Illinois Is One of the Best States to Earn a Living in the Country

Illinoisans rarely are surprised when they hear bad economic news about the state. But a new study shows that Illinois scored high in one important area related to jobs and business: The state ranked as the nation's fifth-best place to make a living in 2015.
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Illinoisans rarely are surprised when they hear bad economic news about the state. But a new study shows that Illinois scored high in one important area related to jobs and business: The state ranked as the nation's fifth-best place to make a living in 2015.

The rankings, released by MoneyRates, were based on average wages in the states, state tax rates, cost of living, unemployment rates and incidents of workplace injuries. Based on these statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Tax Foundation and other sources, the report shows which states have the overall best conditions for making enough money to live comfortably.

The states in yellow on this map were ranked among the best places to make a living, while the states in green were ranked among the worst. Click on the map for more details:

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Check out Reboot Illinois to see what order the 20 best and worst states appeared in, and which numbers contributed to those scores for each state.

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