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Best job markets in the US
The demand for different career paths and qualifications varies widely from place to place, often depending on local economic features, including geography, infrastructure, politics, culture and resources. Similarly, what makes one job market more appealing than others can depend on a job-hunter’s financial and familial circumstances. Not only does the presence of jobs and a high income count, but many households rely on health insurance, the possibility for income growth, a short enough commute to allow work-life balance, or even remote work in full.
With this in mind, SmartAsset ranked 348 U.S. cities based on six metrics from the latest Census Bureau data to help households determine which job markets might be most suitable for their financial goals.
The job market in Bend, OR ranks number one. Bend residents reflected a combination of relatively low unemployment (3.1%) and high income growth at 44.2% over three years. At the same time, work is accessible and flexible for many, with and an average commute time of 16 minutes, while 26.9% work remotely.
Over three years, average worker earnings in Richmond, VA increased by 50%. Ranking third best job market overall, Richmond saw the median earnings for workers grow from $31,072 in 2019 to $46,443 in 2023, a climb of 49.4%.
Olathe, KS boasts the lowest unemployment rate. Olathe, KS clocked an unemployment rate of just 1.27% for 2023, compared to a studywide median of 4.45%. The median earnings for workers ranked in the top quartile at $50,868, but income growth since then was particularly slow at 11% between 2020 and 2023.
The job market in Santa Clara, CA offers the most health insurance coverage. 88.6% of workers in Santa Clara have private health insurance through their employer. This helps the city rank for sixth-best job market overall. On the opposite side of this metric, less than half of workers in three cities don’t have health insurance through their employer: Paterson, NJ; Santa Maria, CA; and Bridgeport, CT.
Workers in Boulder, CO have a particularly good work-life balance. Despite ranking 309th for the job market overall due to relatively low income, low income growth, and high unemployment, Boulder ranks second when considering just median commute times (19.3 minutes) and remote work (25.4% of workers).
SmartAsset
Top 20 Best Job Markets
Bend, Oregon
Unemployment rate, 2023: 3.16%
Median earnings for workers, 2023: $51,382
Housing costs as a percentage of income: 42.74%
Median monthly housing costs: $1,830
Income growth, 2020 to 2023: 44.22%
Median commute time in minutes: 16
Percent of workers who work from home: 26.89%
Number of remote workers: 15,883
Percent of workers with private health insurance through their employer: 75.35%
Richmond, Virginia
Unemployment rate, 2023: 3.80%
Median earnings for workers, 2023: $73,138
Housing costs as a percentage of income: 37.75%
Median monthly housing costs: $1,718
Income growth, 2020 to 2023: 49.47%
Median commute time in minutes: 21.6
Percent of workers who work from home: 15.81%
Number of remote workers: 20,613
Percent of workers with private health insurance through their employer: 77.40%
Seattle, Washington
Unemployment rate, 2023: 4.17%
Median earnings for workers, 2023: $46,443
Housing costs as a percentage of income: 33.92%
Median monthly housing costs: $1,461
Income growth, 2020 to 2023: 35.99%
Median commute time in minutes: 25.5
Percent of workers who work from home: 26.87%
Number of remote workers: 132,724
Percent of workers with private health insurance through their employer: 85.49%
Bellevue, Washington
Unemployment rate, 2023: 4.29%
Median earnings for workers, 2023: $76,228
Housing costs as a percentage of income: 30.30%
Median monthly housing costs: $2,155
Income growth, 2020 to 2023: 32.43%
Median commute time in minutes: 25.4
Percent of workers who work from home: 24.59%
Number of remote workers: 21,082
Percent of workers with private health insurance through their employer: 87.08%
Carmel, Indiana
Unemployment rate, 2023: 2.27%
Median earnings for workers, 2023: $101,038
Housing costs as a percentage of income: 28.19%
Median monthly housing costs: $2,551
Income growth, 2020 to 2023: 21.49%
Median commute time in minutes: 22.8
Percent of workers who work from home: 27.75%
Number of remote workers: 15,989
Percent of workers with private health insurance through their employer: 86.21%
Santa Clara, California
Unemployment rate, 2023: 4.24%
Median earnings for workers, 2023: $90,384
Housing costs as a percentage of income: 39.05%
Median monthly housing costs: $2,941
Income growth, 2020 to 2023: 40.97%
Median commute time in minutes: 23.9
Percent of workers who work from home: 16.51%
Number of remote workers: 13,540
Percent of workers with private health insurance through their employer: 88.63%
Cary, North Carolina
Unemployment rate, 2023: 3.50%
Median earnings for workers, 2023: $47,203
Housing costs as a percentage of income: 30.29%
Median monthly housing costs: $1,116
Income growth, 2020 to 2023: 23.13%
Median commute time in minutes: 23
Percent of workers who work from home: 27.96%
Number of remote workers: 27,469
Percent of workers with private health insurance through their employer: 86.63%
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Unemployment rate, 2023: 2.36%
Median earnings for workers, 2023: $56,858
Housing costs as a percentage of income: 28.37%
Median monthly housing costs: $1,861
Income growth, 2020 to 2023: 29.89%
Median commute time in minutes: 18
Percent of workers who work from home: 9.26%
Number of remote workers: 10,956
Percent of workers with private health insurance through their employer: 81.36%
Westminster, Colorado
Unemployment rate, 2023: 1.69%
Median earnings for workers, 2023: $70,711
Housing costs as a percentage of income: 39.28%
Median monthly housing costs: $1,785
Income growth, 2020 to 2023: 37.73%
Median commute time in minutes: 26.9
Percent of workers who work from home: 19.35%
Number of remote workers: 13,356
Percent of workers with private health insurance through their employer: 80.50%
Sunnyvale, California
Unemployment rate, 2023: 3.45%
Median earnings for workers, 2023: $111,905
Housing costs as a percentage of income: 32.30%
Median monthly housing costs: $3,012
Income growth, 2020 to 2023: 31.12%
Median commute time in minutes: 23.8
Percent of workers who work from home: 15.33%
Number of remote workers: 14,543
Percent of workers with private health insurance through their employer: 86.92%
Austin, Texas
Unemployment rate, 2023: 3.95%
Median earnings for workers, 2023: $36,585
Housing costs as a percentage of income: 38.36%
Median monthly housing costs: $966
Income growth, 2020 to 2023: 34.97%
Median commute time in minutes: 23.2
Percent of workers who work from home: 26.54%
Number of remote workers: 166,315
Percent of workers with private health insurance through their employer: 81.24%
Wichita Falls, Texas
Unemployment rate, 2023: 2.51%
Median earnings for workers, 2023: $68,390
Housing costs as a percentage of income: 31.69%
Median monthly housing costs: $1,875
Income growth, 2020 to 2023: 39.65%
Median commute time in minutes: 14.4
Percent of workers who work from home: 7.58%
Number of remote workers: 3,658
Percent of workers with private health insurance through their employer: 69.88%
Scottsdale, Arizona
Unemployment rate, 2023: 2.97%
Median earnings for workers, 2023: $57,183
Housing costs as a percentage of income: 32.90%
Median monthly housing costs: $1,828
Income growth, 2020 to 2023: 28.38%
Median commute time in minutes: 22.7
Percent of workers who work from home: 26.52%
Number of remote workers: 34,047
Percent of workers with private health insurance through their employer: 78.82%
St. Louis, Missouri
Unemployment rate, 2023: 4.69%
Median earnings for workers, 2023: $59,986
Housing costs as a percentage of income: 26.40%
Median monthly housing costs: $1,793
Income growth, 2020 to 2023: 34.47%
Median commute time in minutes: 21.8
Percent of workers who work from home: 13.30%
Number of remote workers: 21,751
Percent of workers with private health insurance through their employer: 79.55%
Nashville, Tennessee
Unemployment rate, 2023: 3.13%
Median earnings for workers, 2023: $50,304
Housing costs as a percentage of income: 37.09%
Median monthly housing costs: $1,555
Income growth, 2020 to 2023: 38.37%
Median commute time in minutes: 24.7
Percent of workers who work from home: 17.81%
Number of remote workers: 73,091
Percent of workers with private health insurance through their employer: 78.90%
Chandler, Arizona
Unemployment rate, 2023: 2.77%
Median earnings for workers, 2023: $50,854
Housing costs as a percentage of income: 35.87%
Median monthly housing costs: $1,567
Income growth, 2020 to 2023: 30.60%
Median commute time in minutes: 24.8
Percent of workers who work from home: 22.55%
Number of remote workers: 35,558
Percent of workers with private health insurance through their employer: 81.95%
Durham, North Carolina
Unemployment rate, 2023: 3.17%
Median earnings for workers, 2023: $36,282
Housing costs as a percentage of income: 36.98%
Median monthly housing costs: $1,113
Income growth, 2020 to 2023: 35.58%
Median commute time in minutes: 22
Percent of workers who work from home: 19.24%
Number of remote workers: 33,185
Percent of workers with private health insurance through their employer: 78.65%
Columbia, Missouri
Unemployment rate, 2023: 3.37%
Median earnings for workers, 2023: $46,270
Housing costs as a percentage of income: 36.81%
Median monthly housing costs: $1,018
Income growth, 2020 to 2023: 35.03%
Median commute time in minutes: 16.5
Percent of workers who work from home: 10.33%
Number of remote workers: 7,380
Percent of workers with private health insurance through their employer: 80.55%
Denver, Colorado
Unemployment rate, 2023: 3.74%
Median earnings for workers, 2023: $60,250
Housing costs as a percentage of income: 37.56%
Median monthly housing costs: $1,886
Income growth, 2020 to 2023: 37.66%
Median commute time in minutes: 25.7
Percent of workers who work from home: 24.78%
Number of remote workers: 111,924
Percent of workers with private health insurance through their employer: 77.10%
Washington, District of Columbia
Unemployment rate, 2023: 5.26%
Median earnings for workers, 2023: $60,409
Housing costs as a percentage of income: 30.76%
Median monthly housing costs: $1,919
Income growth, 2020 to 2023: 36.19%
Median commute time in minutes: 30.4
Percent of workers who work from home: 25.73%
Number of remote workers: 104,626
Percent of workers with private health insurance through their employer: 80.81%
Data and Methodology
For this SmartAsset study, 348 cities with 100,000 or greater population for which data was available were considered. All data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey for 2023. Six main categories evaluating different aspects of a city’s job market were considered, with commute time and remote work each receiving a half-weighting:
Unemployment rate: Average for the year 2023.
Income to housing payment ratio: Median housing payments were compared to the median income to gauge the relative quality of local incomes.
Commute time: For workers not working from home, this measures the median minutes spent in transit to work.
Remote work: The percent of workers working remotely.
Healthcare: The percent of employed people who have private health insurance, i.e. health insurance through their employer.
Income growth: This is the three-year growth in median income between 2020 and 2023.
This story was produced by SmartAsset and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
