Forbes Magazine Best Cities for Jobs

Forbes Magazine has released their list of "The Best U.S. Cities For Jobs". Forbes has complied rankings using five data points. Each point of data is given equal weight for the purpose of this list. The five data points are: unemployment rate, job growth, income growth, median, household income, and cost of living. Forbes measured the 100 largest metropolitan areas, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Data was obtained from Moody's. The date complied was from the years 2003 to 2006.

The data is complied from statistics and does not differentiate between industries. Florida, with jobs in tourism and entertainment, has 3 cities in the top 25. Certain areas are better for particular industries, but this list does not address specific careers. The Southern states overall rank higher on the list, benefiting from milder climates and lower cost of living. Major metropolitan cities such as Chicago (82), San Francisco (86) Los Angeles (88), and Boston (83) ranked low on the list, partly due to their high cost of living.

While this list is useful, a job seeker should consider other criteria before moving across the country. It's important to know, not only that there are jobs, but that the jobs are in your field. This is a terrific tool when considering relocation for better job opportunies, but do additional research about where the jobs are in your field of expertise.

Following is the ranking of the Best cities for Jobs compiled by Forbes Magazine:

1. Raleigh, North Carolina
2. Phoenix, Arizona
3. Jacksonville, Florida
4. Orlando-Kissimmee, Florida
5. Washington, D.C.
6. Salt Lake City, Utah
7. Honolulu, Hawaii
7. Las Vegas - Paradise, Nevada (tie)
9. Fort Lauderdale-Pompano (tie)
10. Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News
11. Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick (tie)
11. Sarasota-Bradenton (tie)
13. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
14. Richmond, Virginia
15. Omaha-Council Bluffs, Nebraska
16. West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach
17. Little Rock-Little Rock, Arkansas
18. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro, Tennessee
19. Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine
20. Tucson, Arizona
21. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
22. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia
23. Austin-Round Rock, Texas
24. Albuquerque, New Mexico
25. Sacramento California
26. Camden, New Jersey
27. Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, New York
28. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minnesota-Wisconsin
29. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California
30. Albany-Schenectady-Troy, New York
31. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California
32. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas
33. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California
34. Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington
35. Tulsa, Oklahoma
36. Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, North Carolina-South Carolina
37. Knoxville, Tennessee
38. Wilmington, Delaware-Maryland-New Jersey
39. Baltimore-Towson, Maryland
40. Edison, New Jersey
41. Indianapolis-Carmel, Indiana
42. Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pennsylvania-New Jersey
43. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
44. San Antonio, Texas
45. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas
46. Birmingham-Hoover, Alabama
47. Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas
48. Lake County, Kenosha County, Illinois-Wisconsin
49. Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas
50. Columbia, South Carolina
51. Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Florida
52. Syracuse, New York
53. Nassau-Suffolk, New York
54. Bakersfield, California
55. Hartford-West, Hartford-East, Hartford, Connecticut
56. Cincinnati-Middletown, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana
57. Wichita, Kansas
58. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
59. Rochester, New York
60. Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, Oregon-Washington
61. Akron, Ohio
62. Cambridge-Newton-Framing ham, Massachusetts
63. Kansas City, Missouri-Kansas
64. Denver-Aurora, Colorado
65. Columbus, Ohio
66. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut
67. Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California
68. Greenville, South Carolina
69. El Paso, Texas
70. Tacoma, Washington
71. Newark-Union, New Jersey-Pennsylvania
72. Worcester, Massachusetts
73. Buffalo-Niagara Falls, New York
74. New Haven-Milford, Connecticut
75. New York-White Plains-Wayne, New York-New Jersey
76. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
77. Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, Rhode Island-Massachusetts
78. Stockton, California
79. Louisville-Jefferson County, Kentucky-Indiana
80. Memphis, Tennessee, Mississippi-Arkansas
81. St. Louis, Missouri-Illinois
82. Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Illinois
83. Boston-Quincy, Massachusetts
84. Gary Indiana
85. Springfield, Massachusetts
86. San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California
87. Essex County, Massachusetts
88. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California
89. Greensboro-High Point, North Carolina
90. Fresno, California
91. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California
92. Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, Ohio
93. Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Michigan
94. Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin
95. Dayton, Ohio
96. Toledo, Ohio
97. Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Michigan
98. Youngstown-Warren-Boatman, Ohio-Pennsylvania
99. New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, Louisiana
100. Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Michigan

There is more information and data about these cities on the Forbes website.