- When searching for a job, location is crucial.
- Career site Zippia found the 100 best metropolitan areas in the US for wage growth and low unemployment. We picked out the 13 top areas.
- San Jose was No. 1 and San Francisco made the list, but the rest aren’t your usual Silicon Valley haunts.
The best job markets in the US are all around the country – from California to Iowa to South Carolina.
Career site Zippia looked at the 386 metropolitan areas nationwide and ranked them based on wage change, unemployment rate change, and current unemployment rate.
Then they averaged those three rankings to produce a final ranking.
The top 13 are below in ascending order, and you can view the top 100 here.
13. San Francisco
Unemployment rate: 2.4%
Annual mean wage: $76,160
12. Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Unemployment rate: 3.2%
Annual mean wage: $41,120
11. Columbia, South Carolina
Unemployment rate: 2.7%
Annual mean wage: $43,220
10. Roanoke, Virginia
Unemployment rate: 2.9%
Annual mean wage: $43,650
9. Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa
Unemployment rate: 2.7%
Annual mean wage: $41,450
8. Ann Arbor, Michigan
Unemployment rate: 2.8%
Annual mean wage: $56,160
7. Florence, South Carolina
Unemployment rate: 3.2%
Annual mean wage: $41,010
6. Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, Virginia
Unemployment rate: 2.9%
Annual mean wage: $42,960
5. Charleston, South Carolina
Unemployment rate: 2.3%
Annual mean wage: $44,500
4. Midland, Texas
Unemployment rate: 2.1%
Annual mean wage: $53,190
3. Odessa, Texas
Unemployment rate: 2.8%
Annual mean wage: $47,160
2. San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, California
Unemployment rate: 2.6%
Annual mean wage: $48,750
1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California
Unemployment rate: 2.4%
Annual mean wage: $78,990