It’s one thing to find your calling in life; it’s another to find a place you can call home. Of course, you have to be able to afford it—so if you want to buy a nice house these days, your location is very important to your vocation. Right?
Of course, certain locales are known as the meccas to develop certain types of careers. You know the (well-founded) clichés: Software engineers head over to Silicon Valley, fashion designers decamp to New York, topless acrobatic juggler-magicians congregate in Reno (or so we’re told). But where’s the best place to develop your career as a private detective? Or as a funeral director?
Our (very much employed, thank you) data team set out to find America’s new career centers. We hand-picked 11 vastly different occupations and calculated which cities hold the best prospects for employment—and, of course, for buying a home to settle in to for the long term.
To determine the likelihood of actually finding work in a given profession, we used data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to rank the 300 largest metropolitan areas based on the average salary and available jobs for that profession. We also considered the percentage of income it would take to buy a median-price home (assuming a 20% down payment and 30-year fixed mortgage term) as a ranking factor.
Prepare to learn more about some life paths that you may not have considered!
Animal trainer: Ocala, FL
Average salary: $29,400
Median home price: $161,000
It’s hard to spend any time at all in this small northern Florida city without realizing that it is the “Horse Capital of the World,” as evidenced by the 70,000 acres of thoroughbred breeding and training farms (and the frequent signs telling you it’s indeed the “Horse Capital of the World”). A dense concentration of equine trainers makes Ocala the ideal city for aspiring and experienced animal trainers alike.
The local history of this profession dates to the 1940s, when the country’s first thoroughbred farm was founded there. Last year, 10 of the 19 horses entered into the Kentucky Derby had roots in Ocala. Even though animal training isn’t the most lucrative (or best smelling) career, the modest local home prices help home buyers maintain a healthy loan-to-income ratio of 24.8%—lower than the recommended 28%.
Private detective: Baltimore, MD
Average salary: $51,400
Median home price: $258,000
From Humphrey Bogart‘s Sam Spade to Benedict Cumberbatch‘s Sherlock Holmes, “private detective” carries an alluring sheen of (smoldering) mystery. Unfortunately, the compensation isn’t quite as attractive. The national average salary for detectives is merely $52,880, 30% less than their counterparts in police departments. Nor can a private investigator likely afford a home like Holmes’ 221B Baker Street in London, which today would cost at least $1 million (but then again, he was renting).
Our own “investigation” pointed to Baltimore as the best place for P.I.s, offering a decent salary, plenty of gigs, and affordable housing. Coming in a close second is New York City, where detectives make a higher salary ($62,310) but have to shell out more for housing. There’s plenty to investigate, though, trust us.
Biomedical engineer: Minneapolis, MN
Average salary: $112,960
Median home price: $284,000
No, we didn’t pick Silicon Valley or biotech hub San Diego. Rather, we made our way to the Midwest. Minneapolis, with a concentration of biomedical talent and a high average salary, appears to be the best bet for biomedical engineers. In fact, this urban center has long been a leader in biotech, going back to the late 1950s when Medtronic, the world’s biggest medical technology development company, was founded there. Yes, the company moved its headquarters to Ireland, but operations are still run out of the Minneapolis suburb of Fridley.
Other prominent employers in the region include St. Jude Medical, Boston Scientific, and 3M Co. The twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul also offer some of the country’s highest salaries for biomedical engineers. The local average of $112,960 is almost 30% higher than the national average.
Funeral director: Oklahoma City, OK
Average salary: $78,510
Median home price: $208,000
Once thought recession-proof, the funeral industry—which brought in $16 billion in 2012—has fallen on hard times, with a 10% drop in the number of funeral homes over the past decade, according to the National Funeral Directors Association. (“Six Feet Under” ended just over 10 years ago—coincidence??) It’s all about an increase in consolidation, not a decrease in death.
In the Midwest, Oklahoma offers one of the best salaries for morticians or undertakers. The specialized skill of embalmers, who disinfect and preserve the body, is projected to be entering its own decline, according to the BLS. Currently, embalmers make $42,100 a year on a national average. In case you were wondering, Peoria, IL, and New Orleans have the highest concentration of embalmers. Now you know.
Air traffic controller: Cleveland, OH
Average salary: $142,260
Median home price: $133,000
Of all the professions in the aviation industry, air traffic controller is quite possibly the least cool. But do you know an air traffic controller is paid almost as much as a pilot? These backstage heroes, who work 24/7 in guiding planes and ensuring flight safety, often work under great stress (and antiquated technology), but they’re rewarded with a national average salary of $118,780. And if you’re (hot) in Cleveland, you can factor in an additional $20,000 to your annual pay. On top of the salary boost, another perk of living in the city of light is cheap (and decent) housing. With this kind of salary, you’ll be able to afford more than the median $133,000 home, easy.
Fitness trainer: Eugene, OR
Average salary: $35,510
Median home price: $278,000
Tighten your shoelaces and prepare to run in Eugene! Nicknamed “Track Town, USA,” Eugene is the site of the Olympic trials and the country’s best running programs, at the University of Oregon. Running fever infects seemingly everyone in this Pacific Northwest city, with runners dashing through the hills and along the Willamette River, often wearing Nike gear (Eugene is also the birthplace of Nike, natch). One in every 200 people here is a fitness trainer or aerobics instructor, likely the highest concentration in the U.S.
Nurse anesthetist: Knoxville, TN
Average salary: $171,020
Median home price: $248,000
While a registered nurse makes around $70,000 a year, a certified nurse anesthetist makes at least double that figure. And with ever-rising health care costs, they’re becoming much in-demand alternatives to traditional (and far pricier) doctor anesthesiologists. Rural America, in particular, has become especially dependent on them.
In Knoxville, where the University of Tennessee Nursing School supplies the region with skilled nurses, you’ll find the highest concentration and some of the highest salaries for this profession.
Animator: Seattle, WA
Average salary: $76,210
Median home price: $399,000
Animating characters for “Zootopia,” designing Angry Birds, creating special effects for “The Martian”—hey, isn’t being an animator the coolest job on Earth? Our data crunch method landed Seattle as the top place for a bright career as a multimedia artist, beating the film industry mecca Los Angeles. Top employers in Seattle include Electronic Arts, Amazon, and Microsoft.
Bartenders: Atlantic City, NJ
Average salary: $26,310 plus tips
Median home price: $207,000
In the past couple of years, we’ve occasionally seen news stories of bartenders and servers who make $100,000 a year. We were curious about how much bartenders actually make—but since it’s hard to trace undocumented tips, we had to look at the base salary, which barely passes $22,000 nationally.
The best city for drink-makers is Atlantic City, where we have to assume that a lucky (or unlucky) feeling entices customers to have one more glass. Higher-than-average base salary and affordable housing beat the runner-up Las Vegas, but home-buying bartenders in Atlantic City still see mortgage payments bite off 36% of their income (without tips). So polish those bottle-twirling tricks and pour more drinks!
Cartographers: Washington, DC
Average salary: $88,270
Median home price: $398,000
In case you wonder why we bring up a profession reminiscent of Christopher Columbus‘ era, cartography, aka mapmaking, in the digital era is nothing like it used to be. People use maps more than ever—only now they’re on mobile apps and websites. For the cartographer, computer software has replaced pencils and compasses. The field is projected by the BLS as one of the fastest-growing professions, with 29% growth and 7,400 job openings in the next decade. Modern cartographers earn $64,570 on average. The nation’s capital offers the highest salary of $88,270 and the best opportunities, featuring employers from National Geographic to the CIA and private defense contractors.
Kindergarten teachers: Visalia, CA
Average salary: $66,980
Median home price: $228,000
In Visalia, you can have a fulfilling career introducing young children to the joys of learning as a kindergarten teacher, while maintaining a quality life of your own. While the national average salary for kindergarten teachers is $53,480, Visalia offers 25% more—one of the highest in the country. Life in this Central California city may not be as exciting as San Francisco and Los Angeles, but you don’t have to worry about scraping up money for a monthly mortgage payment. In San Francisco, a whopping 57% of a kindergarten teacher’s salary would go toward house payments (if, indeed, you could manage to find and buy one in the country’s hottest market).
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