If strong worker protections are one of your top workplace standards, you may want to start applying for jobs in California.
Oxfam’s 2026 Best States to Work Index, released on September 3, rates all 50 US states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico on the strength of minimum wages, worker protections, and the right to organize.
California, Washington, D.C., and New York topped the list because of their strong wages and worker-friendly policies such as paid family and medical leave, said Dr. Cameryn Cobb, a social scientist at Oxfam America and co-author of the study. The minimum wages in all three states are more than twice the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.
These states have “always been trying to pass policies in a timely manner to ensure that workers are cared for both on and off the job,” Cobb said.
National policymakers “can make changes that really impact workers,” Cobb said, but “people also have power.” She points to Utah’s recent lifting of its ban on collective bargaining, which she credits to the advocacy of “teachers, firefighters and local residents.”
Support for unions is growing among Americans: Nearly half (47%) want U.S. labor unions to have more influence than they currently have, according to an August 2026 Gallup poll, the highest in 25 years.
The overall score for each state on Oxfam’s list consists of three main categories:
Wage score based on minimum wage and cost-of-living ratio (35%); Worker protection score (35%), which measures policies such as equal pay mandates, paid family and medical leave, and protection from sexual harassment; Right to organize, measured by right-to-work laws, public school teachers’ right to organize, protection from retaliation, and collective bargaining protections (30%).
Cobb said one of the key worker protection policies Oxfam added to its list this year was protection for carers. With the rise of the “sandwich generation” (people caring for elderly relatives and their children at the same time), many workers are struggling to balance caregiving duties with work schedules.
“Often people are discriminated against because of their caregiving responsibilities,” Cobb said. That’s why states like Maine and Minnesota have enacted protections for family caregivers.
“Policies like that make these states strong because they really care about the working families who live in their states,” she continues.
Based on Oxfam research, these are the top 10 US states with the best wages, policies and protections for workers, based on policies and laws in force by July 1, 2026.
1. California
Minimum hourly wage: $16.90
Overall score: 80.23
2. District of Columbia
Minimum hourly wage: $18.40
Overall score: 78.74
3. New York
Minimum hourly wage: $16.00
Overall score: 77.78
4. Illinois
Minimum hourly wage: $15.00
Overall score: 73.54
5. Oregon
Minimum hourly wage: $15.55
Overall score: 71.4
6. Washington
Minimum hourly wage: $17.13
Overall score: 67.7
7. Maine
Minimum hourly wage: $15.10
Overall score: 65.86
8. Colorado
Minimum hourly wage: $15.16
Overall score: 65.01
9. Connecticut
Minimum hourly wage: $16.94
Overall score: 64.08
10. Minnesota
Minimum hourly wage: $11.41
Overall score: 63.77
Oxfam’s data shows that “the situation for workers varies greatly from state to state,” Cobb said.
“We are in the same country, but across borders the laws are very different when it comes to labor,” she says. “It has a huge impact on people’s daily lives and their ability to meet their basic needs and care for loved ones.”
States with higher wages and better worker rights and protections also have a better quality of life for their residents, Cobb said.
These states “have fewer people living in poverty, lower infant mortality rates, and higher GDP per capita,” she says. It shows a positive correlation “between employee care and employee well-being.”
Cobb said one policy change that could help workers across the country is increasing the federal minimum wage. The last time the U.S. government raised the minimum wage was in July 2009, when it went from $6.55 an hour to $7.25 an hour.
A 2021 Pew Research poll found that 62% of Americans support a $15 federal minimum.
“It’s something that anyone can achieve,” Cobb said.
