The 10 worst states for high-paying entry-level jobs—'they just don't have the demand'

When it comes to entry-level jobs, some industries notoriously pay better than others. An entry-level job in payroll pays $40,000 per year in Texas while an entry-level financial advisor makes $90,000 per year in the same state, according to Monster.

But location may influence the scope of your entry-level pay, too. Resume writing site Resume.io recently used job list site Indeed to see how many entry-level jobs in each state offer a salary higher than the local median salary according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Here are the 10 worst states for high-paying entry-level jobs according to their findings, including the percent of entry-level jobs that offered pay higher than the state's median salary and the median salary according to BLS.

Median: $23.35 per hour

Median: $28.10 per hour

Median: $25.00 per hour

Median: $21.88 per hour

Median: $23.04 per hour

Median: $23.22 per hour

Median: $22.02 per hour

Median: $24.56 per hour

Median: $21.95 per hour

Median: $22.75 per hour

A lot of these numbers "are driven by migration," says chief economist at ZipRecruiter Julia Pollak. Hawaii, the worst state for high-paying entry-level jobs, lost 15,000 residents between April 2020 and July 2022, according to the Hawaii Census. Massachusetts, which came in at No. 2, lost nearly 48,000 residents in the same period, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

"In places that are losing population," she says, "even people in typically safe jobs like teachers are seeing one school close after another because they just don't have the demand." If there are fewer jobs available overall, there are, of course, fewer high-paying entry-level jobs available as well.

As of 2020, employment levels are also down by 4% in Hawaii, 2.3% in Vermont and 1.3% in Alaska, according to Pollak's calculations based on BLS data. The labor market "in states like Vermont feels more like a zero-sum game where scarce jobs need to be divided between the existing people," she says, as opposed to one with good opportunities at the bottom rung of the ladder.

Big picture, when it comes to factors such as job openings, hires, quits, layoffs and unemployment, between 2019 and 2023, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Alaska had some of the worst job markets in the country, according to Pollak's calculations. That, too, would hamper the availability of high-paying entry-level jobs.

Finally, industry might play into Resume.io's findings. Hawaii and Alaska have many "touristy areas," says Amanda Augustine, career expert for Resume.io. Hospitality plays a key role in their job market, where entry-level jobs tend to offer salaries on the lower end of the spectrum. The average annual salary in the industry in Hawaii is $49,915, according to ZipRecruiter, and $44,058 in Alaska, according to Salary.com.

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