Top 10 Cities for Healthcare Jobs in 2018

Executives know the importance of landing the best talent to help navigate the unpredictable waters of healthcare. Understanding where top talent is looking for jobs in healthcare can be the first step.

Radbil

“Studies about job opportunity can impact salary, total compensation, and employee satisfaction,” says Sam Radbil, senior communications manager at ABODO Apartments. “Job seekers in healthcare are always on the move and if execs at major healthcare companies can become more aware of the top landing spots for job seekers, perhaps they can pursue talent in those areas or create more alluring job opportunities in their cities.”

“Best Cities for Job Seekers: Where To Move For The Fastest Growing Careers,” a new report from ABODO Apartments, identified the top five occupations (which included healthcare practitioners), the 50 most populous Metropolitan Statistical Areas, and ranked each for each occupation by their 2016 location quotient from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment Statistics from 2012 to 2016. The 22 major occupation groups, as identified by the BLS, were first ranked by the percent change in number of employees from 2012 to 2016 according to BLS Current Population Survey.

“Our analysis of job concentrations shows that for four of the five fastest-growing jobs, chances are, job-seekers won’t necessarily need to relocate in order to find opportunities in their field, but they might want to in order to chase the perfect position or pursue growth,” Radbil says. “The coasts, especially, are ripe with opportunity, but even Midwestern and inland areas, like Minneapolis and Austin, offer ample opportunity in these popular careers-and often with cheaper housing and a lower general cost of living.”

When it comes to healthcare specifically, Radbil says that it's clear that those jobs must exist everywhere for people to remain healthy. “Jobs such as physicians, surgeons, lab technicians, dentists, physical therapists, and support technologists are extremely important and can often be found in any major or mid-major city.”

Still, he says, some cities rise to the top-and they’re probably not the cities you’d expect. Others, that you might expect to top the list, did not.

“Some cities like Washington, D.C., Rochester, MN, Birmingham, AL, and Los Angeles have major healthcare operations, but are not the best places for job seekers in this field. Overall, job density compared to the rest of the country helped us determine the best cities for those jobs in healthcare.

“We believe that technology and digital innovation is a massive driving force within the healthcare industry, much like in other industries we studied in this report,” Radbil says. “Technology will aid in the development of personal medicine, innovation in job performance, and overall performance of employees. Healthcare organizations will likely be able to increase in size and engage in nontraditional partnerships because of technology implementation. Overall, this will help healthcare operations increase revenue and overall efficiency. All of this will help to create more valuable jobs for job seekers throughout the country.”

Here are the top 10 metro areas for healthcare jobs in 2018, according to the report:

#10. Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN

Louisville is home to the most "aging care" businesses in the country, making healthcare a very popular industry, according to Radbil.

#9. Providence-Warwick, RI-MA

Providence is a national leader in non-profit health systems and the city is a leading authority in healthcare digital innovation.

#8. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

“Boston is one of the largest cities in the country and with numerous top-level universities nearby, healthcare students are staying close to home for jobs in the city,” says Radbil.

#7 Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD

Baltimore is a leader in healthcare innovation and technology, “making it a great place for healthcare technology jobs and students,” according to Radbil.

#6. Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN

Indianapolis, like New Orleans, has about 1.2x more job density in healthcare than the national average.

#5. Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City universities and colleges have some of the top-ranked healthcare programs in the country.

#4 New Orleans-Metairie, LA

New Orleans has about 1.2x more job density in healthcare than the national average.

#3. Pittsburgh

“Pittsburgh is home to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, which creates a ton of jobs for local healthcare pros,” Radbil says.

#2. Cleveland-Elyria, OH

According to Radbil, Cleveland is home to major clinics and hospitals, creating a ton of jobs in the city. The Cleveland Clinic is a major player in healthcare in the city.

#1. Birmingham-Hoover, AL

“Birmingham is home to the highest concentration of healthcare jobs in the U.S.,” says Radbil.