See the States Where Americans Make the Most Per Hour, Mapped

How much can you make in an hour? It might depend on where you live.

The state you live in can play a role in what your paycheck looks like after an hour's worth of labor. Some states have a higher average hourly wage based on several factors, including the cost of living and the types of jobs available. A state's minimum wage could also push overall wages higher for jobs like fast-food workers. And despite the fact that the national average hourly wage is sitting around $37.50, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a state's average hourly wage can fall short—or easily reach higher—than the national average.

So how does your state stack up when it comes to your paycheck at the end of an hour?

A District Rises Above the Rest

It's not technically a state, but the District of Columbia easily beats out every state in the U.S. for the highest hourly wage. The government is a major employer there, boosting hourly wages with contractors, consultants, lawyers, and other government-adjacent jobs. At $57.39, it's also more than $13 above second-place Washington state. Washington workers benefit from high-paying jobs in the tech industry, which gives the state a big boost in hourly wages. The state is the only one in the U.S. where software developer is the most common job. There are 107,000 of them working in good-paying jobs for companies like Microsoft and Amazon, which are based there.

Another factor may be minimum wage laws that give lower-paying jobs a big boost. California, for example, raised its minimum wage to $20 an hour. The 2024 law saw the state increase its hourly wages by 6% from the beginning of the year to the end. That compares to a 4% raise over the same year at a national level.

And don't discount the cost of living in a state’s role in how much employers have to pay their employees. Three of the top five states that pay the highest hourly wages are also in the top five for the highest cost of living: California, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia.

Southern Workers Struggle

Workers in southern states fall behind when it comes to their average hourly wages, with Mississippi paying only $28.98. That's more than a $28 difference in hourly wages compared to the highest hourly wages in the District of Columbia.

Iowa—the first state above the $30 threshold—is the only state in the top five not in the South, and data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that only three of the top 10 lowest-paying states are not in the South .

Cost of living can play a factor in lower wages in this case. Two of the top five lowest cost-of-living states also have the lowest hourly wages: Mississippi and West Virginia. Low pay in these states can also be attributed to job sectors like finance and technology that aren't as prevalent in these states as their high-paying counterparts.

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