America’s 50 Best Cities for Jobs in 2023

Ever wonder which U.S. cities are actually the best in terms of where to find work? If you’re raring to relocate and fine with figuring out how to make money once you get there, you might consider heading to St. Louis, Missouri, or Columbia, South Carolina. According to a new report by WalletHub, those two cities are teeming with job opportunities. 

But WalletHub based its 2023 breakdown of the best U.S. cities for jobs on a lot more than just job openings. Researchers looked at 32 weighted metrics, all of which fell into one of two categories: job market and socioeconomics. The former covered factors like unemployment rate, job security, job satisfaction, employee benefits, and monthly average starting salary. The latter comprised everything from median annual income and housing affordability to family-friendliness and annual transportation costs.

To figure out the best job markets in the U.S., WalletHub looked at 182 cities, including 150 of the country’s most populous cities (along with the second most populous city in each state). This guaranteed that each state was featured in the rankings without short-changing big states with larger populations. So, unsurprisingly, California, Texas, and Florida were especially well-represented. The Golden State had three spots in the top 10 (San Francisco in first place overall, followed by San Jose and Fremont), and eight total in the top 50. Texas had four in the top 50, and Florida had six.

Of course, there are plenty of promising places to launch or continue your career beyond the borders of those three states. Columbia, Maryland, took second place overall, while Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, and South Burlington, Vermont, all fell within the top 10.

Below, see how each state in the top 50 scored (out of 100 possible points), and delve into WalletHub’s comprehensive breakdown of the data here.

1. San Francisco, California // 65.40
2. Columbia, Maryland // 65.24
3. Orlando, Florida // 64.15
4. San Jose, California // 63.63
5. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania // 62.74
6. Fremont, California // 62.69
7. (Tie) Salt Lake City, Utah // 62.69
8. South Burlington, Vermont // 62.39
9. Plano, Texas // 61.78
10. Portland, Maine // 60.93
11. Seattle, Washington // 60.72
12. Irving, Texas // 60.66
13. Irvine, California // 60.02
14. Scottsdale, Arizona // 59.81
15. Nashua, New Hampshire // 59.68
16. Tampa, Florida // 59.34
17. (Tie) Warwick, Rhode Island // 59.34
18. Minneapolis, Minnesota // 59.14
19. Pearl City, Hawaii // 59.10
20. Austin, Texas // 58.98
21. West Valley City, Utah // 58.71
22. Burlington, Vermont // 58.54
23. Denver, Colorado // 58.41
24. Atlanta, Georgia // 58.02
25. Grand Prairie, Texas // 57.78
26. Grand Rapids, Michigan // 57.74
27. Huntington Beach, California // 57.73
28. Chandler, Arizona // 57.72
29. Overland Park, Kansas // 57.67
30. San Diego, California // 57.60
31. Charleston, South Carolina // 57.57
32. Boston, Massachusetts // 57.54
33. Wilmington, Delaware // 57.42
34. (Tie) Fort Lauderdale, Florida // 57.42
35. Boise, Idaho // 57.33
36. Raleigh, North Carolina // 57.22
37. St. Louis, Missouri // 57.17
38. St. Petersburg, Florida // 57.03
39. Des Moines, Iowa // 56.97
40. Virginia Beach, Virginia // 56.56
41. Garden Grove, California // 56.53
42. Tempe, Arizona // 56.51
43. Jersey City, New Jersey // 56.47
44. Cedar Rapids, Iowa // 56.32
45. Manchester, New Hampshire // 56.10
46. Sacramento, California // 55.97
47. Washington, D.C. // 55.89
48. Jacksonville, Florida // 55.76
49. Pembroke Pines, Florida // 55.67
50. Honolulu, Hawaii // 55.65