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The 10 best cities to find a job in 2019

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A man playing golf in Scottsdale, Arizona
Cavan Images | Getty Images

As a new year begins, many workers will be looking for new opportunities. Americans quit their jobs last year at the highest rate since 2001 — and probably will this year, too.

"For any type of employment search, you won't find a better time than right now," Thomas Moran, CEO of staffing agency Addison Group tells CNBC Make It.

Wage growth for workers remains slow, but thanks to a particularly tight labor market, the average increase in compensation for a worker who quits their old job for a new one is about 15 percent. "You're never going to get that 15 percent [increase] by staying at your current job," Brian Kropp, vice president at research firm Gartner tells CNBC Make It. "That's just not going to happen."

But not all local labor markets will have the same kinds of opportunities to offer this year. WalletHub recently compared compared 182 cities — including the 150 most populated U.S. cities and at least two of the most populated cities in each state — across 30 job market and socioeconomic variables, including job opportunities, employment growth, monthly average starting salary, unemployment, underemployment, automation risk, housing affordability and more in order to rank the best places for job seekers this year. 

Here are the 10 best places to find a job in 2019:  

10. Chandler, AZ

Golfers in Chandler, Arizona.
Stan Badz/PGA TOUR | Getty Images

Total score: 61.65

Job market ranking: 14

Socioeconomic ranking: 11

9. Boston, MA

Boston, Massachusetts
Rick Friedman | Getty Images

Total score: 61.70

Job market ranking: 7

Socioeconomic ranking: 73

8. Washington, D.C.

Washington D.C.
Danita Delimont | Getty Images

Total score: 61.79

Job market ranking: 11

Socioeconomic ranking: 32

7. Plano, TX

Plano, Texas
Source: Nick Young | Alamy Stock Photo

Total score: 62.62

Job market ranking: 5

Socioeconomic ranking: 55

6. Portland, ME

Portland, Maine.
Amolson | iStock | Getty Images

Total score: 62.81

Job market ranking: 8

Socioeconomic ranking: 36

5. Colorado Springs, CO

Colorado Springs, Colorado.
MargaretW | Getty Images

Total score: 62.85

Job market ranking: 6

Socioeconomic ranking: 42

4. San Francisco, CA

San Francisco, California
Katherine Papera / EyeEm | Getty Images

Total score: 64.67

Job market ranking: 3

Socioeconomic ranking: 25

3. Orlando, FL

Orlando, Florida
Lightkey | E+ | Getty Images

Total score: 64.76

Job market ranking: 1

Socioeconomic ranking: 48

2. Columbia, MD

Columbia, Maryland
Source: Ackerman+Gruber | MONEY

Total score: 65.78

Job market ranking: 4

Socioeconomic ranking: 5

1. Scottsdale, AZ

Scottsdale, Arizona
KingWu | Getty Images

Total score: 66.58

Job market ranking: 2

Socioeconomic ranking: 6

Scottsdale, Arizona, topped WalletHub's list as the best city to find a job in 2019. The Phoenix suburb, population 234,495, boasts a strong job market and socioeconomic ranking. The city has a median household income of $76,743 and a median property value of $405,500.

Closely following Scottsdale is Columbia, Maryland, a city with a population of 103,439, a median household income of $102,899 and a median property value of $364,900. Columbia, like many of the other cities on the list of best places to find a job, has a strong presence of tech and healthcare employers.

"We anticipate strong continued growth in cybersecurity and healthcare," Daraius Irani, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research at Towson University, tells WalletHub. "Nationwide there are about [300,000] unfilled openings in these fields, for Maryland, that number is around 20,000. The demand for healthcare is driven by demographics as more individuals routinely live past 90 and even more are expected to live beyond 100. For Maryland, there are currently 17,000 unfilled job openings."

Big cities like Orlando, San Francisco, Washington D.C. and Boston also cracked the top 10.

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