- New York is the best state to pursue a career in SEO – with workers earning a yearly salary of around $95,273.86.
- Washington is the second-best state for an SEO career
- Mississippi ranks at the bottom of the rankings – with 6.25% of residents working from home.
A brand-new study by DesignRush reveals the best and worst US states for pursuing a career in search engine optimization (SEO).
The experts have indexed all 50 US states, ranking each against seven factors to receive a score out of 100.
Rankings are based on the factors including the median hourly wage, the state’s number of SEO companies per 100,000 people, average employee ratings for the SEO companies in the state, and the average yearly salary for SEO jobs in the state.
New York
New York tops the ranking, receiving a score of 82.85 out of 100. Its SEO companies have an average firm rating of 4.88 out of 5.
In New York, SEO workers are earning a yearly average salary of $95,273.86 – the second-highest average of all states, behind only California. The state also has one of the highest ratios of marketing jobs, with 9.11 jobs in the industry per 1,000 overall, nearly double the national average of 4.69 marketing jobs per 1,000.
In addition, the state has the country’s highest rate of searches for SEO-related terms such as “SEO jobs”, “marketing careers”, “link building jobs” (251 monthly searches per 100,000 people), highlighting the prevalence of a strong SEO community, providing good opportunities for networking.
New York’s strong performance across all the factors sees it top the list as America’s top place to work in SEO.
Washington
In second place is Washington, with a score of 74.21 out of 100. The state is home to the highest percentage of people in the marketing industry who work from home, at 24.2%. SEO workers in Washington earn an average yearly salary of $92,637.51 – the third highest amount of all 50 states.
Colorado
Ranking in the top three is Colorado, scoring 71.51 out of 100. Colorado has 9.71 marketing employment opportunities per 1,000 jobs, which is the highest amount in any state, and SEO workers are earning a yearly average salary of $81,890.54 – more than $10,000 above the national average for SEO professionals, which stands at $69,733.
Massachusetts
In fourth place is Massachusetts, scoring 70.88 out of 100. With 23.71% of the marketing workers in the state working from home, Massachusetts’ SEO workers are earning the fifth-highest average annual wage of $84,914.
California
The top five best states to work in SEO is rounded out by California, scoring 70.69 out of 100. The average yearly salary for SEO workers in California is the largest in the country, at $96,193.88.
Mississippi
At the bottom of the rankings is Mississippi, achieving an index score of 18.88 out of 100. SEO workers in Mississippi earn an average yearly salary of $58,384.14, and there are 0.14 SEO companies per 100,000 people.
An Essential Component For Businesses
Gianluca Ferruggia, General Manager at DesignRush, commented on the study findings:
“As the digital world continues to evolve, SEO is becoming an essential component for many successful businesses, which is why jobs in SEO are becoming more popular.
Due to the increased popularity of remote working, digital jobs allow people to earn fantastic salaries without going to an office daily.
For those seeking a career in SEO, you can use various job search websites like Indeed, LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and Remote.co.
Additionally, networking in online SEO communities and forums and reaching out to digital marketing agencies can help you discover remote opportunities in the field.
It is essential to tailor your resume and cover letter to showcase digital skills and any remote work experience if applicable.”
