With 2024 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 2024. Nearby Columbia, MD came in fourth in the country and DC came in 17th (Baltimore was 50th) out of the 182 ranked.
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. Bridgeport, CT |
| 2. Tampa, FL | 174. Columbus, GA |
| 3. Salt Lake City, UT | 175. Memphis, TN |
| 4. Columbia, MD | 176. Bakersfield, CA |
| 5. Austin, TX | 177. Stockton, CA |
| 6. Atlanta, GA | 178. Augusta, GA |
| 7. Seattle, WA | 179. San Bernardino, CA |
| 8. Pittsburgh, PA | 180. Gulfport, MS |
| 9. Plano, TX | 181. Las Cruces, NM |
| 10. Boston, MA | 182. Newark, NJ |
Best vs. Worst
- Columbia, Maryland, has the highest median annual household income (adjusted by cost of living), which is 3.1 times higher than in Detroit, Michigan, the city with the lowest.
- San Jose, California, has the highest monthly average starting salary, which is 3.7 times higher than in Fort Smith, Arkansas, the city with the lowest.
- Fremont, California, has the fewest part-time employees for every 100 full-time employees, which is 3.8 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 11.7 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