Best Cities To Find A Job: Here’s Where Boston Ranks

BOSTON — The personal finance website WalletHub recently released its rankings of “2020’s Best Cities For Jobs” in more than 180 American cities, and Beantown ranked in the Top 10 for the best urban areas to find employment.

Boston was rated fifth-best in the nation in the ranking of its job market, which accounted for 80 percent of the final score, and 64th in socioeconomic factors, for a combined overall rank of No. 7.

Scottsdale, AZ, ranked as the best place in the nation to find a job in 2020, according to WalletHub, followed by South Burlington, VT, and San Francisco. Arizona had a strong showing overall, with three cities making the top 10.

Burlington ranked as the U.S. city with the lowest unemployment rate and the shortest average commute time to work.

At the other end of the list was Detroit, which ranked as the worst city in the country to find a job.

Overall, though, it’s a great time to look for a job in the United States.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ November job report, the national unemployment rate was 3.6 percent, just a tick above the 50-year low of 3.5 percent in September 2019.

“As with most presidents, Mr. Trump has done some things that economists applaud and some things that they boo,” said James E. Taylor, a professor of economics at Central Michigan University who was referenced in the WalletHub report. “The largest headwind the administration has created is concerning the trade war with China and the uncertainty that it has brought. If that battle gets resolved with any kind of positive outcome, job growth should continue to be strong.”

WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities across 31 key indicators of job market friendliness, including the rates of employment growth, average starting salary and general job opportunity.

Each relevant metric was then listed with its corresponding weight, and the cities were subsequently graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the best possible city environment for finding a job.

Here are the top 15 cities in the United States for finding a job in 2020:

1. Scottsdale, Arizona: 63.50
2. South Burlington, Vermont: 65.47
3. San Francisco, California: 63.17
4. Austin, Texas: 61.82
5. Fremont, California: 61.53
6. Chandler, Arizona: 60.99
7. Boston, Massachusetts: 60.44
8. Tempe, Arizona: 60.07
9. Portland, Maine: 60.04
10. Boise, Idaho: 59.29
11. Overland Park, Kansas: 58.65
12. Plano, Texas: 58.59
13. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: 58.54
14. Pearl City, Hawaii: 58.46
15. San Jose, California: 58.44

The full report on the best cities to find a job in the United States is available on WalletHub.