The best U.S. city to find a job right now—it’s not New York or San Francisco

If you’re looking for a new job, you might have better luck searching outside coastal cities like New York or San Francisco.

The metro areas around Denver, Colorado; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Las Vegas, Nevada; are the hottest job markets in the U.S., according to a new report from ADP Research.

ADP Research looked at labor-market conditions in more than 50 metro areas across the country and ranked the best cities for job seekers based on metrics such as starting wages for new hires, pay growth and the hiring rate in each market between 2023 and 2024. 

Here are the best cities to find a job in the U.S., according to ADP Research:

1. Denver, Colorado
2. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
3. Las Vegas, Nevada
4. Seattle, Washington
5. Portland, Oregon

Overall, most job openings are concentrated in the South and Sun Belt states namely because major employers in these regions are in industries that have been less affected by pandemic-induced disruptions or prolonged inflation.

As for the top-ranked cities, in Denver, the strongest sectors include financial services, health care and manufacturing, which are widely considered to be “recession-proof” industries, says Ben Hanowell, ADP Research’s director of people analytics research. 

In other cities, there are one or two standout industries that are adding a ton of jobs, he adds: Portland and Seattle, for example, have seen strong, consistent demand for talent in education and health care over the past year.

“Big cities don’t always translate to more job opportunities,” says Hanowell. “Even at a time where we’re seeing hiring and wage growth cool at a national level, these smaller markets offer strong prospects for jobseekers.”

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