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Many people will ring in the new year resolving to travel, learn a new language or spend extra time at the gym. But those looking for work will make a toast in the hopes of something else: landing a job in an affordable city.

To identify the best places for job seekers in 2017, NerdWallet analyzed federal data for the 100 largest U.S. cities to determine where Americans will find opportunities and also where their paychecks will go further.

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The top 10 cities for job seekers

We factored in each place’s October 2016 unemployment rate from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as well as the increase in the working-age population from 2010 to 2015 with U.S. Census Bureau data. These two metrics, which represent the health of a city’s job market, were given the most weight in our analysis. Our methodology also includes census data for median earnings and median monthly rent in each city to provide a gauge of cost of living.

Austin, Texas, claimed the No. 1 spot in our analysis, followed by Denver; Nashville, Tennessee; Seattle; and Durham, North Carolina. Atlanta; Minneapolis; Lincoln, Nebraska; Irving, Texas; and Raleigh, North Carolina, round out the top 10.

Scroll through the chart below to see the data and the scores of the 100 largest cities.



Rank City Unemployment rate in October 2016 Employed population growth 2010-2015 Median 2015 annual earnings for full-time workers Median monthly rent in 2015 Score 1 Austin, Texas 3.2% 34.51% $45,669 $1,139 78.96 2 Denver, Colorado 2.9% 29.54% $47,741 $1,094 77.58 3 Nashville, Tennessee 3.8% 29.46% $40,253 $921 72.68 4 Seattle, Washington 4.2% 29.56% $62,903 $1,356 72.63 5 Durham, North Carolina 4.2% 30.93% $41,323 $929 72.10 6 Atlanta, Georgia 4.9% 31.61% $50,424 $981 71.34 7 Minneapolis, Minnesota 3.1% 19.50% $48,249 $912 70.64 8 Lincoln, Nebraska 2.8% 18.13% $40,998 $770 70.46 9 Irving, Texas 3.6% 25.09% $39,318 $977 69.16 10 Raleigh, North Carolina 4.1% 25.54% $42,345 $970 68.02 11 Fremont, California 3.9% 25.08% $76,499 $1,923 67.99 12 Boston, Massachusetts 2.6% 18.04% $54,724 $1,423 67.94 13 St. Paul, Minnesota 3.1% 17.72% $41,947 $874 67.67 14 Orlando, Florida 4.5% 29.44% $38,264 $1,027 67.27 15 Miami, Florida 5.1% 36.30% $29,233 $1,020 67.14 16 Washington, District of Columbia 3.9% 19.55% $68,171 $1,417 66.85 17 Aurora, Colorado 2.9% 19.03% $40,851 $1,120 66.52 18 Charlotte, North Carolina 4.5% 25.93% $42,496 $978 66.27 19 Dallas, Texas 3.6% 20.40% $37,213 $903 65.53 20 Fort Worth, Texas 3.6% 18.78% $41,901 $936 65.27 21 Mesa, Arizona 4.5% 24.21% $39,798 $892 65.05 22 Reno, Nevada 3.6% 18.39% $39,206 $877 64.81 23 Greensboro, North Carolina 4.8% 25.54% $36,846 $801 64.78 24 Omaha, Nebraska 3.2% 13.98% $41,422 $813 64.65 25 San Jose, California 3.9% 23.93% $60,277 $1,757 63.98 26 Scottsdale, Arizona 4.5% 17.48% $61,779 $1,143 63.38 27 Plano, Texas 3.6% 14.06% $58,989 $1,223 63.30 28 Glendale, Arizona 4.5% 22.49% $36,567 $867 62.93 29 Madison, Wisconsin 2.7% 9.42% $45,945 $981 62.86 30 Laredo, Texas 4.4% 22.34% $31,706 $782 62.81 31 Lexington, Kentucky 3.4% 12.68% $42,247 $816 62.80 32 Columbus, Ohio 3.9% 16.85% $40,866 $871 62.62 33 Portland, Oregon 4.7% 21.94% $46,907 $1,047 62.55 34 San Francisco, California 3.9% 15.94% $72,447 $1,659 62.36 35 Oakland, California 3.9% 18.13% $50,183 $1,240 62.20 36 Lubbock, Texas 3.2% 13.23% $36,463 $853 62.03 37 Louisville, Kentucky 3.9% 14.54% $41,134 $769 62.01 38 San Antonio, Texas 3.7% 16.39% $36,246 $901 61.47 39 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 3.1% 8.86% $44,725 $858 61.45 40 Indianapolis, Indiana 3.6% 13.35% $38,123 $807 61.17 41 Kansas City, Missouri 4.1% 15.15% $41,450 $833 60.84 42 Colorado Springs, Colorado 3.5% 11.60% $44,606 $985 60.14 43 Houston, Texas 5.1% 22.12% $39,377 $923 59.81 44 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 4.0% 13.70% $38,150 $802 59.50 45 New Orleans, Louisiana 5.4% 23.23% $40,943 $947 59.40 46 Fort Wayne, Indiana 3.5% 9.42% $37,108 $716 59.21 47 Arlington, Texas 3.6% 12.35% $39,668 $964 58.97 48 St. Louis, Missouri 4.3% 12.75% $39,386 $767 58.01 49 Richmond, Virginia 4.2% 13.92% $40,153 $927 57.81 50 Phoenix, Arizona 4.5% 16.04% $38,669 $922 57.64 51 Cincinnati, Ohio 4.1% 8.77% $40,885 $658 57.50 52 Corpus Christi, Texas 5.6% 22.28% $39,300 $931 57.29 53 Gilbert, Arizona 4.5% 15.71% $53,057 $1,323 57.10 54 Sacramento, California 5.2% 20.17% $42,562 $1,085 56.78 55 Winston-Salem, North Carolina 4.5% 12.72% $37,227 $741 56.61 56 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 4.3% 10.88% $40,592 $814 56.29 57 Irvine, California 4.8% 16.52% $80,723 $2,070 56.00 58 El Paso, Texas 4.8% 13.58% $35,476 $752 55.12 59 Toledo, Ohio 5.5% 16.37% $36,244 $679 54.98 60 Tampa, Florida 4.7% 13.39% $41,770 $974 54.80 61 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 5.1% 15.31% $41,815 $952 54.63 62 Tulsa, Oklahoma 5.1% 14.00% $37,289 $768 54.33 63 Chandler, Arizona 4.5% 10.26% $51,444 $1,153 54.13 64 Long Beach, California 4.8% 14.03% $43,913 $1,145 53.47 65 Honolulu, Hawaii 2.9% 6.67% $41,827 $1,394 53.44 66 Riverside, California 6.1% 23.56% $39,550 $1,174 53.03 67 San Diego, California 4.8% 14.88% $51,440 $1,444 52.97 68 Arlington, Virginia 3.9% 3.40% $80,665 $1,844 52.44 69 Chicago, Illinois 5.5% 13.47% $47,303 $985 52.41 70 Los Angeles, California 4.8% 15.92% $40,190 $1,271 52.38 71 Baltimore, Maryland 4.4% 6.86% $44,419 $981 51.70 72 Jacksonville, Florida 5.2% 12.79% $39,534 $963 51.23 73 Anaheim, California 4.8% 16.65% $38,456 $1,392 51.01 74 Wichita, Kansas 4.5% 2.66% $40,637 $734 49.50 75 St. Petersburg, Florida 4.7% 6.73% $41,183 $969 49.22 76 Jersey City, New Jersey 5.0% 7.38% $53,639 $1,241 48.89 77 Buffalo, New York 4.9% 4.63% $38,473 $711 48.70 78 New York, New York 5.0% 8.99% $50,078 $1,317 48.21 79 Garland, Texas 3.6% 0.63% $36,280 $1,020 47.65 80 Detroit, Michigan 5.4% 9.54% $31,143 $747 47.50 81 Baton Rouge, Louisiana 5.0% 3.92% $40,714 $805 47.19 82 Santa Ana, California 4.8% 15.50% $26,952 $1,359 46.89 83 Paradise, Nevada 5.5% 8.89% $35,936 $874 46.44 84 Las Vegas, Nevada 5.5% 8.06% $40,324 $983 45.84 85 Tucson, Arizona 4.8% 2.11% $34,384 $775 45.11 86 Memphis, Tennessee 5.4% 6.45% $34,396 $826 45.04 87 Hialeah, Florida 5.1% 10.61% $27,149 $1,059 44.97 88 Henderson, Nevada 5.5% 5.40% $49,596 $1,144 44.63 89 North Las Vegas, Nevada 5.5% 8.86% $35,233 $1,062 43.99 90 Chesapeake, Virginia 4.6% 0.87% $47,243 $1,218 43.86 91 Cleveland, Ohio 5.0% -0.78% $35,202 $664 43.29 92 Norfolk, Virginia 4.6% -2.07% $39,770 $987 41.86 93 Bakersfield, California 9.1% 23.37% $42,170 $979 40.83 94 Newark, New Jersey 5.0% 1.40% $32,232 $978 40.45 95 Anchorage, Alaska 5.7% 1.82% $52,237 $1,241 40.36 96 Virginia Beach, Virginia 4.6% -2.72% $45,699 $1,258 39.96 97 Stockton, California 7.6% 12.26% $37,296 $943 38.21 98 Albuquerque, New Mexico 6.0% -1.44% $39,640 $802 37.44 99 Chula Vista, California 4.8% -4.35% $46,778 $1,360 36.75 100 Fresno, California 9.2% 9.83% $38,472 $910 28.89

Key takeaways

Follow the young people. Nine of the 10 best cities for job seekers have higher-than-average percentages of 20-somethings, according to 2015 census data. In the 100 cities we analyzed, 20- to 29-year-olds make up 17.2% of the population, on average, while nationwide that figure is 13.9%. Minneapolis, Seattle, Atlanta and Austin all have a 20-something population from 20.3% to 21.8%.

Find fast-growing hubs. Technology industries, such as software publishing, telecommunications and computer manufacturing, are among the fastest-growing in terms of output — the value of what’s produced — according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2014-2024 employment projection. The health care and social assistance sectors are on the rise, too. In several of the cities that topped our list, technology and health care are major industries.

Technology. In Austin, Dell and IBM each employ thousands, as does Apple, which recently completed a massive campus there. The Seattle metro area has opportunities for job seekers at its downtown Amazon.com headquarters and in nearby Microsoft and Boeing Co. facilities. Residents of Durham and Raleigh have a quick commute to the 7,000-acre Research Triangle Park, where over 46,000 people work in the tech sector. The Denver region has a robust aerospace industry. Each of these cities offers a more affordable cost of living than San Francisco, another tech destination, which ranked 34th in the analysis and had a median rent of $1,659 in 2015.

In Austin, Dell and IBM each employ thousands, as does Apple, which recently completed a massive campus there. The Seattle metro area has opportunities for job seekers at its downtown Amazon.com headquarters and in nearby Microsoft and Boeing Co. facilities. Residents of Durham and Raleigh have a quick commute to the 7,000-acre Research Triangle Park, where over 46,000 people work in the tech sector. The Denver region has a robust aerospace industry. Each of these cities offers a more affordable cost of living than San Francisco, another tech destination, which ranked 34th in the analysis and had a median rent of $1,659 in 2015. Health care. In Nashville, health care is the largest and fastest-growing industry, with 250 health care companies headquartered in the region. Atlanta is home to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as dozens of health information and technology companies. In Durham, Duke University and Health System is the city’s largest employer by far.

Head to state capitals. Half of the 10 best cities for job seekers are state capitals: Austin, Denver, Nashville, Atlanta and Raleigh. These cities tend to have more opportunities to work in government. In Austin, for example, over 6,000 people work in federal or state government jobs. In Wake County, home of the capital, Raleigh, the state of North Carolina is the largest employer with over 24,000 employees.

Get involved, wherever you live

Whether job seekers find work in one of these top cities or elsewhere, a career consultant says to add one more resolution for 2017: embracing your new community.

“Volunteering exposes you to new people who can become part of your life professionally, now or in the future,” says Andrea Kay, author of “This Is How to Get Your Next Job.”

Meet people outside your new employer by joining professional organizations and attending local industry events, she says.

“Look for visible projects to work on in a nonprofit, arts or civic organization or city-sponsored event,” Kay says. “The best thing you can do for your career is to surround yourself with people who know you, like you and want to help you.”

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