The 10 cities with the best job markets in the US
Financial data firm SmartAsset recently ranked 348 U.S. cities based on how desirable their job markets are. The study used U.S. Census Bureau data from 2023 — the most recent available — and factored in everything from unemployment to median earnings, wage growth, remote work opportunities and more.
Bend, Ore., ranked first overall thanks to its relatively low unemployment rate (3.1 percent) and strong wage growth, with the median income increasing 44 percent from 2020 to 2023. Known for its outdoor activities, the central Oregon city also boasts a good work life-balance, thanks to a brief average commute of 16 minutes and a high share of remote workers (27 percent).
Richmond, Va., secured second place and posted the highest earnings growth in the analysis, with a 50 percent increase in the average median income between 2020 and 2023.
SmartAsset also took health care into account and found that the job market in Santa Clara, Calif., offers the most coverage — 88.6 percent of workers had private health insurance through their employer.
If a short commute is your top priority, look no further than Wichita Falls, Texas, where the average is just 14 minutes.
Here are the top 10 cities with the best job market, according to the report.
Apple Park's spaceship campus is seen from this drone view in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Monday, Oct. 21, 2019. (Jane Tyska/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images)
People unleash their dogs at Westminster Hills Open Space Dog Park in Westminster, Colo., on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
Falls Park in downtown Sioux Falls, S.D. (Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Cary is a suburb of Raleigh, N.C. Raleigh's downtown skyline is seen from The Dillion's ninth floor lobby terrace open to the public Jan. 2, 2019. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Mission Santa Clara de Asís, Santa Clara, Calif. (Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images)
A course scenic view of the 16th hole during the final round of the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick Golf Club on Sept. 11, 2016, in Carmel, Ind. (Stan Badz/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
The artwork 'Piloti' by THEVERYMANY studio in front of the Rising Office Tower building, where Pokémon Co. leases office space, at Bellevue Downtown Park in Bellevue, Wash., on Thursday, July 18, 2024. (Grant Hindsley/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Space Needle and skyline at sunrise with Mt. Rainier in the background in Seattle. (Getty Images)
Skyline in Richmond Va. (Robert Knopes/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Street scene in the Old Town Historic District in Bend, Ore. (Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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