Best Large Metros for Opportunity

Metropolitan areas of one million or more, ranked by Opportunity

How the largest US labor markets compare on employment conditions and earnings.

40 locations · Calculated August 29, 2026

#	Metro	Score	Unemployment rate	Median household income
1	Raleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area	92	3.1%	$100,103
2	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metro Area	88	3.5%	$89,724
3	Urban Honolulu, HI Metro Area	85	3.1%	$106,195
4	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN Metro Area	85	3.2%	$85,447
5	Columbus, OH Metro Area	84	3.3%	$81,945
6	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Metro Area	82	4.1%	$100,431
7	Salt Lake City-Murray, UT Metro Area	81	3.6%	$98,083
8	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metro Area	80	4.1%	$91,289
9	Pittsburgh, PA Metro Area	79	3.8%	$75,762
10	Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN Metro Area	79	3.4%	$79,852
11	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area	77	3.6%	$83,304
12	Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metro Area	77	3.9%	$81,120
13	Kansas City, MO-KS Metro Area	76	3.7%	$83,460
14	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metro Area	76	4.0%	$99,470
15	St. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area	75	3.8%	$80,196
16	Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area	72	3.8%	$78,218
17	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metro Area	71	4.0%	$162,111
18	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metro Area	71	4.5%	$99,155
19	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area	69	3.9%	$115,863
20	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metro Area	68	4.7%	$90,275
21	Cleveland, OH Metro Area	67	3.1%	$70,678
22	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL Metro Area	62	4.6%	$78,533
23	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Metro Area	61	3.9%	$76,527
24	Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV Metro Area	61	5.2%	$76,472
25	Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metro Area	60	3.7%	$87,040
26	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA Metro Area	60	4.4%	$106,268
27	Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Metro Area	59	5.2%	$82,168
28	Richmond, VA Metro Area	58	3.8%	$86,679
29	Rochester, NY Metro Area	58	4.0%	$76,284
30	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Metro Area	57	3.9%	$105,762
31	Birmingham, AL Metro Area	57	3.7%	$71,498
32	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA Metro Area	56	4.8%	$97,188
33	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metro Area	56	4.2%	$136,027
34	Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area	55	4.1%	$72,237
35	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX Metro Area	55	4.8%	$76,213
36	Oklahoma City, OK Metro Area	54	4.2%	$72,094
37	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area	54	4.1%	$126,684
38	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro Area	53	4.4%	$99,833
39	Jacksonville, FL Metro Area	52	4.8%	$79,643
40	Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC Metro Area	51	4.0%	$82,330

Methodology

The AreaProfile Opportunity signal applied to metropolitan areas, using BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics for the metro and ACS five-year estimates for income and educational attainment.

What is excluded, and why

Metropolitan areas under one million residents.

40 of 94 published metros qualified.

Sources

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Local Area Unemployment Statistics (la)
U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File) (2024)

Full details of how signals and the Area Score are calculated are on the methodology page.