Best Cities to Find a Job in 2015 -- and Colorado Places' Falling Scores

How easy is it to find a job in three major Colorado cities? Tougher than it was last year, according to a new study by WalletHub. Denver, Colorado Springs and Aurora are included in the survey, and all three have slid considerably since the previous story. Continue to see the...

By Michael Roberts

January 8, 2015

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How easy is it to find a job in three major Colorado cities? Tougher than it was last year, according to a new study by WalletHub. Denver, Colorado Springs and Aurora are included in the survey, and all three have slid considerably since the previous story. Continue to see the top ten and Colorado's entries, complete with photos, WalletHub data from this year and last, plus the study's methodology. To read the original post, click here.

See also: Photos: 28 Colorado Businesses on Outside's 100 Best Places to Work List for 2014

Number 1: Seattle, Washington "Job Market" Rank: 2

"Socioeconomic Environment" Rank: 12

2014 Overall Rank: 7

Number 2: Des Moines, Iowa "Job Market" Rank: 1

"Socioeconomic Environment" Rank: 19

2014 Overall Rank: Outside the top 60

Number 3: Gilbert, Arizona "Job Market" Rank: 15

"Socioeconomic Environment" Rank: 7

2014 Overall Rank: Outside the top 60

Continue to see more of the best cities to find a job in 2015. Number 4: Sioux Falls, South Dakota "Job Market" Rank: 12

"Socioeconomic Environment" Rank: 8

2014 Overall Rank: Outside the top 60

Number 5: Fremont, California "Job Market" Rank: 10

"Socioeconomic Environment" Rank: 14

2014 Overall Rank: Outside the top 60

Number 6: Chandler, Arizona "Job Market" Rank: 18

"Socioeconomic Environment" Rank: 6

2014 Overall Rank: Outside the top 60

Continue to see more of the best cities to find a job in 2015. Number 7: Omaha, Nebraska "Job Market" Rank: 30

"Socioeconomic Environment" Rank: 5

2014 Overall Rank: 22

Number 8: Salt Lake City, Utah "Job Market" Rank: 4

"Socioeconomic Environment" Rank: 61

2014 Overall Rank: Outside the top 60

Number 9: Scottsdale, Arizona "Job Market" Rank: 37

"Socioeconomic Environment" Rank: 2

2014 Overall Rank: Outside the top 60

Continue to see more of the best cities to find a job in 2015. Number 10: Plano, Texas "Job Market" Rank: 33

"Socioeconomic Environment" Rank: 9

2014 Overall Rank: Outside the top 60

Number 21: Denver, Colorado "Job Market" Rank: 24

"Socioeconomic Environment" Rank: 33

2014 Overall Rank: 8

Number 74 (tie): Colorado Springs, Colorado "Job Market" Rank: 119

"Socioeconomic Environment" Rank: 5

2014 Overall Rank: 40

Number 95: Aurora, Colorado "Job Market" Rank: 99

"Socioeconomic Environment" Rank: 77

2014 Overall Rank: 13

Methodology

To find the best and worst job markets in the U.S., WalletHub analyzed the 150 most populated cities across two key dimensions, namely "Job Market" and "Socioeconomic Environment." We assigned a heavier weight to the former as these factors most heavily influence a job seeker's decision in terms of relocation for employment. We then identified 16 metrics that are relevant to those dimensions. The data set and the corresponding weight for each metric are listed below.

For our sample, we chose each city according to the size of its population. "City" refers to city proper and excludes surrounding metro areas.

Job Market -- Total Weight: 10

• Job Opportunities (Number of Job Openings Minus Number of Unemployed People): Double Weight • Employment Growth (Rate of Annual Job Growth, Adjusted for Working-Age Population Growth): Full Weight • Monthly Median Starting Salary: Full Weight • Unemployment Rate for High School Graduates: Full Weight • Unemployment Rate for People with Bachelor's Degree or Higher: Full Weight • Industry Variety: Full Weight • Full-Time Employment (Number of Part-Time Employees for Every 100 Full-Time Employees): Half Weight • Percentage of Employed Workforce Living Under Poverty Line: Full Weight • Disability Friendliness (Percentage of Employed Workforce with Disabilities): Half Weight

Socio-Economic Environment -- Total Weight: 5

• Median Annual Income (Adjusted for Cost of Living): Full Weight • Time Spent Working & Commuting (Average Commute Time & Length of Average Workday): Half Weight • Benefits (Employees with Private Health Insurance): Half Weight • Housing Affordability: Full Weight • Safety (Crime Rate): Full Weight • Social Life (Number of Cafés per Capita & Number of Nightlife Options per Capita): Full Weight • Emotional Health: Half* Weight *Data for this metric were available only at the state level.

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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