And The Cities With The Most Highest-Paying Jobs Are…

The United States’ economy is booming. In February, according to Labor Department statistics, the U.S. economy added 678,000 new jobs, raising to 7.4 million the number of jobs added in the 13 months since Joe Biden became president and driving the national unemployment rate down to 3.8%. More than 90% of all jobs lost in the 2020 pandemic lockdown have been recovered.

So — if you are in the U.S. and you want work, jobs are out there waiting for you. But where exactly are you most likely to find the good, high-paying kind? Turns out, the most likely answer is:

Anywhere. As in, that’s where you can work from.

While San Francisco and New York are known for having high-paying jobs, a new report from a career site for professionals seeking six-figure jobs finds that high-paying remote work opportunities now top both cities — combined.

CITIES CAN’T COMPETE WITH ‘YOUR COZY LIVING ROOM’

Researchers from Ladders analyzed more than 5 million job postings from January 2020 to February 2022, and the data was clear: Physical workplaces continue to lose ground to remote work opportunities.

“When these marquee cities aren’t competing against other cities, but competing against your cozy living room, their ability to attract top talent will be lower,” says Ladders CEO and career expert Marc Cenedella.

The new data fits with Ladders’ last report on remote work in January, which showed that changes in the workforce are coming quicker than expected — and are likely long-lasting. The Ladders Quarterly Remote Work Report, released in early January, showed that 18% of all professional jobs are now remote.

TRADITIONAL OFFICE JOBS STILL WIDELY AVAILABLE IN PLACES

Marc Cenedella

“This life-changing shift to remote work is progressing even more rapidly than anyone thought it would,” Cenedella said in January. “Another 3 million jobs moved to being permanently remote in Q4 2021. The accelerating change to permanent remote now means that over 20 million professional jobs will not be going back to the office after COVID.”

Which is not to say that physical, in-person, traditional commute-to-the-office jobs are not plentiful in some cities. Au contraire. There are plenty of jobs to be had in San Francisco, the top city, and New York, the second-highest. It’s just that remote work dwarfs them both put together — and individually, the other cities on the list of most high-paying jobs, in order: Washington, D.C.; Boston; Los Angeles; Chicago; Dallas; Seattle; Atlanta; and Austin, Texas.

In fact, Ladders found 108% more jobs available remotely than in the top city, San Francisco.

“This is not a positive for San Francisco or New York, but neither is it a disaster in the short-term,” Cenedella says. “There is still plenty of demand for working and living in these places, presuming they resolve some of the quality-of-life issues that have spiraled out-of-control during the pandemic.”

He adds: “Over the next decade, it will likely mean that the premium paid for workers in places like San Francisco and New York City will be greatly reduced or go away entirely.”

Cities with the Fastest Growing Number of Professional Jobs

Data Courtesy: Ladders, Inc.

WORKERS DON’T HAVE TO MOVE SOMEWHERE TO BE BASED THERE

Ladders reports that smaller markets have seen the fastest increase in the number of high-paying jobs available over the course of the pandemic, perhaps “because people no longer have to move to these locations in order to work for businesses based in them.” As Cenedella explains, “Cities that have obvious attractions have long been magnets for talent. It’s the cities that seem constrained or challenged that will be the biggest beneficiaries of the trend to remote work.”

Between Q1 2020 and early Q1 2022, every market has seen increases in high-wage job availability. The smallest was Huntsville, Alabama with a 29% increase.

“The economy was very strong pre-pandemic, became abnormally weak for reasons that had nothing to do with the economy, and then returned to its prior hotness,” Cenedella says. “So the temporary suspension of growth has been replaced once again by real growth, and that feels like strong growth as a result.”

Cities with the Slowest Growing Number of Professional Jobs

Data Courtesy: Ladders, Inc.

DON’T MISS NEW DATA: 1/4 OF HIGH-PAYING JOBS COULD BE REMOTE BY 2023 and COMPARING THE ROI OF P&Q’S TOP BUSINESS SCHOOLS OF 2022