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Parkersburg, West Virginia Named Least Competitive U.S. Market for High-Paying Jobs

In some cities, there are dozens of applicants per day trying for the best-paid jobs — while others barely attract any applications at all. To have a chance at the big bucks, it’s essential to know the market — so Career.io has identified the cities and states with the highest application rates for top-paid jobs on LinkedIn.

You don’t need a degree in rocket science to recognize that highly-paid jobs are pretty attractive to most people. But academics have used science to prove a less intuitive fact about top-dollar work: higher pay attracts applications from “higher quality” candidates, as measured by IQ, personality and motivation. And not, as you might think, a bunch of less suitable candidates attracted by an extra “zero” at the end of the advertised salary.

That’s great for high-paying employers. But when you’re one of those “high-quality” candidates for a particular job, a bigger salary means tougher competition for the role. And while employers put hundreds of thousands more jobs on the U.S. market each month, more than 30 million workers quit in 2023. So, navigating the crowd to a highly-paid job requires more than talent.

Since competition for these roles is far from even across the U.S., Career.io has crunched the data to find which job markets are most and least competitive for highly paid jobs. These are the states and major cities you might consider — or reconsider — in your search for a top salary in your field of work. And following our analysis, you’ll find some tips on how to stand out against the competition. 

Key Findings

This information was published by Career.io

The Methodology Behind This Study 

To determine the most and least competitive markets for highly paid jobs, Career.io reviewed data on job application activity for job postings on LinkedIn. 

Cities and states were ranked based on the number of daily job applicants for highly paid jobs within the area. The threshold for a “highly paid” job within a city or state was determined by doubling the local median annual wage and then applied on LinkedIn to tabulate the number of jobs within a city or state above the “highly paid” threshold. 

The number of daily applicants per job was calculated by dividing the total number of applicants for “highly paid” jobs by the total number of days each job posting had been listed. 

Data on median annual wage is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and is at the metropolitan statistical area and state levels. 

Career.io considered the 100 most populated cities in the United States, as well as the five most populated cities within each state.

Data was collected in December 2023.

Easy-Access Research Notes

The Top 20 Most Competitive Cities

RankCityStateAvg Daily Applicants Per Job
1Salt Lake CityUtah34.9
2Saint LouisMissouri33.4
3DenverColorado31.9
4San JoseCalifornia29.6
5Kansas CityKansas27.4
6San FranciscoCalifornia24.1
7Santa AnaCalifornia22.3
8Los AngelesCalifornia21.8
9Jersey CityNew Jersey21.2
10New YorkNew York10.2
11San DiegoCalifornia10.1
12RoswellNew Mexico9.1
13SeattleWashington7.3
14BostonMassachusetts7.2
15Las VegasNevada6.5
16RiversideCalifornia6.5
17CincinnatiOhio6.0
18MiamiFlorida5.5
19StamfordConnecticut4.7
20TampaFlorida4.7

The Top 20 Least Competitive Cities

RankCityStateAvg Daily Applicants Per Job
1ParkersburgWest Virginia0.000
2NampaIdaho0.001
3ButteMontana0.003
4SitkaAlaska0.005
5Grand IslandNebraska0.007
6KearneyNebraska0.024
7DoverNew Hampshire0.025
8LaredoTexas0.026
9MorgantownWest Virginia0.026
10OlatheKansas0.030
11EvansvilleIndiana0.041
12DoverDelaware0.043
13BismarckNorth Dakota0.043
14HattiesburgMississippi0.044
15WarwickRhode Island0.044
16FargoNorth Dakota0.052
17DavenportIowa0.056
18ShreveportLouisiana0.067
19ToledoOhio0.068
20Green BayWisconsin0.068

The Most Competitive States

StateAvg Daily Applicants Per Job
Utah22.6
South Carolina21.8
Missouri19.2
Colorado17.1
Kansas16.0
Hawaii15.2
California15.2
Vermont14.9
New Jersey14.9
Ohio11.6
Virginia10.9
Arkansas10.2
Delaware10.0
Alabama8.8
Montana8.5
Wyoming8.3
Arizona8.2
Maine7.8
Alaska7.8
Nevada7.7
Connecticut6.6
Indiana6.6
Massachusetts6.4
Oklahoma6.1
Pennsylvania5.9
Nebraska5.4
Florida4.8
Idaho4.7
Minnesota4.6
Michigan4.6
Tennessee4.6
New York4.5
Washington4.5
Texas3.9
Rhode Island3.8
New Mexico3.8
New Hampshire3.3
Georgia3.0
Louisiana3.0
Kentucky2.8
Illinois1.8
North Carolina1.3
Maryland1.3
Iowa0.8
Oregon0.7
South Dakota0.6
North Dakota0.4
Wisconsin0.3
Mississippi0.3
West Virginia0.1

The Most Competitive City in Each State

StateCityAvg Daily Applicants Per Job
AlabamaBirmingham1.3
AlaskaAnchorage26.7
ArizonaPhoenix15.0
ArkansasSpringdale7.7
CaliforniaSan Jose29.6
ColoradoDenver31.9
ConnecticutBridgeport7.9
DelawareNewark10.7
FloridaMiami5.5
GeorgiaAtlanta2.5
HawaiiHilo3.7
IdahoCaldwell6.2
IllinoisChicago3.1
IndianaCarmel9.9
IowaIowa City1.2
KansasKansas City27.4
KentuckyLouisville8.4
LouisianaNew Orleans0.5
MaineLewiston7.6
MarylandBaltimore1.0
MassachusettsBoston7.2
MichiganAnn Arbor2.8
MinnesotaRochester14.6
MississippiSouthaven1.5
MissouriSaint Louis33.4
MontanaMissoula11.5
NebraskaOmaha1.2
NevadaHenderson19.3
New HampshireManchester0.2
New JerseyEdison25.7
New MexicoRoswell9.1
New YorkNew York10.2
North CarolinaRaleigh2.1
North DakotaFargo0.1
OhioCincinnati6.0
OklahomaNorman6.8
OregonPortland2.0
PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia2.7
Rhode IslandProvidence0.3
South CarolinaColumbia0.5
South DakotaSioux Falls1.3
TennesseeClarksville14.5
TexasAustin4.6
UtahSalt Lake City34.9
VermontRutland4.5
VirginiaArlington1.1
WashingtonBellevue9.7
West VirginiaCharleston0.1
WisconsinMilwaukee0.5
WyomingCasper6.7

The Least Competitive City in Each State

StateCityAvg Daily Applicants Per Job
AlabamaTuscaloosa0.11
AlaskaSitka0.01
ArizonaGilbert0.10
ArkansasJonesboro0.03
CaliforniaBakersfield0.24
ColoradoColorado Springs0.44
ConnecticutWaterbury0.08
DelawareDover0.04
FloridaSt. Petersburg0.21
GeorgiaColumbus0.07
HawaiiHonolulu0.17
IdahoNampa0.00
IllinoisAurora0.08
IndianaEvansville0.04
IowaDavenport0.06
KansasOlathe0.03
KentuckyBowling Green0.09
LouisianaShreveport0.07
MaineSouth Portland0.03
MarylandColumbia0.61
MassachusettsLowell0.02
MichiganGrand Rapids0.36
MinnesotaSaint Paul0.12
MississippiBiloxi0.03
MissouriIndependence0.02
MontanaButte0.00
NebraskaGrand Island0.01
NevadaReno0.19
New HampshireNashua0.01
New JerseyPaterson0.03
New MexicoRio Rancho0.03
New YorkYonkers0.08
North CarolinaWinston-Salem0.52
North DakotaMinot0.01
OhioToledo0.07
OklahomaBroken Arrow0.05
OregonGresham0.04
PennsylvaniaErie0.18
Rhode IslandWarwick0.04
South CarolinaMount Pleasant0.04
South DakotaAberdeen0.00
TennesseeChattanooga0.26
TexasLaredo0.03
UtahProvo0.10
VermontBennington0.00
VirginiaNorfolk0.11
WashingtonSpokane0.34
West VirginiaParkersburg0.00
WisconsinRacine0.05
WyomingCheyenne0.30

About Career.io

Career.io is an end-to-end job search and career platform with everything you need for your job search and career growth, all in one place. 

At Career.io, you can find tools and advice to help elevate every step in your career — whether you want to create a successful resume, land a job in your dream company, compare your salary or prepare for an important interview. 

The Career.io team regularly shares career advice and resources on their blog, their podcast and their expert webinars. In addition to this, Career.io also publishes insightful studies that cover the job market, salary trends, workplace issues, top employers, in-demand skills and other topics that will help prepare their users for their next career jump.

About NeoMam Studios

Founded in 2011 in the UK, NeoMam Studios is a creative studio on a mission to create

digital content that online audiences will want to share for months and years to come. NeoMam was commissioned by Career.io to produce and promote this project on their behalf.

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