The Best Cities to Grow Your Career
The Best Cities to Grow Your Career
Workers today are looking for more than fringe benefits and comfortable salaries: A vibrant metro area is a big selling point for top tech talent.
Upwardly Mobile
67% of workers would consider relocating for a job, and 37% believe such a move would improve their career prospects.
Top Considerations in Relocating for Work
Higher salary: 88%, Lower cost of living: 61%, Proximity to family and friends: 39%
Top Career Cities: Seattle (Overall Ranking of 56.7)
Tech giants such as Microsoft and Amazon have transformed Seattle into a tech magnet. When Amazon finishes its headquarters project, its employment capacity will reach 30,000 in a city with 635,000 people.
Top Career Cities: Boston (53.4)
With Harvard University, Boston College, Boston University and MIT located here, Boston is one of the most educated cities anywhere: 46.5% of residents has a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Top Career Cities: San Francisco Bay Area (51.6)
Driven by the top names in tech—Google, Oracle, Facebook, Twitter—San Francisco’s labor force is the wealthiest of all cities on this list, earning $80,643 per capita.
Top Career Cities: Washington, D.C. (51.2)
The nation’s capital weathered the last recession relatively well compared to other major cities, and offers enviable government and private-sector job opportunities for tech professionals.
Top Career Cities: Raleigh (50.9)
A prime Research Triangle city, Raleigh has emerged as a high-tech hub, with IBM, Cisco, Red Hat and EMC establishing operations there.
Top Career Cities: Dallas (50.2)
Talk about a nice perk: Like everyone else in the state of Texas, IT employees pay no state tax in Dallas.
Top Career Cities: Salt Lake City (49.8)
The smallest city in the index, Salt Lake City has the lowest unemployment rate (3.5%). IT pros who love the great outdoors will find plenty of skiing, hiking, biking and fishing options here.
Top Career Cities: Denver (49.2)
Another great town for outdoor enthusiasts, Denver remains home to a number of traditional companies (Molson Coors Brewing, Western Union) while attracting plenty of tech start-ups.
Top Career Cities: Houston (49)
In 2014, Houston grew by 3.5%–ranking No. 1 on the America’s Fastest-Growing Cities list from Forbes. Thriving companies in industries such as energy/oil/gas, aeronautics, transportation and healthcare offer many opportunities for tech pros.
Top Career Cities: Des Moines (48.1)
Surprised? Don’t be, as more and more companies (such as Facebook, with its local data center) are setting up locations here to take advantage of relatively low business costs, a favorable tax situation and educated workforce.
