The Bureau of Labor statistics is out with its latest metropolitan area unemployment figures and I’m proud to announce that of large (i.e., population over one million) American metropolitan areas the one with the lowest unemployment rate is Minneapolis-St. Paul.
It has long been the position of this blog that you should move to Minneapolis based on the high wages and low cost of living, but until recently Oklahoma City had a lower joblessness rate. Now Minneapolis is both a place with high wage jobs and a place with plentiful jobs. And, yes, it’s cold. But it’s summer right now so you should really look at moving.
If you expand the sample to include small metropolitan areas you can get even lower unemployment rates, though generally they’re in places (Bismarck, Fargo, Iowa City, Sioux Falls, Amex, Burlington, Grand Forks, Lincoln, Billings, Casper) that are also cold. The exception is the Midland, Texas metro area with an unemployment rate of 3.4 percent, and an average January high of 61 degrees. So if you really hate the cold, move to Midland. But if you’re like me and you’re a fan of bigger cities, then Minneapolis is the place to be.
