2017’s Best & Worst Cities for Jobs

Are you in the market for a new job and thinking about not only the job itself but where to find the best opportunity? WalletHub, the personal finance website, can help you narrow down the country’s 150 most populated cities to determine which one may offer you the greatest chance for employment success.

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We all don’t live where the best job options may exist for the field we are in, where the salaries are the highest, or the chance for job growth is the greatest. That is why a move to a new city may be a smart decision for better career opportunity, advancement, and pay.

WalletHub analyzed these 150 cities by using 23 key indicators of job market attractiveness. As per the site, “Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing the most favorable conditions for job seekers.” By comparing key indicators like the most job opportunities, the highest employment growth, monthly median starting salary, unemployment rates, median annual income, commute time, daily work hours, housing costs, and other relevant job-related factors, WalletHub’s expert team determined 2017’s best and worst cities for jobs.

Which cities came out on top?

The 5 best as per WalletHub are, starting with #1:

Scottsdale, AZ

Plano, TX

Orlando, FL

Sioux Falls, SD

San Francisco, CA

Orlando boasts the most job opportunities of all the cities compared.

The 5 worst cities are, starting with the overall worst:

Detroit, MI

Fresno, CA

Bakersfield, CA

Newark, NJ

Buffalo, NY

Newark has the least affordable housing and Detroit has the lowest median annual income. Bakersfield has the highest unemployment rate.

Did your current city make the top or bottom 5? If so, do you agree with WalletHub’s assessment? For the full analysis for the 150 cities studied, see the entire WalletHub report as well as the intricate methodology as to how WalletHub made their final determinations for the rankings. Would you consider a move to a new city for a job?

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