A new analysis of the Best Cities for Jobs in 2025 ranks Michigan’s largest nearly dead last.
The personal finance website WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities across 31 key indicators of job-market strength – from opportunities per job seeker, to employment growth, to monthly average starting salary – to determine the best for finding work.
“It’s important to look at more than just the number of jobs available or the unemployment rate when determining the best place to find employment,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said. “Quality matters just as much as quantity, from the average salaries and benefits to job security and overall satisfaction.
Go Ad-Free, Get Content, Go Premium Today - $1 Trial
MORE NEWS: Inauguration protests in Michigan, D.C. draw only a fraction of 2017 turnout: ‘People are tired’
“There are plenty of secondary factors to take into consideration as well, from how easy a city makes commuting to jobs to whether it’s a good place for raising a family or engaging in recreational activities outside of work,” he said.
The analysis produced an overall rank for 182 cities, as well as a job market rank and socio-economics rank, and Detroit ranked among the worst in all three.
Overall, the Motor City came in 181st out of 182, one spot ahead of last place Memphis, Tenn. Detroit ranked 176th for job market and 178th for socio-economics.
For job market, WalletHub considered indicators like job opportunities, employment growth, starting salaries, unemployment, job security and satisfaction, full time employment, and workers in poverty, among others.
Go Ad-Free, Get Content, Go Premium Today - $1 Trial
The socio-economic rank involved a look at annual income, work and commute times, housing affordability, transportation costs, family friendliness, and other factors.
A breakdown of how cities fared under the major indicators shows Detroit ranked last for job opportunities, unemployment rate, and median annual income. Researchers note Detroit’s unemployment rate is six times higher than Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with the lowest rate, while Detroit’s median annual income was three times lower than Columbia, Maryland and four other cities that tied for first: Gilbert and Scottsdale, Ariz.; Fremont, Calif.; and Overland Park, Kan.
The only other Michigan city to make the list was Grand Rapids, which ranked 28th overall, 22nd for job market, and 63rd for socio-economics.
The top 10 cities for jobs included Scottsdale, Pittsburgh, Penn.; Columbia, Md.; South Burlington, Vt.; Porland, Maine; Charleston, S.C.; Chandler, Ariz., Washington, D.C.; Tempe, Ariz., and Orlando, Fla.
Memphis was the worst, followed by Detroit, San Bernardino, Calif.; Augusta, Ga.; Baton Rouge, La.; Gulfport, Miss.; Bakersfield, Calif.; Huntington, W. Va.; Stockton, Calif.; and Shreveport, La.
Detroit’s dismal rankings are not surprising, with the most recent data from the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget showing the jobless rate in the Detroit metropolitan area up 0.8 percentage points in the last year.
“Employment fell by 50,000, and unemployment increased by 17,000 since November 2023,” according to the department’s November unemployment report.
Detroit’s persistently high unemployment is due in part to bigger problems in Michigan under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. In just the last year, 36,000 more Michiganders became unemployed, marking a 17.3% increase since November 2023.
A recent 2024 Benchmarking Report from Business Leaders for Michigan “underscores that significant work remains to improve drivers of growth in population, household income, educational attainment and talent attraction for Michigan to be competitive with top states.”
The benchmarking report gauges the state’s progress toward the goal of becoming a top 10 state in terms of jobs, talent and a thriving economy.
Currently Michigan struggles in most metrics examined in the report, from the state’s rank of 38th among states for poverty, to ranks of 36th for gross domestic product per capita, 35th for percent of population with a higher education degree, 35th for median household income, and 33rd for labor force participation.
The only metric in which Michigan ranks among the top 10 is population, though the state’s three-year growth rank is 43rd nationally in that category.
“Creating a future where every Michigander has a clear path to prosperity requires bold leadership and unified effort. It’s up to all of us to ignite change and make Michigan a Top 10 state through the opportunities we create, the progress we achieve and the lives that will be transformed,” Business Leaders for Michigan CEO Jeff Donofrio said in a statement.
Since Whitmer took office in 2019, nearly 200,000 more Michiganders are living paycheck to paycheck, with at least 41% of the state unable to afford a “survival budget” that covers basics like food, shelter, transportation, child care and other necessities, despite most working full time.