.2 | 34,890 | 3.19% | 3.1 | 8.8 |
| 12 | Indiana | 88.8 | 33,790 | 3.13% | 3.9 | 7.7 |
| 13 | Utah | 92.6 | 35,010 | 4.57% | 3.1 | 6.7 |
| 14 | Wisconsin | 96.8 | 36,250 | 3.52% | 3.4 | 7.2 |
| 15 | Delaware | 102.5 | 37,960 | 4.04% | 4.5 | 4.6 |
| 16 | North Dakota | 94.0 | 39,160 | 0.81% | 2.8 | 15.9** |
| 17 | Iowa | 91.6 | 34,790 | 4.66% | 3.1 | 7.8 |
| 18 | Tennessee | 89.7 | 32,800 | 0.00% | 5.1 | 6.9 |
| 19 | Missouri | 90.7 | 34,230 | 3.86% | 3.9 | 7.4 |
| 20 | Massachusetts | 127.4 | 46,690 | 4.62% | 3.6 | 5.1 |
| 21 | Arizona | 98.6 | 35,470 | 2.25% | 5 | 5.5 |
| 22 | Oklahoma | 88.5 | 33,140 | 3.32% | 4.3 | 8.9** |
| 23 | Georgia | 91.5 | 34,330 | 4.57% | 5.1 | 7.4 |
| 24 | Idaho | 89.6 | 32,800 | 4.29% | 3.5 | 8.2** |
| 25 | New Jersey | 120.8 | 41,950 | 1.84% | 4.2 | 5.3 |
| 26 | North Carolina | 94.0 | 33,920 | 4.08% | 4.9 | 6.2 |
| 27 | Alaska | 131.5 | 47,170 | 0.00% | 6.4 | 8.1 |
| 28 | Pennsylvania | 102.7 | 36,680 | 3.07% | 4.8 | 6.6 |
| 29 | Kentucky | 90.7 | 33,190 | 4.81% | 5 | 9.2 |
| 30 | Connecticut | 130.5 | 45,090 | 2.89% | 4.8 | 6.1 |
| 31 | Maryland | 124.8 | 43,010 | 4.05% | 4.3 | 5.6 |
| 32 | Alabama | 90.2 | 32,100 | 4.88% | 5.8 | 6.7 |
| 33 | Florida | 98.3 | 32,790 | 0.00% | 4.8 | 6.5** |
| 34 | New Hampshire | 119.1 | 38,270 | 0.00% | 2.8 | 6.1** |
| 35 | Nevada | 104.4 | 34,510 | 0.00% | 4.8 | 7.4 |
| 36 | Rhode Island | 122.0 | 39,730 | 2.59% | 4.3 | 4.6** |
| 37 | Arkansas | 88.4 | 30,130 | 3.56% | 3.6 | 8.6 |
| 38 | New Mexico | 95.6 | 32,900 | 2.50% | 6.7 | 7.6 |
| 39 | Louisiana | 94.3 | 32,080 | 2.66% | 5.7 | 7.9 |
| 40 | South Dakota | 98.2 | 31,590 | 0.00% | 2.8 | 8.3** |
| 41 | Mississippi | 85.9 | 29,590 | 3.09% | 5 | 10.2** |
| 42 | New York | 130.1 | 42,760 | 4.45% | 4.3 | 5.7 |
| 43 | Maine | 111.9 | 35,380 | 3.23% | 3 | 7.4 |
| 44 | South Carolina | 99.4 | 32,140 | 3.19% | 4.4 | 8.5 |
| 45 | Oregon | 115.3 | 37,990 | 7.82% | 3.8 | 6.4 |
| 46 | Vermont | 122.3 | 37,920 | 2.58% | 3 | 7.5 |
| 47 | West Virginia | 95.6 | 30,760 | 3.48% | 4.9 | 8.4 |
| 48 | Montana | 100.7 | 32,750 | 3.73% | 3.8 | 11.9 |
| 49 | California | 143.5 | 40,920 | 2.19% | 4.9 | 6.0 |
| 50 | Hawaii | 167.1 | 40,030 | 5.80% | 2.7 | 6.1 |
**Data was not available for these states for non-fatal work-related injuries and illnesses, per equivalent of 100 full-time workers so the average of all other states was used.
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!