Best Places To Find A Job? 30 Cities Outrank Des Moines: Study

DES MOINES, IA — Thinking about finding a new job in the new year? Des Moines ranked in the top 20 percent among good job markets surveyed by WalletHub, the company announced today, but there are 30 cities likely to have a better outlook for job hunters.

Among 182 cities nationwide, Des Moines ranked 31st. Arizona cities dominated the top five with San Francisco ranked third behind the Arizona cities of Chandler and Scottsdale and ahead of Peoria and Gilbert, Ariz.

WalletHub.com, a financial information and credit scoring website, considered the 150 most populated cities in the nation, plus at least the two most populated cities in each state. It based the rankings on two primary dimensions:

• Job market, which considered metrics such as employment growth, salaries and benefits, and job security and satisfaction; and
• Socio-economics, which considered metrics such as housing affordability, transit accessibility, and family friendliness environment.

Des Moines ranked No. 37 for job market and 29 for socio-economics. Iowa's only other entry, Cedar Rapids, placed 71st with scores of 84 for job market and 52 for socio-economics.

Here are the 30 markets that outranked Des Moines, according to WalletHub:

1. Chandler, Ariz.
2. Scottsdale, Ariz.
3. San Francisco, Calif.
4. Peoria, Ariz.
5. Gilbert, Ariz.
6. Plano, Texas
7. Portland, Maine
8. Irvine, Calif.
9. Madison, Wis.
10. Boston, Mass.
11. Austin, Texas
12. Fargo, N.D.
13. Orlando, Fla.
14. Bismarck, N.D.
15. Columbia, Md.
16. Tampa, Fla.
17. Seattle, Wash.
18. Salt Lake City, Utah
19. Fremont, Calif.
20. Tempe, Ariz.
21. Charleston, S.C.
22. Manchester, N.H.
23. Irving, Texas
24. Minneapolis, Minn.
25. Denver, Colo.
26. Overland Park, Kan.
27. Nashua, N.H.
28. Atlanta, Ga.
29. Boise, Idaho
30. San Diego, Calif.

Image via Mohamed Hassan/Pixabay