Employees in East North Central region enjoy best benefits in the nation, study finds

The East North Central region — which consists of Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin – provides the best employee benefits in the nation, according to a new analysis of U.S. Department of Labor Statistics data by Forage. The West South Central region — which includes Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas, came in last.

The study considered health care, employee leave, retirement, life insurance, short- and long-term disability and other benefits. Among the regional highlights of the study, in descending order of ranking:

The East North Central region had the highest overall score for employer benefits of all divisions. In addition, it had the highest score for retirement benefits and short-term disability insurance

The Middle Atlantic region scored the highest of all divisions for paid leave policies and was among the highest scoring for health care and retirement. Of all divisions, the Middle Atlantic had the highest percentages of workers with access to paid family leave (34%), paid funeral leave (66%), paid military leave (39%) and paid personal leave (56%).

The South Atlantic region had the second-highest score of all divisions for other benefits. For example, the percentages of workers in these states with access to a flexible workplace, wellness programs and nonproduction bonuses were among the highest (9%, 48% and 43%, respectively).

The Mountain region tied with the Middle Atlantic for the second-best health care score, with 75% of workers in these states having access to health care coverage through their employers. It also had the highest percentage of workers with access to a health savings account through their employer (44%).

The New England region was the top-scoring division in terms of other benefits, including financial planning, nonproduction bonuses and flexible work schedules. Twenty-eight percent of workers in New England had access to financial planning, the highest percentage of all divisions. New England also had the highest percentage of workers with access to nonproduction bonuses (44%).

The Pacific region was the top-ranked division for health care coverage. However, it ranked lowest for short-term disability insurance and other benefits and landed in the bottom three for retirement and leave benefits.

The East South Central region ranked low on the list of the best regions for benefits because it scored poorly compared to other divisions in terms of health care coverage, life insurance, long-term disability coverage and other benefits.

The West North Central region ranked second-to-last in part because it scored poorly for paid leave access in comparison to other divisions. However, it ranked well for life insurance, short-term disability and long-term disability.

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The West South Central region ranked lowest in terms of retirement benefits, life insurance and long-term disability. Only 55% of workers in the West South Central division have access to a defined contribution plan through their employer, the lowest percentage of all divisions.