As the school year winds down, recent graduates are beginning the next chapter of their lives and for many, this means a new job and a new city. Young people are looking for jobs that can kick-start their careers and cities where the cost of living will allow them to begin paying down their students loans.
Fortunately, there's good reason for job seekers to feel optimistic. Though job creation was 6 percent lower in 2017 than it was in 2016, the most recent jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that unemployment is just 4.1 percent, and the National Association of Colleges and Employers reports that employers expect to hire 4 percent more members of the Class of 2018 than they did from the class of 2017.
But not every city will experience the same positive job trends in the new year. WalletHub compared over 180 U.S. cities across 26 key indicators in order to calculate which were the best places for job seekers. Each city was ranked according to the estimated strength of the city's job market as well as socioeconomic factors such as median annual income and housing affordability.
Check out the 10 best cities to find a job in 2018:
10. Boston, MA
Total score: 62.37
Job market ranking: 7
Socioeconomic ranking: 42
9. Madison, WI
Total score: 62.44
Job market ranking: 21
Socioeconomic ranking: 1
8. Irvine, CA
Total score: 62.86
Job market ranking: 11
Socioeconomic ranking: 13
7. Portland, ME
Total score: 63.06
Job market ranking: 10
Socioeconomic ranking: 12
6. Plano, TX
Total score: 64.69
Job market ranking: 6
Socioeconomic ranking: 16
5. Gilbert, AZ
Total score: 65.35
Job market ranking: 4
Socioeconomic ranking: 34
4. Peoria, AZ
Total score: 65.86
Job market ranking: 1
Socioeconomic ranking: 56
3. San Francisco, CA
Total score: 66.06
Job market ranking: 2
Socioeconomic ranking: 43
2. Scottsdale, AZ
Total score: 66.29
Job market ranking: 5
Socioeconomic ranking: 3
1. Chandler, AZ
Total score: 67.66
Job market ranking: 3
Socioeconomic ranking: 9
Chandler, Arizona topped WalletHub's list, thanks to high scores for the strength of its job market as well as favorable socioeconomic conditions for workers. The largest employer in Chandler is Intel.
In fact, four cities in Arizona made it into the top 10, including Scottsdale, Peoria and Gilbert. These cities benefit from the booming healthcare industry and significant elderly populations.
The highest ranking city outside of Arizona is San Francisco. Despite placing 43rd for its expensive socioeconomic environment, the city by the bay's red-hot job market helped propel it to the top of the list.
Even though conditions seem bright for job seekers, Peter Cappelli, Professor of Management and Director for the Center for Human Resources at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania says that the current administration is not helping job seekers.
"Employers don't like uncertainty, and this administration hasn't been good on that dimension," he tells WalletHub. "The macroeconomists expect the tax cuts, if they come as predicted, to have little effect on job growth; it is demand that causes companies to hire, not corporate tax rates."
This is an updated version of a post that appeared previously.
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