5 top US cities to work in

15 May 2017

Which city should I work and live in?

That’s the question every graduating student asks and the same one job site Indeed sought to answer in its report released last week.

Its researchers asked these four questions to come up with an Indeed City Score:

How favourable is the local labor market to the job seeker?
What’s the average salary, once adjusted for cost of living?
How high do employers score for work-life balance in Indeed’s review database?
How high do employers score for job security and advancement opportunities in Indeed’s review database?

While everybody has their own unique set of factors when considering which area to work in, Indeed focused on some key considerations that would be relevant to many. The result?

“In today’s America, economic opportunity is migrating from the northeast and midwest to Florida, California, and Texas,” Indeed senior vice-president Paul D’Arcys said.

Cultural hub New York and the country’s capital, Washington DC did not make it into the top 25.

“For job seekers looking for opportunity, good pay, job security and work-life balance, the warm, sunny, and fast-growing cities of the south and southwest are the most attractive,” D’Arcy said.

Here are the top five cities that topped the list:

1. Miami, Florida

https://www.instagram.com/p/BFMpHgWxkvz

Florida is one of the most popular states in the list, with three cities in the top 10. Miami topped the list with a city score of 89.2, scoring full marks for work-life balance as well as job security and advancement. Trade, transport and utilities are the city’s biggest industries, followed by the business and professional services.

2. Orlando, Florida

Disney unveils plans for the world's biggest Star Wars-themed hotel at Walt Disney World Orlandohttps://t.co/tUhpbiNbWD pic.twitter.com/Na9UdIKni9

— Joseph Cromwell (@getawayguide) May 9, 2017

While the city outdoes 98 percent of others in terms of job market favourability, it shares the same drawback as Miami – “A dollar doesn’t go quite as far here as in many of our other cities,” Indeed said. On the bright side, those who dwell here will have plenty of leisure and entertainment spots to go to as those are the city’s biggest industries. Companies like the The Walt Disney Company and chain restaurant operator Darden are also based in this sunny paradise.

3. Raleigh, North Carolina

https://www.instagram.com/p/BT1Ywj-jyQr

What North Carolina’s capital lacks in work-life balance and ease in climbing the job ladder, it makes up by having the most favourable job market and how many do pretty well here, salary-wise. Duke University and IBM are two big employers with a major presence in the city.

4. Austin, Texas

#Austin #Texas – Where Apple has quietly built its largest campus https://t.co/YwAQgpu73f

— Jorge I. Triay, Jr. (@IamTRIAY) April 29, 2017

The capital of Texas is one of the US’s fastest growing large city according to a Forbes article earlier this year. Apple has a massive 1.1-million-square-foot campus in north Austin and a smaller one in southwest Austin, which houses more than 6,000 employees. Dell’s worldwide headquarters is also situated in this tech hub, but government remains the city’s biggest major industry.

5. Sacramento, California

Celebrating Intel Folsom employees who volunteered 216,000 hours in the Sacramento region last year. pic.twitter.com/ocL0ETQQ11

— City of Folsom (@CityofFolsom) May 2, 2017

Like Austin, the major industry in this state capital is government, although there are major companies like tech giant Intel and publishing firm The McClatchy Company present here. The city is the highest placing Californian city on the list, scoring particularly high for work-life balance.