WalletHub ranked the best and worst U.S. states for job seekers, with Massachusetts topping the list and West Virginia at the bottom, underscoring how location shapes prospects in a cooling labor market.
Reported by Business Insider on November 1, 2025, the annual analysis compares all 50 states across 34 indicators of job market strength and economic health, from employment growth and median income to job security and commute times. The top 10: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Texas, North Dakota, Maine, and Rhode Island. The bottom 10: West Virginia, Louisiana, Kentucky, Alaska, Oregon, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Montana, Indiana, and Oklahoma.
Massachusetts ranked No. 1 overall in WalletHub’s composite score, reflecting a strong mix of opportunities, protections, and pay. West Virginia ranked last, weighed down by weaker economic metrics in the study. Business Insider added median home prices and household income data for context, noting that affordability can tilt the calculus for people considering a move.
The ranking lands as national signals point to a softer hiring climate. Reuters reported that in August 2025 there were 0.98 openings for every unemployed worker, the first sustained slip below parity since the pandemic recovery, and hiring slowed while quits cooled. Openings-per-unemployed slipped below 1.0, making competition tougher for job seekers overall.
State-level data underline the gap. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said South Dakota had the lowest unemployment rate at 1.8 percent in June 2025, while the District of Columbia was highest at 5.9 percent, with California and Nevada at 5.4 percent. That uneven map helps explain why northern New England, the Upper Midwest, and the Great Plains feature prominently among WalletHub’s top performers, even as some high-cost coastal states also score well on job quality and wages.
For readers weighing a job hunt relocation, the takeaway is practical rather than prescriptive: use broad rankings as a starting point, then drill into local industries, wages, and living costs. The same headline score can mask very different realities from one metro to the next.