Best States for Human Resources Managers: California Tops List as High-Salary Markets Diverge

Across the national data LaborCove supplies, human resources managers see a six-figure national median salary and a positive national projected growth rate. Within the top 10 states, median salaries are all above the national figure, but LaborCove’s rankings and Geography Scores show that salary alone does not determine how a state places in the results. California leads the rankings with the highest Geography Score and the largest employment count among the top 10 states. New York and Massachusetts follow with higher median salaries than California but smaller employment counts and lower Geography Scores. Several states with mid-range salaries in this group, such as Texas and Illinois, rank ahead of some higher-paying states, reinforcing that the Geography Score reflects more than pay alone. Overall, the data indicates that the highest-ranked states combine different mixes of salary and employment scale. HR managers can use these comparisons as one input in evaluating how the occupation is distributed across the country, alongside their own priorities around pay, market size, and location.

Before comparing states, it is useful to anchor the discussion in the national figures LaborCove provides for human resources managers. Nationally, the median annual salary for this occupation is $149,280. National employment stands at 220,660, indicating a sizable presence across industries and regions. LaborCove also reports a national projected employment growth rate of 5.0 percent for human resources managers. This national information offers a reference point when looking at the top-ranked states. Every state in the top 10 list has a median salary above the national figure, and their employment counts represent different slices of the 220,660 national total. However, the national growth projection remains a nationwide measure rather than a state-level forecast.

California ranks first among the supplied states for human resources managers, with a LaborCove Geography Score of 82.07. Its median annual salary for the occupation is $170,080, which is higher than the national median of $149,280. California’s employment count of 27,450 human resources managers is the largest among the top 10 states and matches the largest employment market figure supplied in the geographic data. Compared with other states in this group, it has both the highest Geography Score and the largest employment count. The combination of a Geography Score of 82.07, a median salary above the national benchmark, and the largest employment count in this list distinguishes California’s profile within the LaborCove rankings, even though several other states report higher median salaries.

New York and Massachusetts occupy the second and third positions in the LaborCove rankings, with Geography Scores of 73.56 and 64.58, respectively. Both states have median salaries for human resources managers that exceed California’s and the national median. New York’s median salary is $176,650, which is higher than both California’s $170,080 and the national median of $149,280. Massachusetts reports a median salary of $181,780, which is higher than New York’s $176,650 and also above the national median. These figures place New York and Massachusetts at the top of the salary range within the top 10 states. Employment counts in these two states are smaller than California’s. New York has 17,920 human resources managers, and Massachusetts has 7,540. Despite their higher salaries, both states have lower Geography Scores than California, underscoring that the LaborCove rankings incorporate more than salary levels alone.

Texas, New Jersey, and Illinois occupy the fourth, fifth, and sixth positions in the LaborCove rankings, with Geography Scores of 58.90, 57.71, and 52.35, respectively. Their median salaries and employment counts show a different balance from the top three states. Texas has a median salary of $136,500 for human resources managers, which is lower than the national median of $149,280. Its employment count of 23,220 is smaller than California’s 27,450 but larger than New York’s 17,920. New Jersey’s median salary is $172,440, higher than the national median and higher than Texas’s $136,500, with an employment count of 6,400. Illinois reports a median salary of $151,370, slightly above the national median and below New Jersey’s, with 13,520 employed in this occupation. These three states demonstrate that mid-ranked positions in the top 10 can reflect different combinations of salary and employment scale. Texas holds a relatively large employment count with a median salary below the national benchmark, while New Jersey and Illinois offer salaries above the national median with smaller employment counts than California and Texas.

The remaining four states in the top 10—Virginia, Washington, Colorado, and Rhode Island—have LaborCove Geography Scores ranging from 52.25 down to 46.13. Their median salaries for human resources managers are all above the national median of $149,280. Virginia’s median salary is $165,980, with 5,770 employed in the occupation. Washington reports a median salary of $165,530 and an employment count of 4,560. Colorado’s median salary is $166,400, with 3,620 human resources managers. Rhode Island has a median salary of $167,110 and the smallest employment count in the top 10 at 530. Within this group, Rhode Island has the lowest LaborCove Geography Score in the top 10 at 46.13, despite a median salary higher than the national figure. Virginia, Washington, and Colorado have Geography Scores between 52.25 and 51.42, reflecting relatively similar positions in the supplied rankings even as their employment counts differ.

Looking across the top 10 states, LaborCove’s rankings and Geography Scores diverge from what a simple ordering by salary would produce. Massachusetts, for example, has the highest median salary in this group at $181,780 but ranks third with a Geography Score of 64.58, behind California and New York. California, by contrast, ranks first with a lower median salary than both New York and Massachusetts. Texas illustrates another contrast: it ranks fourth overall with a Geography Score of 58.90 even though its median salary of $136,500 is below the national median of $149,280. New Jersey and Illinois, which both have salaries above the national benchmark, rank below Texas at fifth and sixth. These patterns show that LaborCove’s Geography Score reflects more than pay alone. For human resources managers comparing states, this means a high Geography Score can coincide with salaries that are either above or below the national median, and states with the very highest salaries do not necessarily occupy the top position in the overall rankings.

LaborCove builds these rankings using authoritative labor‑market data and its internal Geography Score methodology. For this article, the national and state information for human resources managers reflects Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) observations for May 2025. The 2026 report year identifies the publication and product year, not the underlying OEWS observation date. The LaborCove Geography Score is a composite measure that allows states to be ranked for a specific occupation. For the top 10 states shown here, LaborCove provides each state’s rank, Geography Score, median annual salary, and employment count for human resources managers. Projected employment growth is supplied as a national projection for the occupation only. It does not represent or imply any forecast for individual states or metro areas. These rankings should be interpreted as a structured summary of current labor‑market data and considered alongside an individual’s own career goals, geographic preferences, and constraints.