Downtown Huntsville 1 — A view of downtown Huntsville. (Nathan Watson / Bham Now)

Looking to grow your career? According to a study by SmartAsset, Tuscaloosa and Huntsville are among the top five best places for career opportunities in the nation. Keep reading to find out why.

Where Huntsville + Tuscaloosa ranked

Despite rising inflation and recent stock market instability, it’s still a job seeker’s market. To help those looking for a new job or wanting to progress in their career, SmartAsset sought out the best access to career opportunities in the nation.

Out of over 200 metros that were included in the study, Tuscaloosa and Huntsville made it to the top five—go Alabama! To create the city rankings, SmartAsset looked at 200 of the largest metros in the US across nine key metrics, including:

employment
earnings
housing costs
access to career guidance

Huntsville came in just shy of the top spot at #2, with the fifth lowest May 2022 unemployment rate and the seventh highest for income growth among professionals aged 25 to 44 and those aged 45 to 64.

Psst!…check out more than 15K job openings available in the Huntsville area right now.

Tuscaloosa took the #4 spot, ranking in the top fifth of metro areas for its May 2022 unemployment rate and one-year change in total employment. Plus, Tuscaloosa has the 27th lowest annual housing costs ($10,152) and the 24th highest access to career help and professional guidance.

A look at the top 10

Tuscaloosa and Huntsville are in good company, beating out major metro areas like Atlanta, Georgia and Salt Lake City, Utah. Here are the official top 10 rankings:

1. Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN

2. Huntsville, AL

3. Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY

4. Tuscaloosa, AL

5. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA

6. Cedar Rapids, IA

7. Dayton, OH

8. Salt Lake City, UT

9. Fort Wayne, IN

10. Toledo, OH

This news comes hot off the heels of Hunstville’s ranking as the best place to live in the country. Follow Hville Blast on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date with one of Alabama’s buzziest cities.

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