With 2025 bringing the chance for new beginnings and finding a better job often proving to be more effective at keeping up with inflation than cost-cutting, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on the Best Places to Find a Job in 2025, with two nearby cities coming in ranked in the top 10.
To determine the strongest local job markets in the U.S., WalletHub compared more than 180 cities across 31 key metrics. The data set ranges from job opportunities per job seeker to employment growth to the monthly average starting salary.
| Best Cities for Jobs | Worst Cities for Jobs |
| 1. Scottsdale, AZ | 173. Shreveport, LA |
| 2. Pittsburgh, PA | 174. Stockton, CA |
| 3. Columbia, MD | 175. Huntington, WV |
| 4. South Burlington, VT | 176. Bakersfield, CA |
| 5. Portland, ME | 177. Gulfport, MS |
| 6. Charleston, SC | 178. Baton Rouge, LA |
| 7. Chandler, AZ | 179. Augusta, GA |
| 8. Washington, DC | 180. San Bernardino, CA |
| 9. Tempe, AZ | 181. Detroit, MI |
| 10. Orlando, FL | 182. Memphis, TN |
Best vs. Worst
- Columbia, Maryland, has the highest median annual household income (adjusted by cost of living), which is 3.3 times higher than in Detroit, Michigan, the city with the lowest.
- Washington DC came in ranked 8th overall, with many employees in the city coming from nearby suburbs including Montgomery County.
- Fremont, California, has the fewest part-time employees for every 100 full-time employees, which is 3.7 times fewer than in Burlington, Vermont, the city with the most.
- Pearl City, Hawaii, has the lowest share of workers living in poverty, which is 12.2 times lower than in Huntington, West Virginia, the city with the highest.
To view the full report and your city’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-cities-for-jobs/2173
