Work Environment Index

The Work Environment Index (WEI) rates working environments in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., in terms of average pay, employment opportunities, employee benefits, percentage of low-income workers, fair treatment between genders and ability for employees to unionize. It is the first index to evaluate worker climate as opposed to business climate on a state-by-state basis, and was developed by researchers at Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts.

State rankings, 2005
Overall WEI rankings		Overall WEI score (Average of components)	State-by-state WEI component ranks (scores)
			Job opportunities	Job quality	Workplace fairness
1	Delaware	89	6 (85.2)	2 (89.6)	3 (93.2)
2	New Hampshire	81	4 (89.8)	7 (77.6)	16 (74.1)
3	Minnesota	80	21 (62.0)	1 (100)	13 (79.4)
4	Vermont	77	5 (85.9)	36 (46.0)	1 (100.0)
5	Iowa	73	11 (78.5)	6 (82.0)	30 (57.3)
6	Connecticut	72	36 (49.3)	4 (87.1)	14 (79.3)
Tied for 7-9	Indiana	71	24 (61.0)	11 (72.0)	12 (80.0)
	Nebraska	71	7 (83.3)	15 (68.1)	28 (61.0)
	Wisconsin	71	29 (56.2)	8 (76.6)	11 (81.7)
10	South Dakota	70	2 (94.4)	25 (54.2)	29 (60.8)
11	North Dakota	69	1 (100.0)	18 (64.0)	33 (42.2)
Tied for 12-14	Maine	68	18 (64.7)	29 (49.1)	4 (91.7)
	Pennsylvania	68	28 (56.8)	10 (74.3)	16 (74.1)
	Rhode Island	68	31 (55.4)	21 (58.3)	5 (90.4)
15	New Jersey	67	23 (61.3)	13 (70.5)	19 (70.4)
Tied for 16 - 17	Kentucky	66	17 (65.5)	16 (67.2)	24 (66.6)
	Missouri	66	37 (48.9)	5 (85.2)	26 (63.8)
Tied for 18 - 19	Hawaii	65	9 (80.5)	32 (48.2)	25 (65.0)
	Massachusetts	65	25 (60.7)	27 (52.4)	10 (82.5)
20	Maryland	63	10 (80.0)	39 (40.0)	20 (69.7)
Tied for 21 - 22	Alaska	60	43 (37.1)	33 (47.8)	2 (94.9)
	Washington	60	48 (21.6)	13 (70.5)	7 (88.9)
23	Illinois	58	44 (35.8)	17 (64.4)	15 (75.0)
Tied for 24 - 25	Michigan	56	50 (3.7)	2 (89.5)	18 (73.4)
	Ohio	56	46 (33.3)	12 (71.2)	27 (63.5)
26	Virginia	54	8 (80.8)	19 (62.7)	44 (19.8)
Tied for 27 - 30	Colorado	53	27 (57.3)	30 (48.9)	31 (53.6)
	Kansas	53	35 (51.3)	9 (74.6)	38 (32.4)
	Montana	53	20 (62.9)	47 (27.9)	22 (68.1)
	Tennessee	53	14 (67.8)	23 (55.9)	37 (34.5)
Tied for 31 - 32	Idaho	52	13 (71.3)	37 (43.7)	34 (40.3)
	Wyoming	52	3 (91.5)	41 (37.8)	42 (26.0)
33	California	51	47 (27.6)	40 (38.9)	9 (85.8)
Tied for 34 - 35	DC	49	49 (10.0)	31 (48.4)	8 (88.0)
	Georgia	49	16 (65.7)	24 (54.4)	40 (28.0)
Tied for 36 - 37	New York	48	42 (38.3)	42 (37.3)	22 (68.1)
	Oregon	48	51 (0.0)	26 (53.0)	5 (90.4)
38	West Virginia	45	34 (52.3)	38 (40.9)	32 (43.3)
39	Oklahoma	43	26 (58.3)	43 (34.1)	35 (37.5)
Tied for 40 - 41	Florida	42	15 (67.2)	49 (23.3)	36 (36.3)
	North Carolina	42	39 (45.7)	28 (50.2)	39 (30.4)
42	Nevada	41	12 (78.1)	48 (27.5)	45 (17.3)
43	Alabama	40	33 (52.9)	22 (56.4)	49 (9.8)
44	New Mexico	39	38 (46.3)	51 (0.0)	21 (69.5)
45	Arizona	37	19 (64.4)	45 (33.2)	46 (14.3)
Tied for 46 - 48	MIssissippi	36	29 (56.2)	35 (46.2)	50 (6.2)
	South Carolina	36	45 (35.2)	20 (60.4)	47 (12.2)
	Utah	36	22 (61.5)	44 (33.3)	48 (12.1)
49	Arkansas	34	32 (53.9)	50 (21.0)	41 (26.6)
50	Texas	33	40 (44.9)	46 (28.4)	43 (24.4)
51	Louisiana	31	41 (44.1)	34 (47.6)	51 (0.0)