Main Street Finance

These Are the Best Cities for Your Industry

By Andrew

Many people, both those who are experienced and those who are not, are looking to work in places where they can earn the most in their industry. It’s not uncommon for people to flock towards the latest and greatest industry “hot spots” such as Silicon Valley or Wall Street. However, while these hot spots give may give them plenty of opportunities and above-average salaries, that doesn’t mean job searching within industries should be limited to these defined areas.

LeadMD recently conducted a study that shows which cities around the United States are the most valuable. They used census data to collect the number of employees and the average salary for each industry in the top U.S. cities. The figures they got were a result of multiplying the two factors together to determine the average cumulative payroll for each industry in each city.

If you’re looking to see which cities are the most valuable for your industry, take a look at what they found below.

The majority of cities have the professional, scientific, and technical services and the health care and social assistance industries as their most valuable industries. However, some cities are much stronger in other areas. Charlotte, which is known for being a top city for U.S. banking, has the finance and insurance industry as its most valuable with over $7 million in average cumulative payroll. Las Vegas is the only city with the accommodation and food services industry as its most valuable industry, which is no surprise for a city that is known for its vacations and partying. The public administration industry was the most valuable in just two cities: Virginia Beach and Sacramento. They have a value of over $10 million in average cumulative salary combined.

While the professional, scientific, and technical services and health care and social assistance industries are tied for the amount of cities they are each most valuable in (18), one has a much higher cumulative estimated payroll. The professional, scientific, and technical services industry has a cumulative estimated payroll among all listed cities is over $378 million, while the health care and social assistance industry payroll is nearly $115 million. The manufacturing industry, which is most valuable in 10 cities, follows close behind the health care and social assistance industry with over $101 million in cumulative payroll.

In your job search, it’s important to consider which locations will help you grow. You want to go where you will be the most valued in an area with plenty of like-minded people. If you are interested in moving to one of these top cities, you wouldn’t be alone. Studies show that young people favor living in central urban neighborhoods significantly more than previous generations did at the same stages in life.

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About Andrew

Andrew is a corporate finance consultant living in Los Angeles, specializing in distressed and bankrupt consulting. He helps clients review business plans and the general market and decide what steps to take next. He has a masters in finance. Andrew enjoys running and biking in the San Gabriel mountains, cheering for the San Francisco Giants and eating (but trying not to gain weight).