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
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Unemployment rate: 3.13%
Median earnings: $50,304
3-year income growth: 38.37%
Percent working remotely: 17.81%
14. St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri.
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Unemployment rate: 4.69%
Median earnings: $59,986
3-year income growth: 34.47%
Percent working remotely: 13.30%
13. Scottsdale, Arizona
Downtown Scottsdale, Arizona.
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Unemployment rate: 2.97%
Median earnings: $57,183
3-year income growth: 28.38%
Percent working remotely: 26.52%
12. Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls, Texas, was named the city with the lowest cost of living.
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Unemployment rate: 2.51%
Median earnings: $68,390
3-year income growth: 39.65%
Percent working remotely: 7.58%
11. Austin, Texas
A city view of Austin, Texas.
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Unemployment rate: 3.95%
Median earnings: $36,585
3-year income growth: 34.97%
Percent working remotely: 26.54%
10. Sunnyvale, California
People at Historic Murphy Avenue in 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
Westminster is a suburb of Denver, pictured above.
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Unemployment rate: 1.69%
Median earnings: $70,711
3-year income growth: 37.73%
Percent working remotely: 19.35%
8. Sioux Falls, South Dakota
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
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Unemployment rate: 3.50%
Median earnings: $47,203
3-year income growth: 23.13%
Percent working remotely: 27.96%
6. Santa Clara, California
Mission Santa Clara de Asís in Santa Clara.
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
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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
Seattle, Washington downtown skyline.
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
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
Bend, Oregon — one of the fastest growing cities in America — is pictured above.
