Best Cities for Career Growth
Ranked by metro median wage across all occupations.
Data: 2026-Q2 · BLS · HUD · KFFAll-Occupation Median Wage
San Jose: San Jose/Silicon Valley has the highest computer and mathematical occupation median wages of the 35 metros tracked — $186,320 per BLS 2025 data. All-occupation median wages are $84,050, also the highest. Source: BLS OES 2025.
San Francisco: San Francisco and the broader Bay Area have one of the most concentrated technology and venture capital ecosystems in the world. BLS 2025 data shows all-occupation median wages of $74,260 and computer/math occupations at $167,770. Source: BLS OES 2025.
Seattle: Seattle is dominated by Amazon, Microsoft, Boeing, and a dense ecosystem of technology employers. BLS 2025 data shows all-occupation median wages of $72,610 and computer/math occupations at $156,000. Source: BLS OES 2025.
Rankings derived from BLS OEWS May 2025, HUD FY2026 FMR, and Walk Score data.
Best Cities for Career Growth — FAQ
How are these rankings calculated?
Best Cities for Career Growth is ranked by median wage, computed at build time directly from verified public data. Rankings derived from BLS OEWS May 2025, HUD FY2026 FMR, and Walk Score data. Only the top 3 are shown here.
Why does this only show 3 cities?
Top Rankings highlights the top 3 in each category. The underlying ranking is computed the same way for every tracked location; this page focuses on the leaders.