The 25 Best Cities For Finding a New Job

November 25, 2008

Relocation might be the last resort for job seekers attached to their hometowns, but ideal opportunities are few and far between these days and moving could be the best solution in this job market. While national unemployment has skyrocketed, the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that several cities still report low unemployment numbers. One thing is clear: The Midwest dominates this list of the best 25 cities for finding work.

Sioux City, Iowa
Pocatello, Idaho
Odessa, Texas
Provo, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Missoula, Montana
Des Moines, Iowa
Charlestown, West Virginia
Great Falls, Montana
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Lincoln, Nebraska
Iowa City, Iowa
Midland, Texas
Lafayette, Louisiana
Ames, Iowa

See the top 10 when you read more.

Billings, Montana
Casper, Wyoming
Fargo, North Dakota
Logan, Utah
Morgantown, West Virginia
Houma, Louisiana
Bismarck, North Dakota
Idaho Falls, Idaho
Rapid City, South Dakota
Sioux Falls, South Dakota

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31 Comments

Coco Aylese 4 years 22 weeks

I agree with ashopaholic....i would never see myself living in any of these places....

pianolady 4 years 23 weeks

I have lived in South Dakota my entire life and love Sioux Falls. Interestingly, this state has the most residents that work a second job. That may be one reasonable why unemployment rates are low--people are filling more than one job. That being said, it is a privlege to work, and I am proud to be a midwesterner.

pianolady 4 years 23 weeks

Spectra 4 years 25 weeks

It really irritates me when people automatically think the Midwest sucks because it's not on the coast. I live in Wisconsin and I love it in the Midwest. I've never lived in South Dakota, but I've been there and it's a nice enough place to live. A lot of corporations choose spots in less-populated places because they get tax breaks for being located in certain places. And the cost of living is usually a LOT less in the Midwest, so people can get more for their money.

codewhiz 4 years 25 weeks

I was looking for the city where tons of jobs from my (former!) company went, but I didn't see that one on here. I bet they requested not to be on the list so they wouldn't look like they decimated all our jobs!

lucy22 4 years 25 weeks

I actually live in sioux falls and have my whole life, most people would not consider it to be a college town. There is schools here but mostly only private. Sioux falls is the largest city here and most people would say we live in our own economic bubble and i think that the thing most of these citys have in common is that they are in the midwest. People from the midwest tend to have a better work ethic and i personally don't know a single person who has had difficulty finding a job. I also know that i can drive down the street and see a a ton of help wanted signs. Our housing market is still ok for the most part, and while its not the most desireable place to live were not all working at walmart...

ashopaholic 4 years 25 weeks

and the number of cities I would consider living in from that list...NONE! :D

ElanaRobinson 4 years 25 weeks

hmmm.... these cities don't make me happy.

valancyjane 4 years 25 weeks

I'm really tired of people dissing places they know nothing about. Just saying. A lot of these are college towns, so I wonder if that has something to do with the way the numbers shake out. Students could count as residents but they aren't looking for work (at least as far as these stats are concerned), so does that skew the numbers a bit? Or are the economies in college towns a bit more stable, since you have a major employer that isn't as dependent on market forces?

CoralAmber 4 years 25 weeks

I would really like to see more behind the cities... What about these cities lets them have such low unemployment rates? Is it the type of employers in the area? Is the city itself designed well? Is there a good mix of industries so the whole town isn't relying on one or two corporate giants? Zero is right, at least with Sioux Falls, I looked it up and the most people work in Teaching, Nursing, or similar social service. Manufacturing is actually the 4th most popular job after; Finance, insurance, real estate, and rental and leasing; and the Retail Trade.

356UIK 4 years 25 weeks

Hm. A lot of these places seem really cold.

syako 4 years 25 weeks

zero - if it's not California or NYC, they don't want anything to do with it! :P I would love to visit Montana. My husband has this dream of buying a secluded cabin on a huge piece of land in Montana and just chopping wood all day. I think we'd both go a little crazy, but I'd love it too! :)

Zero_Cool 4 years 25 weeks

I grew up in Montana and currently live in Missoula, MT which is number 20 on the list. First of all, I have to say to all the haters out there, have you ever been here?! Don't judge. It's beautiful, there's fresh air, no sales tax, people are friendly, housing is pretty cheap and it's safe. Second, there are indeed lots of jobs offered here, and not just "manufacturing" jobs. Lots of nursing jobs, teaching jobs, and many others.

jazspin 4 years 25 weeks

I'm actually surprised that my current city of residence, Chicago, is not on the list - it seems that we are mostly doing okay here (not so much for my hometown of Detroit, but that's not a new story).

ilanac13 4 years 25 weeks

huh - this is kind of interesting. i guess it also depends on what the industry is too right? for example, seeing as how a majority of cities are in ND and SD, well - i don't know what i'd do out there.

sweetpeabrina 4 years 25 weeks

Wow. I'd never move to most of those places because they're in the North. It's too cold!

Myst 4 years 26 weeks

unfortunately I can't see myself living in any of those places :(

smileylo 4 years 26 weeks

oh wow... that would be a tough choice to have to move for work... i live in california but the economy is terrible and cost of living huge. plus it's soo hard to find a job.. i know people that have been looking for months straight and applied for everything they could possibly find. The problem is that there are so many responses for one single job posting that it's super hard to even get an interview.

amybdk 4 years 26 weeks

Hooray South Dakota! I'm a Rapid City native and am glad to see some optimistic figures for the state!

Jeny 4 years 26 weeks

UH YEAH.. I'll just go ahead and stay in Houston thanks.. lol.. where ARE those places anyway?? jeeeez

mochick 4 years 26 weeks

*unnecessary 'and'. oops.

mochick 4 years 26 weeks

i'm inclined to agree with alikat07. a low unemployment rate doesn't necessarily mean there are available jobs, just that the people who live in an area HAVE jobs. (one would also have to look at what TYPE of jobs they are. obviously, if they're mostly in manufacturing, i'm not going to pack up my bags and head west. and just because a walmart opens up and employs half a city, it doesn't mean the city's booming. for instance, in north carolina, and the NUMBER ONE employer in the state is walmart, and they surpass no. 2 by several thousand jobs.)

Neekoh 4 years 26 weeks

I'd rather collect unemployment than move to any of those cities.

alikat07 4 years 26 weeks

Does low unemployment really mean there are a lot of jobs? Maybe they just have a good ratio of residents to jobs since these are not the most popular areas to live.

lunda 4 years 26 weeks

wow..i'm originally from iowa..but i would NEVER go back....no matter how bad the economy gets! :) i love the west coast!

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