Three Tennessee Cities Rank Among the Top 50 Best Job Markets in the U.S., According to New Study

Three Tennessee cities have ranked among the Top 50 Best Job Markets in SmartAsset’s 2023 study of the 340 largest U.S. cities.

The top cities in the nation, according to SmartAsset, were ranked by employment, income, commute, benefits and affordability data in order to determine the “best places for those looking for the best of all worlds in the job market.”

Murfreesboro ranked seventh in the study, as the city’s income-to-housing-affordability ratio was recorded at 19.2 percent where the typical income was $77,584.

In Murfreesboro, the study says, median income increased by 13.5 percent between 2019 and 2021. Further, at the time when the study was conducted, about 17.8 percent of the city’s workforce worked from home, while others had a 24.3-minute commute on average. In addition, across all workers, 83.8 percent had health insurance through their employer, and unemployment was 4.2 percent.

The next best Tennessee town in terms of its job market is Clarksville, according to the study, which ranked 34th with an unemployment rate of 4.26 percent, median income of $60,686, and income-to-housing-affordability ratio of 21.67 percent.

Chattanooga also landed a spot on the list, ranking 48th for its unemployment rate of 5.96 percent, median income of $55,065, and income-to-housing-affordability ratio of 21.86 percent.

“With interest rates up, businesses are more constrained than usual with less access to liquidity. Sometimes, these restrictions result in layoffs, pay cuts and more competitive job markets. In general, a good job market is one where a worker can make a comfortable and sustainable living, feel confident about their job security and enjoy a suitable work-life balance with important amenities like health insurance,” SmartAsset explained.

SmartAsset is a wholly owned subsidiary of Financial Insight Technology and is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment adviser, according to its website. The company publishes online tools to help individuals make decisions about personal finance.

The company’s study was published days after the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development released unemployment data showing the Volunteer State’s unemployment level remained historically low in August at 3.1 percent, as previously reported by The Tennessee Star.

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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.