Illinois is one of the top 10 ‘Best States to Work in’ the US, report finds
Illinois is one of the top 10 best states to work in the U.S. in 2025, according to a recent analysis by Oxfam America.
Oxfam America is a global non-profit organization based in Boston, and its mission is to fight inequality “to end poverty and injustice,” according to its website.
The Land of Lincoln was named the No. 6 best state to work in the U.S. by Oxfam in its Aug. 28 report, performing particularly well for rights to organize and wage policies. Missouri came in at 27th.
In Oxfam’s methodology, the organization considered wage policies, minimum wage compared to cost of living, worker protection policies, right to organize policies and more to compare the states. The ranking evaluated all 50 states as well as Puerto Rico and Washington D.C.
Illinois scored a 73.24 out of 100 for its overall performance, ranking 8th in the nation for wage policies, 11th for worker protections and 5th for rights to organize.
Here’s how Illinois performed on Oxfam’s wage policy metrics:
- State hourly minimum wage for non-tipped workers: $15
- Minimum wage compared to the cost of living for a family of four: 35.8%
- State tipped minimum wage: $9 per hour
- Tipped minimum wage compared to non-tipped minimum wage: 60%
- Average unemployment benefits compared to wages needed to cover the cost of living: 16.8%
- Fully meets criteria for “Localities can set the minimum wage above the state standard”
- Partially meets criteria for “Minimum wage policy covers farmworkers”
For worker protection policies, Illinois fully met Oxfam’s criteria in these categories: mandates equal pay across gender and race, prohibits pay secrecy practices in the workplace, provides some form of paid sick leave, provides some form of sexual harassment protection in state law, maintains child labor protections and more.
Illinois scored a “partially meets criteria” for one worker protections category, extending workers compensation mandates to farmworkers.
There were some areas in which Illinois didn’t perform as well, though. Illinois scored a “does not meet criteria” for seven categories of worker protections, including providing some form of paid family leave, providing flexible scheduling of worker shifts, providing protections for warehouse workers and more.
In the “right to organize policies” category, Illinois met full criteria for four of the five metrics, with a partially meets for protecting workers against wage theft retaliation.
“Illinois is ranked first in the Great Lakes region,” Oxfam’s report said. “It leads the region with laws aimed to improve compensation and conditions in the workplace.”
Illinois employment laws
Illinois’ minimum wage is higher than many states’ and more than double the federal minimum wage. However, it still falls short of a living wage, according to calculations by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
One of the areas that contributed to Illinois’ strong performance in Oxfam’s ranking is providing some form of paid sick leave to workers. The Illinois Paid Leave for All Act went into effect in 2024, and is not specific to sick time.
The Paid Leave for All Act allows eligible Illinois workers to earn one hour of paid leave per 40 hours worked, up to 40 hours of paid leave per year.
Illinois law also provides workers with the right to a 20-minute meal break no later than 5 hours after beginning a shift that’s at least 7.5 hours long. Restroom breaks do not count against this time.
Top 20 best states to work in
Here’s how the top 20 best states to work in the U.S. in 2025 compare, according to Oxfam’s ranking:
- Washington D.C., with an overall score of 87.66
- California, 85.45
- Oregon, 85.13
- New York, 83.32
- Washington, 76.79
- Illinois, 73.42
- New Jersey, 72.03
- Connecticut, 70.89
- Massachusetts, 69.91
- Colorado, 67.81
- Maine, 67.81
- Minnesota, 67.77
- Rhode Island, 63.8
- Hawaii, 63.36
- Maryland, 62.93
- Vermont, 62.77
- Delaware, 62.38
- Puerto Rico, 60.95
- Nevada, 60.33
- New Mexico, 58.35
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