Best and worst U.S. states for job seekers, ranked now

Job hunting looks different depending on where you live. A new 2025 ranking highlights the U.S. states where your odds are strongest—and where they’re thinnest—based on current labor conditions and broader economic health.

The new ranking

On November 1, 2025, Business Insider spotlighted WalletHub’s 2025 analysis of job-market strength and state economic health. The 10 best states for finding a job right now are: Massachusetts (No. 1), Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Texas, North Dakota, Maine, and Rhode Island. The 10 worst are: West Virginia (No. 1 worst), Louisiana, Kentucky, Alaska, Oregon, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Montana, Indiana, and Oklahoma.

Context: what the data say

WalletHub’s list lands as state-level indicators show a mixed but cooling market. In the latest state unemployment release (August 2025), South Dakota posted the lowest rate at 1.9%, while the District of Columbia was highest at 6.0% and California next at 5.5%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics on September 19, 2025. At the national level, unemployed people and job openings were roughly in balance by midyear, with July showing one unemployed person per job opening, per BLS’ Economics Daily on September 8, 2025 (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Why these states stand out

States topping the list generally pair low unemployment with steady hiring pipelines and higher pay or benefits, while those at the bottom face weaker job growth, industrial slowdowns, or higher unemployment. New England and parts of the Upper Midwest and Great Plains dominate the “best” cohort, consistent with recent BLS readings showing comparatively low jobless rates across several of those states (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

What to watch next

Fresh national JOLTS data for September 2025 are scheduled for November 4, 2025, and the state-level JOLTS release (a closer read on openings by state) is set for November 19, 2025, per the BLS calendar (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Those updates will show whether labor demand is stabilizing or softening further as the year closes.

Sources

• The 10 best and 10 worst states for finding a job right now — Business Insider (November 1, 2025)
• STATE EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT — AUGUST 2025 — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (September 19, 2025)
• One unemployed person per job opening in July 2025 — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Economics Daily (September 8, 2025)
• Schedule of Selected Releases for November 2025 — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (October 10, 2025)