These are the best and worst states for jobs in 2018

If you’re planning on looking for work in 2018, go west! A new study from WalletHub, has determined that Washington, Colorado, and Utah are all great places to find a job. And good news for people who like cold weather and pronounced accents—rounding out the top five for best states for job seekers are Minnesota and New Hampshire. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a lengthy stint of funemployment, West Virginia, Mississippi, and Kentucky are some of the worst states for those hunting for a job.

With the nation’s unemployment rate at the lowest it’s been since 2000, it can be tough out there for job seekers. The good news is that the number of opportunities available is growing, with over 164,000 new jobs added in April 2018 alone. But where are those jobs? To make that determination, WalletHub put that one statistics class they took in college to good use (kidding!) and compared all 50 states by looking at the job market and economic environment, based on 29 relevant metrics, which they then averaged for an overall score. The results show that, as the bumper sticker reads, West is best, although there are significant pockets of growth in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts all in the top 10, while Florida and Texas represent the South. States like North Carolina, Louisiana, Alabama, and Alaska all loiter near the bottom with few job opportunities and low overall scores.

When you parse out the overall scores to look at specific metrics: The states with the best job opportunities include North Dakota, Nebraska, and Hawaii (how will you ever choose?) and if you’re simply driven by money (no judgment), Washington state, Texas, and Georgia have the highest monthly salaries.

Check out the full WalletHub study here and good luck out there.