Top Cities for Jobs

Think you need to live in New York, San Fran or LA to get on the ideal career path? Think again. Forbes' list of the "Best U.S. Cities For Jobs" has mighty NYC way down at No. 75. "Usually, 22-year-olds flock to cosmopolitan cities like New York and San Francisco, assuming that's where they'll find the most opportunities for work (and, let's be honest, a social life)," writes Hannah Clark. "But they might be heading in the wrong direction."

Forbes' scientific approach to creating the list included weighing five data points equally: job growth, income growth, unemployment rate, median household income and cost of living. Then they measured those stats in the top 100 U.S. metropolitan areas from 2003 to 2006. Enough with the scientific stuff. Who tops the list?

In order, the top 10 are: Raleigh-Cary, NC; Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ; Jacksonville, FL; Orlando-Kissimmee, FL; Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV; Salt Lake City, UT; Honolulu, HI; Las Vegas-Paradise, NV; Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, FL; and Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC.

Also in the top 25 are Little Rock, Omaha Albuquerque, Oklahoma City and three more areas in Florida. Scenic Camden, New Jersey, comes in at No. 26.

So where are all the big cities? Chicago is No. 82. Boston is No. 83. San Francisco is No. 86. And LA is No. 88. Not surprisingly, Detroit is No. 100 out of 100. So, where do you live and work? [Forbes]