If you're on the hunt for a new job, you might have better success looking beyond coastal cities like New York or San Francisco. According to a recent report by ADP Research, the hottest job markets in the U.S. can be found in metro areas such as Denver, Colorado; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Las Vegas, Nevada. ADP Research analyzed labor-market conditions across over 50 metro areas nationwide, ranking the best cities for job seekers based on factors like starting wages for new hires, pay growth, and hiring rates from 2023 to 2024.
The top cities for job opportunities in the U.S., as per ADP Research, are:
- Denver, Colorado
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Seattle, Washington
- Portland, Oregon
Overall, the majority of job openings are concentrated in the South and Sun Belt states. This is largely because major employers in these areas operate in industries that have been less impacted by disruptions from the pandemic or ongoing inflation. In the leading cities, Denver's strongest sectors include financial services, healthcare, and manufacturing, which are widely seen as "recession-proof" industries, according to Ben Hanowell, the director of people analytics research at ADP Research.
In other cities, one or two key industries are significantly contributing to job growth. For instance, Portland and Seattle have experienced steady demand for professionals in education and healthcare over the past year. Hanowell notes that "big cities don’t always equate to more job opportunities." Even while national hiring and wage growth are cooling, these smaller markets provide promising prospects for job seekers.