It might feel like 2017 is barreling toward catastrophe.
So here’s a piece of optimism to hold onto for the coming months: weekly pay, employment and the number of new firms all rose across the U.S. during the first quarter of this year, according to the most recent quarterly census of employment and wages from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Indeed, an impressive 86% of the largest 345 counties experienced employment gains from Q1 2016 to the same span this year. National weekly wages grew 6.6% over that interval.
But where exactly did job growth spike the most? And, uh, should we relocate?
Previously, Savinly has examined local winners and losers in economic expansion.
For this piece, we evaluated wage increases, the tally of newly formed businesses and the average monthly rise in jobs for each of the first three months of the year. We also considered median rent across counties nationwide, then focused on the primary city.
12 Affordable Places to Live With Booming Job Markets
1. Rock Hill, South Carolina
Wage growth rank: 1
New businesses rank: 2
Job growth rank: 3
Affordability rank: 5
2. St. Augustine, Florida
Wage growth rank: 2
New businesses rank: 1
Job growth rank: 5
Affordability rank: 10
3. Bentonville, Arkansas
Wage growth rank: 10
New businesses rank: 6
Job growth rank: 1
Affordability rank: 4
4. Bend, Oregon
Wage growth rank: 5
New businesses rank: 3
Job growth rank: 8
Affordability rank: 11
5. Greeley, Colorado
Wage growth rank: 9
New businesses rank: 8
Job growth rank: 6
Affordability rank: 8
6. Denton, Texas
Wage growth rank: 3
New businesses rank: 9
Job growth rank: 12
Affordability rank: 12
7. Idaho Falls, Idaho
Wage growth rank: 11
New businesses rank: 12
Job growth rank: 2
Affordability rank: 1
8. Titusville, Florida
Wage growth rank: 6
New businesses rank: 10
Job growth rank: 7
Affordability rank: 9
9. Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Wage growth rank: 7
New businesses rank: 5
Job growth rank: 9
Affordability rank: 6
10. Caldwell, Idaho
Wage growth rank: 8
New businesses rank: 4
Job growth rank: 11
Affordability rank: 3
11. Provo, Utah
Wage growth rank: 4
New businesses rank: 7
Job growth rank: 10
Affordability rank: 7
12. St. Cloud, Minnesota
Wage growth rank: 12
New businesses rank: 11
Job growth rank: 4
Affordability rank: 2
Thinking about breaking your lease and moving to one of these metro areas? They ranked well in our review, but you should probably secure employment there first.
Be sure to monitor the The Penny Hoarder Jobs Page on Facebook for lots of openings.
Jordan Patel is a data reporter at Savinly. He was married in St. Augustine, and wouldn’t mind relocating there someday.
