Hometown Glory
Nerds name Dallas and Fort Worth among best U.S. cities for job seekers
NerdWallet has good news for Texas job seekers. The organization's blog recently announced its list of the "Best Cities for Job Seekers," which features five Texas locales in the top 10.
Austin topped the list at No. 1, followed by No. 5 Houston, No. 6 Fort Worth, No. 7 Dallas and No. 9 San Antonio. NerdWallet ranked the cities using the following criteria: population growth, income, unemployment rate and the cost of living.
While Fort Worth made the cut based on an increase in population and low unemployment, Dallas earned accolades for its tech-centric career options.
Texas sweeps the board with perks for job-seekers, and Dallas is no exception. With a low cost of living and low unemployment rate, the city is friendly to job-seekers. Known as the 'Silicon Prairie,' Dallas is home to many tech companies, and it’s very near the Telecom Corridor, a hub for telecommunications manufacturing.
With the highest percentage of population growth and lowest unemployment rate, NerdWallet deemed the Capital City a "clear winner":
With the highest percent growth in population and the lowest unemployment rate, Austin is a clear winner as the best choice for job-seekers. The median income is moderately high, and the cost of living is low. Job-seekers should check out this fast-growing city, particularly for jobs in the burgeoning tech industry. Large tech companies such as Dell and IBM are headquartered there, and companies like Apple and Google have offices there as well. Biotechnology is a growing field in Austin as well.
According to the study, Austin saw a 3.8 percent change in population and has a 6.2 percent unemployment rate. Those statistics, along with a median income of $31,170, median two-bedroom apartment rent cost of $968, and cost of living index of 94.9, gave Austin an overall score of 85.2.
The top 10 cities for job seekers, listed with their overall scores, is as follows:
- Austin, TX: 85.2
- Washington, D.C.: 80.8
- San Francisco, CA: 78.3
- Denver, CO: 74.4
- Houston, TX: 70.8
- Fort Worth, TX: 69.9
- Dallas, TX: 69.2
- Seattle, WA: 69.1
- San Antonio, TX: 68.5
- Charlotte, NC: 64.8
Read about all of the top cities for job seekers on NerdWallet.