The 10 Best Cities for STEM Jobs

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A recent report found there were 2.5 STEM job openings for every person who graduates with a 4-year STEM degree. With such high demand, many cities are working overtime to lure STEM employers. These cities are doing the best job.

STEM—Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math—has become the major buzzword in both business and education.

Innovative companies continue to say they need more workers trained in STEM areas. Universities and other educational institutions have responded by pumping more money into those fields and encouraging students to major in STEM subjects.

A 2014 report by Burning Glass Technologies found employers posted 5.7 million STEM job openings in 2013. Most of those jobs 4.4 million, required at least a bachelor’s degree. Those jobs advertised average salaries of about $66,000. The 2.3 million entry-level jobs posted paid about $52,000 per year, on average.

Meanwhile, the report found there were 2.5 job openings for every person who graduates with a 4-year STEM degree.

With such high demand, it’s no wonder many cities are working hard to recruit STEM-related employers to their areas.

The personal finance website WalletHub took a look at the success those cities are having, coming up with a list of best and worst metro areas for STEM professionals. What follows is a look at the Top 10 finishers in the study.

The study included the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the US, and ranked them based on 11 factors, including number of STEM job openings, median wage growth, and job projections. The rankings below are based on WalletHub’s study. The data below come from the Brookings Institution and the US Census Bureau.

10. Cincinnati, OH