Cities With Best, Worst Unemployment Rates

Ames, Iowa, leads the pack
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 21, 2017 9:36 AM CST
Cities With Best, Worst Unemployment Rates
In this 2009 file photo, job seekers wait in line at a jobs fair in Philadelphia.   (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

The nation's unemployment rate now sits below 5%, but that figure obviously varies across the country. 24/7 WallSt crunched numbers and determined the US cities faring best and worst in terms of employment. Here are the five at the bottom of the scale:

  1. El Centro, Calif.: 20.9%, up from 16.5% in 2006
  2. Yuma, Ariz.: 18.2%, up from 14.4%
  3. Visalia-Porterville, Calif.: 10.9%, up from 8.4%
  4. Merced, Calif.: 10%, up from 9.2%
  5. Bakersfield, Calif.: 9.8%, up from 7.4%

And the cities with the best unemployment rates:

  1. Ames, Iowa: 2.3%, down from 2.6% in 2006
  2. Sioux Falls, SD: 2.4%, down from 2.7%
  3. Portsmouth, NH-Maine: 2.4%, down from 3.3%
  4. Burlington-South Burlington, Vt.: 2.4%, down from 3.4%
  5. Boulder, Colo.: 2.4%, down from 3.3%
See the full rankings here. (More unemployment stories.)

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