COLUMBIA, S.C. — Searching for jobs can be a tough process even in the best of times. But South Carolina's capital city apparently has quite a few opportunities available - enough to receive a national ranking.
According to the personal finance website WalletHub, Columbia, South Carolina ranks second for job opportunities in the United States, ranking behind only St. Louis, Missouri, and ahead of Atlanta.
It's a positive mark for the city and just one aspect of WalletHub's best cities for jobs in 2023. Others include employment growth, monthly average starting salary, unemployment rate, median annual income, average work and commute time, and availability of affordable housing.
Columbia was in neither the top nor the bottom five of the other categories, which included roughly 180 cities across the United States. It earned a respectable 82nd with all categories figured in. Columbia came in 68th in job market-related categories but a less impressive 134th among the socio-economic factors for an overall 52.86 score.
READ: Full Wallethub Ranking
In the overall rankings, one other South Carolina city actually outperformed Columbia - the perennial favorite among lists known as Charleston. The Holy City ranked 31st overall.
Charleston ranked 28th in job market categories and 61st in socio-economic ones for an overall score of 57.57.
San Francisco took the number one spot followed by another Columbia - in Maryland.
Neighboring North Carolina also had a handful of cities in the Top 100 including Raleigh ranked 36th, Charlotte at 51st, and Durham at 63rd.
In the bottom half, for North Carolina, of the list were Greensboro at 135th, Winston-Salem at 164th, and Fayetteville at 171st.
