Personal finance website ranks Austin 5th best city in U.S. for job opportunities

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Austin rated fifth among 182 U.S. cities in a study by the personal finance website WalletHub that ranked the cities’ job-market strength based on indicators such as employment growth and starting pay. | Unsplash/Mitchell Kmetz

Austin rated fifth among 182 U.S. cities in a study by the personal finance website WalletHub that ranked the cities’ job-market strength based on indicators such as employment growth and starting pay.

The Texas capital earned a score of 63.6 out of 100 on a system containing 31 measurements. The ranking’s scores were calculated using job market criteria (80%) and socio-economic criteria (20%). The latter include calculations such as housing affordability and average commute times.

Austin finished eighth in the job market category and 15th in socioeconomics. The rankings reflect job opportunities within the city limits and don’t include surrounding metro areas.

Nationwide, the jobless rate stands at 4.2%, reflecting a rebound over the 2020 rate of nearly 15% at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Those graduating from college in 2022 should benefit from the upbeat jobs market, WalletHub reported. Companies say they will hire 26.6% more new grads this year than they hired from the Class of 2021, according to National Association of Colleges and Employers data.

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The 50 Cities With the Best Job Opportunities

Overall RankCityTotal ScoreJob MarketSocio-economics
1Columbia, MD68.4121
2Salt Lake City, UT66.81123
3San Francisco, CA65.2436
4Portland, ME64.46104
5Austin, TX63.6815
6Orlando, FL63.54424
7Seattle, WA63.44119
8Scottsdale, AZ63.43717
9San Jose, CA62.63937
10Nashua, NH62.191710
11Plano, TX61.971232
12Pittsburgh, PA61.691913
13South Burlington, VT61.57277
14Columbia, SC61.42598
15Overland Park, KS61.35288
16Chandler, AZ61.341619
17Boise, ID61.182414
18Warwick, RI61.052316
19Charleston, SC60.551463
20Des Moines, IA60.222149
21Huntsville, AL60.26122
22West Valley City, UT60.22246
23Tempe, AZ59.833020
24Minneapolis, MN59.73585
25Madison, WI59.57722
26Spokane, WA59.522076
27Atlanta, GA59.491597
28St. Louis, MO59.1513119
29Raleigh, NC58.994222
30Tacoma, WA58.82684
31Gilbert, AZ58.783155
32Washington, DC58.724033
33Virginia Beach, VA58.564530
34Boston, MA58.523260
35Irving, TX58.4918109
36Miami, FL58.3524101
37Tampa, FL58.074845
38Fremont, CA58.025241
39Pearl City, HI57.983467
40Portland, OR57.627811
41Reno, NV57.595551
42Grand Prairie, TX57.573592
43Denver, CO57.496918
44Cedar Rapids, IA57.326428
45Vancouver, WA56.8441102
46Charlotte, NC56.8138103
47Fort Lauderdale, FL56.765187
48Manchester, NH56.736550
49Glendale, AZ56.664694
50Cheyenne, WY56.577142
Source: WalletHub.com