The 25 Best Cities For Jobs

The 25 Best Cities For Jobs When people relocate for a job, they tend to gravitate towards millennial meccas like New York and San Francisco. But if you’re looking for a change of scenery, a midsize city with working-class roots may be the wiser bet. New data from careers site Glassdoor reveals the 25 best U.S. metro areas for jobs, based on affordability, openings, and job satisfaction. Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, and Kansas City topped the list â€" and a panoply of blue-collar hotspots rounded it out. The top three cities, all rapidly-evolving destinations for tech talent, have over 80,000 job openings each, and a cost of living that puts big cities to shame. Other Midwestern cities on the list, like Minneapolis and Detroit, have well over 100,000 openings a piece. Salaries tend to rise in big city markets. But with an abysmal ratio between median pay and median home value (with average house prices as high as $1.5 million in San Francisco), that’s not much of a redeeming factor. Cleveland (#7), by comparison, has a median home value of $134,600; about 40% below the national average. And a booming job market in Ohio (Columbus and Cincinnati are also in Glassdoor’s top 10) makes snagging a gig in the buckeye state easier than most places. “When it comes to finding the best city for jobs, bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better,” says Glassdoor Chief Economist Dr. Andrew Chamberlain. “These areas stand out for offering some of the greatest job prospects along with a lower cost of living that allows more employees to live comfortably.” If affordability and an easy job search top your list of priorities, check out these cities below. 1. Pittsburgh, PA Job Openings: 95,399 Median Base Salary: $44,000 Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.2 Median Home Value: $137,400 2. Indianapolis, IN Job Openings: 80,561 Median Base Salary: $43,000 Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.3 Median Home Value: $138,100 3. Kansas City, MO Job Openings: 90,649 Median Base Salary: $45,000 Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.3 Median Home Value: $159,400 4. Raleigh-Durham, NC Job Openings: 65,810 Median Base Salary: $50,000 Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.4 Median Home Value: $228,200 5. St. Louis, MO Job Openings: 104,725 Median Base Salary: $45,600 Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.4 Median Home Value: $148,600 6. Memphis, TN Job Openings: 42,347 Median Base Salary: $41,200 Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.3 Median Home Value: $119,700 7. Columbus, OH Job Openings: 78,370 Median Base Salary: $45,000 Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.4 Median Home Value: $162,500 8. Cincinnati, OH Job Openings: 79,554 Median Base Salary: $44,637 Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.3 Median Home Value: $152,600 9. Cleveland, OH Job Openings: 66,410 Median Base Salary: $43,000 Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.3 10. Louisville, KY Job Openings: 49,213 Median Base Salary: $40,138 Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.3 Median Home Value: $148,600 11. Birmingham, AL Job Openings: 40,123 Median Base Salary: $38,000 Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.3 Median Home Value: $133,400 12. Detroit, MI Job Openings: 119,567 Median Base Salary: $46,344 Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.3 Median Home Value: $141,000 13. Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN Job Openings: 151,656 Median Base Salary: $52,000 Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.4 Median Home Value: $247,400 14. Hartford, CT Job Openings: 46,274 Median Base Salary: $55,000 Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.3 Median Home Value: $223,100 15. Oklahoma City, OK Job Openings: 43,898 Median Base Salary: $36,000 Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.4 Median Home Value: $134,900 16. Washington, DC Job Openings: 293,481 Median Base Salary: $62,000 Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.5 Median Home Value: $382,600 17. Seattle, WA Job Openings: 187,741 Median Base Salary: $65,000 Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.5 Median Home Value: $447,100 18. Atlanta, GA Job Openings: 195,021 Median Base Salary: $46,000 Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.4 Median Home Value: $179,900 19. Baltimore, MD Job Openings: 123,370 Median Base Salary: $48,000 Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.4 Median Home Value: $261,000 20. Nashville, TN Job Openings: 80,192 Median Base Salary: $42,000 Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.4 Median Home Value: $220,100 21. Milwaukee, WI Job Openings: 63,772 Median Base Salary: $46,000 Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.2 Median Home Value: $215,500 22. San Jose, CA Job Openings: 106,809 Median Base Salary: $100,000 Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.5 Median Home Value: $1,013,700 23. Chicago, IL Job Openings: 332,546 Median Base Salary: $50,000 Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.3 Median Home Value: $211,200 24. Charlotte, NC Job Openings: 78,285 Median Base Salary: $45,000 Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.3 Median Home Value: $174,800 25. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX Job Openings: 249,235 Median Base Salary: $49,000 Job Satisfaction Rating: 3.4 Median Home Value: $211,000