Best U.S. Job Markets in 2018

Career site Zippia studied 386 metros to find the 10 best job markets in the nation based on wage change, unemployment rate change, and the current unemployment rate.

Not all of the best job markets are in California. The Golden State, Texas, South Carolina, and Virginia each had two metros in the top 10, though the number one metro was San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif., and number two was smaller metro San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, Calif., Business Insider reports. Hot housing market Midland, Texas was fourth on the list, with a 2.1 percent unemployment rate, lower than the top two metros, and annual average wage of $53,190.

Although wishful thinking allows us to imagine how great it’d be to get paid for doing nothing, the stats don’t lie – you need to work to make money. Unless you’re the Kardashians, maybe? Either way, with the economy roaring and the job market being the best its been in some time, we wanted to delve into the metro areas that are the best job markets for those seeking work. Good news is the best job markets are pretty spread out – west coast, south, midwest – they’re all over. So you don’t need to already be living in California to exclusively reap the rewards of a healthy local economy.

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