If you decide to move from your current city to another, will you earn a higher or lower salary?
Many professionals think that if they go to a larger city, they’ll receive a higher salary and more job opportunities. Every city has its own job demands and salary scales.
WalletHub conducted a study that shows which cities across the United States have the worst and best job opportunities.
Will your city be on the list?
Cities With The Best Opportunities
Many of the cities with the highest number of job opportunities will not come as a surprise:
- Washington, DC
- Boston, MA
- Minneapolis, MN
- San Francisco, CA
- Denver, CO
If you look at all of these cities, they’re big metropolitan areas where growth is booming. Two of the cities, San Francisco and Washington, DC, are in the top 5 cities with the highest medial salaries.
Washington DC is ranked fifth when it comes to the lowest percentage of the workforce living under the poverty line. This makes Washington, DC an interesting choice for those looking to make a change.
Cities With The Lowest Opportunities
Perhaps one of the most shocking statistics comes from the major cities mentioned that have the lowest opportunities. Keep in mind that many of these cities have higher salary scales and as a result employees decide to stay with these companies for the entirety of their career.
The following cities have the lowest job opportunities in 2015:
- San Diego, CA
- Detroit, MI
- Chicago, IL
- Los Angeles, CA
- New York, NY
Some of the largest cities in the country have the bleakest opportunities this year.
Detroit is one city that is on a major decline. The city ranks as the worst for high school graduates that are currently unemployed, ranking behind 149 other cities. Detroit also ranks 148 for unemployment of professionals that have a Bachelor’s Degree. Again, the city ranks at #148 for lowest median household income.
Not all is bad in Detroit. The city does rank as third on the lowest percentage of the workforce living under the poverty line.
Not surprisingly, Los Angeles ranks as #147 in terms of housing affordability. Two other cities in California also make the bottom five; Glendale and Oakland. The city with the lowest housing affordability is Honolulu, Hawaii.
San Diego may not have many job opportunities, but the city has the highest median starting salaries of all cities in the United States. California is known for having higher salaries to offset the high cost of housing.
Was your city on the list? Many of the big cities that made the list have low job opportunities due to a massive population with hundreds of potential employees vying for the same job. If you are interested in seeing what job opportunities are available in your city or are curious about other cities on the list try using JobTonic.
Remember, while the lowest opportune cities may be at the bottom of the list, these cities often have very high starting salaries. New York is the perfect example of a city with low opportunity, but very high salaries for those lucky enough to land a job there.
What has been your experience in your city? Leave a comment below.
This is a guest post by Helen Evans, Marketing Manager of JobTonic, has been in the career development field for 5 years. She likes to share interesting tips to help people find their dream job. Her goal is to share what she has learned about searching job. Dream job is closer than you imagine. You can find her on Google+, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Photo credit: Big Stock
