The Best and Worst States for Making a Living in 2015

Member's, do you live in one of them ?
Low cost of living and no state income tax put Texas in the top spot

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ShutterstockThe skyline of Austin, Texas. By Skye Gould

Choosing a place to live where you can find good, well-paid work and stretch your paycheck to cover your costs can be difficult.

To help you out, the personal finance site MoneyRates used several data sources, including the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, to determine the best and worst states for making a living in 2015. The ranking is based on five factors: average wages, state tax rates, cost of living, unemployment rates, and incidents of workplace injuries.

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Texas topped the "best" list with a below-average cost of living and no state income tax.



Other states, such as Hawaii and Oregon, have much higher costs of living and state taxes.

 

I live in NH People complain about the taxes here but I don’t see why. We do have higher property taxes than most but no income or sales tax.

 

Hi `Sean & thanks for being the first to post & share. It's great to see that you enjoy where you live I think it's important to like where you are living & enjoying life.

I think it will be interesting to see what other member's post + it adds to the activity of the MCF.

Our few sponsors love to see the active forums they support with their $'s.

 

I'm a life long resident of Washington and have seen the type of industry here morph from farming/industrial to technology. 90% of the state population lives in the greater Seattle area supported by company's based here like Microsoft, Amazon, T-Mobile, Boeing, and Kenworth. Many other tech. companies like Google, Yahoo and eBay have been moving in and building server farms in the eastern half of the state for the cheap, reliable energy thanks to our many rivers and hydroelectric power. Our seaports give us an advantage with a "window to the sea" for the shipping industry. Like singrseanr in NH, we have no income tax.

 

Thanks for your post & details. Do you like living there ? Are your roads in good shape ?
p.s. I just remberred that there's a poll on this thread & I see that you voted that you did like living there..!!!
Thanks...My brain hasn't woke `up yet this morning (lol)

 

I would have a hard time adjusting to life anywhere else. Quality of life is influenced by our surroundings. Within a 2 hour drive we can reach every type of environment; mountains, ocean beach or desert. Yes, it does rain here, but that's what makes our state green "The Evergreen State". On the other hand, we have have a maritime climate so the weather is moderate with no severe storms, summer temps ranging from 70-80 with no rain for 5 months and no A/C required. Winter temps on the west side generally stay above freezing at night and 40s to 50s during the day. Just the occasional earthquake and volcanic eruption, Lol.
As for the roads, they could be better. Deferred maintenance has taken a "toll", and since we have no state tax the cost of road repair is funded by the gas tax and most recently "toll" roads and bridges, but I think the deferred maintenance has been common around much of the nation as a result of the recession. We are seeing a lot of new highway projects as a result of improvements in the economy that have generated tax revenue to support them.

 

Thanks Bob for your follow up post. You would be a good ambassador for your state. Our roads in Florida are under constant repairs...The wheel alignment shops love it.

A dream of mind is to visit all the US States & Canada. >(Road Trip) I think each state has something special to offer everyone.

I'm thankful that we all have the freedoms to choose on where we want/desire to live...($'s & time are the
only thing that holds many back from their dream)

 

Surprised tax heavy and expensive (if you're in the southern portion) New York didn't make the list.

 

Yeah -- and it's funny that some of the best and worst states are right next to each other on the map.

 

Florida was hard for me to find work and so expensive to live there. I couldn't get ahead. I love it because it has always been my home. Since I've been in Tennessee, I spend way less in cost of living and even though I drive 35 miles one way to work, its nice because the intimidator is so easy on gas and it's beautiful here. The mountains and forest seem magical. The people are very nice. Land and houses are dirt cheap. It's nice and peaceful here and I really, truly enjoy living in this wonderful state packed full of mountain culture and heritage.
Also, it took me 3 days to get a job in Tennessee and I spent the first 2 days unpacking so really 1 day. First place I went to I walked in jobless and walked out with a job.