Sacramento State graduates entering the workforce have a lot to smile about, according to recent employment studies.

California workers are paid more than workers in any other state, according to a study done by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor.

In 2000, the average annual pay in California was more than $40,000, quite a leap from the national average of $35,000. The study also places California as the second-fastest growing state in terms of pay, with a 9.6 percent increase that year. Two northern California cities, San Jose and San Francisco, ranked first and second on the list of highest-paid metropolitan areas in the nation.

Average annual pay in the greater Sacramento area was $36,948, the third-highest in the state, but just below the state-wide average, according to a study by the Labor Market Information Division of the Employment Development Department.