With unemployment hovering at around 3.9%, nearly pre-pandemic levels, employers are hustling to hire workers, making it an attractive market for those looking for a new job and more money.
But some places are better than others for job hunting. Workers looking for a better job and better pay may need to expand the search and look to a new location, including those cities where expenses are lower.
“Most workers early in their careers should cast a very wide net and apply to many different jobs, including outside their local area,” says John Winters, a professor of economics at Iowa State University. But one of the potential barriers to relocating and finding new opportunities is high housing prices in many urban areas, Winters says.
Building more homes could be the answer. “Increases in housing supply can keep prices from rising so fast and give opportunity for more people to live in areas with great opportunities for working and starting new businesses.”
To rank the best cities for getting a job, WalletHub compared 182 cities — including the 150 most populated U.S. cities, plus at least two of the most populated cities in each state — across two key dimensions, job market and socioeconomics. They scored the job market metric on factors like salary data, benefits, number of job opportunities, job security, job satisfaction, disability friendliness and share of workers in poverty in each city. Socioeconomics includes median income, commute times, transit, housing costs, crime rates, and family friendliness.
Each city was scored then ranked. The data used for the ranking comes from variety of public and private sources, including the BLS, U.S. Census Bureau, FBI, Glassdoor, and others.
These are the best cities for job hunters.
1. Columbia, Md.
- Job market rank: 2
- Socio-economics rank: 1
Columbia, Md. is one of the six cities with the highest median annual income, adjusted for cost of living.
2. Salt Lake City
- Job market rank: 1
- Socio-economics rank: 23
Salt Lake City ranks No. 4 for most job opportunities.
3. San Francisco
- Job market rank: 3
- Socio-economics rank: 6
San Francisco is among the top six cities for highest monthly starting salary, adjusted for cost of living.
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4. Portland, Maine
- Job market rank: 10
- Socio-economics rank: 4
5. Austin, Texas
- Job market rank: 8
- Socio-economics rank: 15
6. Orlando
- Job market rank: 4
- Socio-economics rank: 24
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7. Seattle
- Job market rank: 11
- Socio-economics rank: 9
8. Scottsdale, Ariz.
- Job market rank: 7
- Socio-economics rank: 17
Scottsdale is one of the six cities with the highest median annual income, adjusted for cost of living. It’s also one of six cities with the lowest unemployment rate.
9. San Jose, Calif.
- Job market rank: 9
- Socio-economics rank: 37
San Jose is among the top six cities for highest monthly starting salary, adjusted for cost of living.
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10. Nashua, N.H.
- Job market rank: 17
- Socio-economics rank: 10
11. Plano, Texas
- Job market rank: 12
- Socio-economics rank: 32
Plano is one of the six cities with the highest median annual income, adjusted for cost of living.
12. Pittsburgh
- Job market rank: 19
- Socio-economics rank: 13
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13. South Burlington, Vt.
- Job market rank: 27
- Socio-economics rank: 7
14. Columbia, S.C.
- Job market rank: 5
- Socio-economics rank: 98
Columbia ranks No. 1 for the most job opportunities.
15. Overland Park, Kan.
- Job market rank: 28
- Socio-economics rank: 8
Overland is in the top five cities for most affordable housing.
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16.Chandler, Ariz.
- Job market rank: 16
- Socio-economics rank: 1
Chandler is one of the six cities with the highest median annual income, adjusted for cost of living.
17. Boise, Idaho
- Job market rank: 24
- Socio-economics rank: 14
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18. Warwick, R.I.
- Job market rank: 23
- Socio-economics rank: 16
19. Charleston, S.C.
- Job market rank: 14
- Socio-economics rank: 63
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20. Des Moines
- Job market rank: 21
- Socio-economics rank: 49
Des Moines is in the top five cities for most affordable housing.
21. Huntsville, Ala.
- Job market rank: 6
- Socio-economics rank: 122
22. West Valley City, Utah
- Job market rank: 22
- Socio-economics rank: 46
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23. Tempe, Ariz.
- Job market rank: 30
- Socio-economics rank: 20
24. Minneapolis
- Job market rank: 58
- Socio-economics rank: 5
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25. Madison, Wis.
- Job market rank: 72
- Socio-economics rank: 2
Madison is one of six cities with the lowest unemployment rate.
26. Spokane, Wash.
- Job market rank: 20
- Socio-economics rank: 76
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27. Atlanta
- Job market rank: 15
- Socio-economics rank: 97
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28. St. Louis
- Job market rank: 13
- Socio-economics rank: 119
29. Raleigh, N.C.
- Job market rank: 42
- Socio-economics rank: 22
30. Tacoma, Wash.
- Job market rank: 26
- Socio-economics rank: 84
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