Pittsburgh is best large city for jobs, study says
With unemployment at a 50-year low and job openings at a record high, workers are enjoying more opportunities and leverage than they’ve had in years.
And since Americans have more choices about where to live and work, Glassdoor has sorted through the options and ranked Pittsburgh as the best large metro area for jobs in 2018.
The rankings are based on the number of hiring opportunities relative to population, the area’s affordability and job satisfaction. Glassdoor rated the top 25 best regions for jobs among the 50 largest metro areas.
The Glassdoor study offers a more holistic view of the top labor markets than the raw numbers reported by Labor. By the latter measure, the Minneapolis-St. Paul area had the lowest unemployment rate in August at 2.5 percent, followed by San Jose, California; San Francisco; Austin, Texas; and Nashville, Tennessee. And Orlando, Florida, notched the fastest job growth.
Amanda Stansell, Glassdoor’s economic research analyst, notes the list is dominated by many midsize cities with perhaps fewer job opportunities but a lower cost of living.
The top 10
❚ 1. Pittsburgh: The area ranked fourth in hiring opportunities and second in affordability, with a median base salary of $46,500 and median home value of $141,300. The steelmaking stronghold has transformed itself into a biotech hub and is home to dozens of universities, including Carnegie Mellon. Hot jobs: Financial adviser, registered nurse ❚ 2. St. Louis: Ranked sixth in cost of living and 11th in job satisfaction. Home to corporations such as Anheuser-Busch, Emerson and Panera Bread. Median base salary: $48,000
Median home value: $161,400
Hot jobs: Cloud engineer, business analyst ❚ 3. Indianapolis: Ranked seventh in cost of living and 17th in hiring opportunities.
Median base salary: $45,000 Median home value: $152,800 Hot jobs: Mechanical engineer, marketing manager, truck driver
❚ 4. Cincinnati: Ranked eighth in cost of living and 16th in hiring opportunities.
Median base salary: $45,000
Median home value: $160,900
Hot jobs: Account executive, software engineer ❚ 5. Hartford, Connecticut: The insurance hub ranked eighth in hiring opportunities and 18th in cost of living.
Median base salary: $55,000 Median home value: $227,600 Hot jobs: Electrical engineer, teacher
❚ 6. Boston: An international center for universities, technology and biotech, the area ranked first in hiring opportunities and eighth in job satisfaction. Median base salary: $62,000
Median home value: $455,600 Hot jobs: Software engineer, project manager ❚ 7. Memphis, Tennessee: The arts-and-entertainment hotbed ranked first in cost of living and 23rd in job satisfaction. Median base salary: $43,900
Median home value: $133,100
Hot jobs: Product manager, account executive
❚ 8. Raleigh, North Carolina: The area is a pillar of the Research Triangle, a thriving ecosystem of universities and science and tech companies. Ranked sixth in hiring opportunities and job satisfaction. Median base salary: $50,000 Median home value: $255,000 Hot jobs: Registered nurse, research associate
❚ 9. Cleveland: The health care stronghold ranked third in cost of living, 32nd in hiring opportunities. Median base salary: $46,000
Median home value: $141,100
Hot jobs: Java engineer, consultant
❚ 10. Detroit: The Motor City has been revived as an auto manufacturing hub. Ranked third in cost of living and 32nd in hiring opportunities. Median base salary: $50,000
Median home value: $154,900 Hot jobs: Manufacturing engineer, data scientist