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- It’s a tough job market at the moment, with openings dropping.
- But some cities have better job markets than others, and SmartAsset recently ranked 348 of them.
- Some top markets include Nashville, Austin, and Seattle.
With job openings dropping and wage growth slowing, the US labor market is cooling off.
But there are some pockets of the country that have more buzzing job markets than others.
Financial data firm SmartAsset recently published a study ranking 348 cities around the US on how attractive their job markets are. The study uses Census Bureau data from 2023, the most recent data available, and considers local unemployment rates, median annual earnings, three-year income growth, the percentage of its workforce that has a remote job, and more.
Below, we’ve listed the top 15 cities in the ranking, along with the above data points. For reference, here are the median values for each variable across the study sample:
- Unemployment rate: 4.45%
- Median earnings: $42,140
- 3-year income growth: 25.28%
- Percent working remotely: 11.93%
15. Nashville, Tennessee
Mike/Getty Images
Unemployment rate: 3.13%
Median earnings: $50,304
3-year income growth: 38.37%
Percent working remotely: 17.81%
14. St. Louis, Missouri
Art Wager/Getty Images
Unemployment rate: 4.69%
Median earnings: $59,986
3-year income growth: 34.47%
Percent working remotely: 13.30%
13. Scottsdale, Arizona
antsdrone/Shutterstock
Unemployment rate: 2.97%
Median earnings: $57,183
3-year income growth: 28.38%
Percent working remotely: 26.52%
12. Wichita Falls, Texas
DenisTangneyJr/Getty Images
Unemployment rate: 2.51%
Median earnings: $68,390
3-year income growth: 39.65%
Percent working remotely: 7.58%
11. Austin, Texas
Getty Images
Unemployment rate: 3.95%
Median earnings: $36,585
3-year income growth: 34.97%
Percent working remotely: 26.54%
10. Sunnyvale, California
Sundry Photography/Shutterstock
Unemployment rate: 3.45%
Median earnings: $111,905
3-year income growth: 31.12%
Percent working remotely: 15.33%
9. Westminster, Colorado
John Coletti/Getty Images
Unemployment rate: 1.69%
Median earnings: $70,711
3-year income growth: 37.73%
Percent working remotely: 19.35%
8. Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Jacob Boomsma/Shutterstock
Unemployment rate: 2.36%
Median earnings: $56,858
3-year income growth: 29.89%
Percent working remotely: 9.26%
7. Cary, North Carolina
KAD Photo/Shutterstock
Unemployment rate: 3.50%
Median earnings: $47,203
3-year income growth: 23.13%
Percent working remotely: 27.96%
6. Santa Clara, California
Mariusz S. Jurgielewicz/Shutterstock
Unemployment rate: 4.24%
Median earnings: $90,384
3-year income growth: 40.97%
Percent working remotely: 16.51%
5. Carmel, Indiana
Michael Godek/Getty Images
Unemployment rate: 2.27%
Median earnings: $101,038
3-year income growth: 21.49%
Percent working remotely: 27.75%
4. Bellevue, Washington
Ryan C Slimak Photo
Unemployment rate: 4.29%
Median earnings: $76,228
3-year income growth: 32.43%
Percent working remotely: 24.59%
3. Seattle, Washington
Sean Pavone/Shutterstock
Unemployment rate: 4.17%
Median earnings: $46,443
3-year income growth: 35.99%
Percent working remotely: 26.87%
2. Richmond, Virginia
Bill Dickinson/Getty Images
Unemployment rate: 3.80%
Median earnings: $73,138
3-year income growth: 49.47%
Percent working remotely: 15.81%
1. Bend, Oregon
Mike Albright Photography/Shutterstock
Unemployment rate: 3.16%
Median earnings: $51,382
3-year income growth: 44.22%
Percent working remotely: 26.89%