The 100 best cities in the U.S. to build a career

Monster has launched a new Build-a-Career Score, ranking 100 of the largest U.S. metros based on where career opportunity and rental affordability come together. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, took theNo. 1 spot.

Unlike traditional rankings that look at jobs or housing costs in isolation, Monster’s new score measures both sides of the equation to identify where workers may have the strongest foundation for long-term career success.

The inaugural ranking surfaced some surprising geographic trends: Ohio placed five metros in the top 10, and Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin together accounted for nine of the 10 highest-ranked metros.

---

WOMEN IN BUSINESS: The Most Influential Women in Arizona for 2026

WOMEN IN REAL ESTATE: The Most Influential Women in Commercial Real Estate for 2026

---

Top 100 Build-a-Career Rankings (Full List)

Browse the full list of the 100 best cities for career growth in the U.S. in 2026, including each metro’s Build-a-Career Score, Career Opportunity Score, and Rental Affordability Score.

Rank	Metro	Build-a-Career Score	Career Opportunity Score	Rental Affordability Score
1	Harrisburg, PA	92.8	100.0	85.6
2	Akron, OH	86.0	77.4	94.7
3	Dayton, OH	84.7	78.3	91.1
4	Madison, WI	82.1	86.4	77.8
5	Cleveland, OH	81.0	75.4	86.7
6	Toledo, OH	81.0	68.8	93.1
7	Columbus, OH	80.6	77.1	84.2
8	Pittsburgh, PA	80.4	76.9	84.0
9	Kansas City, MO	80.1	76.9	83.2
10	Milwaukee, WI	79.4	75.3	83.6
11	Scranton, PA	77.5	64.3	90.8
12	Greenville, SC	77.0	70.8	83.3
13	Augusta, GA	76.9	67.9	86.0
14	Charleston, SC	76.9	89.6	64.1
15	Nashville, TN	76.7	80.3	73.2
16	Des Moines, IA	76.6	59.8	93.4
17	Greensboro, NC	76.5	64.9	88.2
18	Indianapolis, IN	76.5	70.0	83.0
19	Richmond, VA	76.3	78.0	74.6
20	Wichita, KS	75.7	54.3	97.1
21	Grand Rapids, MI	75.2	70.2	80.2
22	Syracuse, NY	74.9	70.1	79.8
23	Omaha, NE	73.6	60.0	87.3
24	Albany, NY	73.4	69.0	77.9
25	Little Rock, AR	73.2	51.1	95.3
26	Cincinnati, OH	73.0	64.0	82.1
27	Salt Lake City, UT	72.3	65.2	79.5
28	Hartford, CT	72.3	78.5	66.1
29	Tulsa, OK	72.2	53.4	91.1
30	Durham, NC	71.4	65.7	77.0
31	Knoxville, TN	71.1	67.7	74.6
32	Buffalo, NY	70.9	54.5	87.3
33	Virginia Beach, VA	70.5	70.4	70.6
34	Austin, TX	70.5	61.2	79.7
35	St. Louis, MO	70.1	53.0	87.1
36	Columbia, SC	69.7	55.7	83.6
37	Rochester, NY	69.6	57.9	81.2
38	Charlotte, NC	69.4	63.4	75.5
39	Birmingham, AL	69.4	51.5	87.2
40	Albuquerque, NM	68.1	51.1	85.0
41	Boise City, ID	68.0	64.3	71.6
42	Louisville, KY	67.8	45.9	89.7
43	Minneapolis, MN	67.6	58.9	76.3
44	Raleigh, NC	67.2	57.2	77.3
45	Spokane, WA	67.1	51.0	83.1
46	Dallas, TX	66.9	55.7	78.0
47	Memphis, TN	66.8	46.2	87.5
48	Oklahoma City, OK	66.6	44.0	89.2
49	Jacksonville, FL	65.5	53.9	77.1
50	Detroit, MI	65.4	45.7	85.1
51	Winston-Salem, NC	64.6	45.9	83.3
52	Colorado Springs, CO	64.2	53.9	74.4
53	Denver, CO	63.8	58.9	68.7
54	Baltimore, MD	62.9	57.5	68.3
55	San Antonio, TX	62.4	36.0	88.9
56	Springfield, MA	61.4	55.5	67.4
57	New Orleans, LA	61.3	42.4	80.2
58	Allentown, PA	61.3	51.8	70.8
59	Jackson, MS	61.0	34.9	87.1
60	Phoenix, AZ	60.8	46.2	75.4
61	Palm Bay, FL	60.2	52.1	68.3
62	Baton Rouge, LA	60.0	30.7	89.4
63	Orlando, FL	59.4	52.9	66.0
64	Atlanta, GA	59.2	46.8	71.5
65	Tampa, FL	58.1	51.8	64.4
66	Philadelphia, PA	58.0	47.5	68.5
67	Deltona, FL	56.9	40.8	72.9
68	Houston, TX	56.5	33.4	79.5
69	Tucson, AZ	56.2	26.2	86.2
70	Worcester, MA	55.5	53.1	57.8
71	Washington, DC	55.2	61.9	48.4
72	Provo, UT	54.3	36.4	72.1
73	North Port, FL	53.7	48.5	58.9
74	Ogden, UT	53.6	27.4	79.9
75	Portland, OR	53.5	33.8	73.2
76	Cape Coral, FL	52.6	35.4	69.9
77	Providence, RI	52.4	46.3	58.6
78	Lakeland, FL	51.4	31.7	71.1
79	McAllen, TX	50.3	0.6	100.0
80	El Paso, TX	50.1	15.9	84.3
81	Poughkeepsie, NY	49.7	42.3	57.0
82	Chicago, IL	48.5	42.7	54.4
83	Seattle, WA	47.8	39.7	55.8
84	Las Vegas, NV	46.0	16.4	75.6
85	Boston, MA	45.1	73.6	16.6
86	New Haven, CT	42.7	27.9	57.6
87	Bakersfield, CA	38.9	4.3	73.6
88	Sacramento, CA	36.3	18.9	53.7
89	Urban Honolulu, HI	34.1	42.5	25.8
90	Miami, FL	34.1	30.9	37.3
91	Bridgeport, CT	33.0	35.2	30.9
92	Fresno, CA	32.2	0.0	64.3
93	Stockton, CA	32.1	16.0	48.2
94	San Diego, CA	31.5	36.0	27.0
95	Riverside, CA	27.6	10.8	44.3
96	San Francisco, CA	24.5	34.4	14.7
97	Los Angeles, CA	24.4	20.2	28.7
98	Oxnard, CA	23.1	20.4	25.9
99	San Jose, CA	22.6	45.3	0.0
100	New York, NY	15.6	26.3	4.9

Methodology

Monster developed a proprietary Build-a-Career Score to identify U.S. metropolitan areas with the strongest combination of career opportunity and rental affordability.

Unlike rankings that focus only on job availability or housing costs, the Build-a-Career Score considers both, recognizing that access to employment opportunities and rental costs can shape where workers are better positioned to build a career.

The analysis includes 100 large U.S. metropolitan areas with matched labor market and Zillow rental data.