Where the Jobs Are
Where an occupation exists matters more than how many of it exist. Software developers are more numerous in New York than anywhere else — 121,000 against San Jose's 87,350 — but San Jose's concentration is more than six times the national rate and its median is $213,110 against New York's $166,830. Density, not count, is what makes a place a market for your work.
National figures describe a country nobody works in. Everyone works in one labor market, and those markets differ from each other far more than the national averages suggest.
The measure that matters
Concentration — an occupation's share of local employment against its share nationally. A figure of 1.0 means the metro has its fair share. San Jose's software developers sit at 7.23; Midland's petroleum engineers at 71.12.
High concentration means employers competing for the same people, deeper informal networks, and a market that continues to exist if one employer leaves. That is what you are choosing when you choose a place.
Count and density point different ways
New York holds more software developers than any metro in the country and sits at 1.18 — barely above its fair share, because New York is enormous and holds a lot of everything. More jobs, less of a specialist market, and a median $46,280 lower than San Jose's.
Some occupations cluster and some are everywhere
Flight attendants concentrate 82.6 per cent of their metro employment in ten metros and appear in only twenty. Water and wastewater treatment operators appear in 367 metros with 21.5 per cent in the top ten. If you do the first kind of work geography is a constraint; if you do the second, it is a choice.
The calculation that beats every "best cities" list
Take your occupation's employment in a metro, divide by that metro's total employment, and compare it against the same ratio nationally. Above 1.0 means the place holds more of your work than its size implies. San Jose sits at 7.23 for software developers; New York, which has more of them in absolute terms, sits at 1.18.
Every ranking you will read sorts by count, which is why they all return the same five enormous cities whatever the occupation. The calculation above takes a minute and every input is published.
Articles in this section
- The Metro Areas Adding the Most Jobs 3 min read
- Which Occupations Concentrate in Which Places 4 min read
- The Remote Share of Postings, by Occupation 3 min read
- Company Towns: When One Employer Dominates a Local Market 3 min read
- Where Employers Are Moving Work To 3 min read
- Regions Where Your Skills Are Scarce 4 min read
- Job Density and Why It Beats Job Count 4 min read
- Cross-Border and International Hiring Trends 3 min read
- Small Metros Punching Above Their Weight 3 min read
- Choosing Where to Live Around Where the Work Is 3 min read
Common questions
What is occupational concentration?
An occupation's share of local employment measured against its national share. 1.0 is a fair share; San Jose's software developers are at 7.23.
Why does density beat job count?
New York has more software developers than San Jose but sits near its fair share, while San Jose is over six times concentrated and pays $46,280 more at the median.
Which occupations cluster most?
Flight attendants, airline pilots, art directors and web designers. Flight attendants appear in only twenty metros.
Which are found everywhere?
Water treatment operators, welders, institutional cooks and parts salespersons u2014 present in nearly all 393 metros.
How much of US employment is in metros?
About 130 million of the roughly 155 million jobs counted nationally, so a sixth sits outside metropolitan areas entirely.
Does this data show where jobs are growing?
No. It is a point-in-time survey with no metro-level projections and no remote-work flag, and the articles say so where it matters.
What Jobs Pay
You now know where the work is. The first section is how to find out what it pays there.
Read it →