Top 10 Cities in the U.S. for the Job Market

Researcher in laboratory taking notes on notepad

New Year, fresh start? Could be. WalletHub recently compared more than 180 cities across the U.S., using 30 key indicators to evaluate their job strength. Some of those factors were job opportunities, employment growth, monthly average starting salary and employment outlook. Here’s a look at the top 10 with examples of companies with available jobs in the pharma industry.

#1. Scottsdale, Arizona. This suburb of Phoenix ranked #1 overall, but #2 for job market and #6 for socio-economics. Examples of companies with biopharma jobs include: AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Celgene. Check out jobs near Scottsdale!

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#2. Columbia, Maryland. Columbia, MD is one of the main cities in the Baltimore metropolitan area and the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Its overall rank was #2, ranking #4 for job market and #5 for socio-economics. Examples of companies with life sciences jobs include: Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, NextCure and Paragon BioServices. Browse jobs near Columbia!

#3. Orlando, Florida. Perhaps not surprisingly, Orlando ranks #1 for job market, but #48 for socio-economics. Its overall rank is #3. And you can’t really knock the weather, at least in the winter. Examples of companies with life sciences jobs include: Abbvie, AGTC, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Expansion Therapeutics. Scope out positions around Orlando!

#4. San Francisco, California. In the U.S., the San Francisco Bay Area is the second-hottest spot for biotech startups, after Boston. It ranked #4 overall on the WalletHub list, with #3 for job market and #25 for socio-economics. There are numerous open positions in the area with companies such as Abbvie, Assembly Biosciences, Global Blood Therapeutics, Gladstone Institutes, and Nektar Therapeutics. Check out positions in the San Francisco area!

#5. Colorado Springs, Colorado. Colorado Springs ranked #5 overall, and #6 for job market and #42 for socio-economics. Although Colorado doesn’t necessarily come to mind when thinking of biopharma, most people would be surprised. In a recent study by the Milken Institute, Colorado ranked #2 for the growth of science and technology jobs, biotech included. It ranked highest on the Milken report for “rate of new business starts,” driven by the state’s incentive programs.  For example, the following companies have jobs around the area: Abbvie, Bristol-Myers Squibb and miRagen. Check out jobs near Colorado Springs!

#6. Portland, Maine. Ranking #6 overall, Portland, ME ranked #8 on job market and #36 for socio-economics. You may have to expand your search a little, but there are a number of biopharma jobs within driving distance of Portland including the companies of Bio-Techne, Homology Medicines, Vertex and WAVE Life Sciences. Go ahead and browse open positions in this area!

#7. Plano, Texas. Plano is about 20 miles north of Dallas, part of the Dallas-Forth Worth metropolitan area. Its overall rank is #7, ranking #5 for job market and #55 for socio-economics. Texans, perhaps ambitiously, would like to become the “third coast” for biotech clusters. The state is making strides in that direction. Companies that are offering jobs near Plano include: Abbvie, Assertio, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Molecular Templates. Research jobs in this area!

#8. Washington, DC. Ranking #8, it is #11 for job market and #32 for socio-economics. This closely overlaps with Columbia, Md., the #2 spot. For example, the following companies have open life sciences positions in the area: Abbvie, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, Global Blood Therapeutics, and Technical Resources InternationalDon’t miss out on these open jobs!

#9. Boston, Massachusetts. Boston ranks #9 overall, #7 for job market and #73 for socio-economics. It’s also a top biotech cluster in the U.S. As a result, there are plenty of biopharma jobs in the area. Companies with open positions include Abbvie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Glympse Bio, Ipsen, Orchard Therapeutics and Vertex. Scope out these open positions and various other companies!

#10. Chandler, Arizona. Like Scottsdale, Chandler, Arizona is a suburb of Phoenix. #10 overall, Chandler was #14 for job market and #11 for socio-economics. Abbvie, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Celgene have open positions in this area. Check out jobs near Chandler!

The remaining cities in the top 20 include: South Burlington, Vermont (#11); Minneapolis, Minnesota (#12); Denver, Colorado (#13); Tempe, Arizona (#14); Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (#15); Austin, Texas (#16); Madison, Wisconsin (#16); Atlanta, Georgia (#18); Portland, Oregon (#19); and Overland Park, Kansas (#20).

Wherever you’re interested in working and living, you can find quality life sciences jobs posted on BioSpace.

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