Two Midwest Cities Join Top Markets for Job Growth

Houston maintained the second spot on the list, growing by 75,100 jobs through September, down 7,700 jobs from August and 28,000 jobs from last year. Dallas regained the third spot with an annual gain of 60,400 jobs, an improvement of almost 19,000 jobs from August.

Los Angeles and Phoenix rounded out the top five with 60,300 new jobs and 43,500 new jobs, respectively. Atlanta, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Riverside and St. Louis followed. The next 10 markets saw their combined annual job gains remain virtually unchanged, said RealPage.

Three markets gained between 50,000 and 99,999 jobs, one less market than last month. Meanwhile, 11 of RealPage’s top 150 markets reported annual job losses for the year, including Minneapolis-St. Paul, Milwaukee, Memphis and Portland, Oregon.

Stockton-Lodi, California, and Boise, Idaho, tied for the No. 1 growth rate spot with 4.2% employment change, but that is 50 basis points less than last month’s top market, Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, at 4.7% in August. Both markets were up 40 to 60 bps from their change rates last month, said RealPage.

Charleston slipped a spot to third with 3.6% job growth, down 70 bps from last month. Indianapolis joined the list in fourth with 3.1% employment growth, up 50 bps from August, and Naples, Florida, and College Station, Texas, tied for fifth in September at 2.9% job change.

The top 10 employment growth markets continue to reflect areas with concentrations in tourism, state capitals and major universities, the report said.