Columbus ranks No. 24 on Indeed's "Best Cities for Work" list
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Columbus ranks among the top 25 cities in the country for work in a new report from job website Indeed.
Why it matters: The new Best Cities for Work rankings aim to flip the script on lists that prioritize businesses — instead gauging whether a city is a good place to be an employee.
- We rank No. 24.
How it works: Indeed ranked 233 U.S. metro areas with more than 200,000 residents based on six key areas:
- Job opportunity — the ease of chasing a job and the ratio of jobs to seekers.
- Compensation — the prospects of earning enough to build a good life.
- Job quality and security — a gauge of the likeliness of job loss, access to benefits and exposure to AI disruption.
- Career mobility — how plausible is it to climb the ladder or pivot your career?
- Life and flexibility — external factors like commuting, housing costs, amenities and access.
- Economic opportunity — gauging outcome equity among gender and racial lines and other factors.
Zoom in: Columbus' best attribute is career mobility, where we rank No. 6 of the top 25. Our No. 12 job opportunity ranking helps.
- We're toward the bottom of that group in life and flexibility (No. 21) and job quality and security (No. 22).
The big picture: The top of the list includes expected names like Austin and San Francisco, but also smaller metros like Rochester, Minnesota and Fargo, North Dakota.
What they're saying: That diversity doesn't surprise Indeed Hiring Lab economist Cory Stahle, who says the list was designed to provide the opposite perspective of business-focused lists of its kind.
- "The takeaway here is going to be what's important to you," he tells Axios. "Sometimes, there are things you can't measure. But as a job-seeker, I think this tool and data are really helpful."