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10 Great Cities For Construction And Extraction Jobs In 2017

This article is more than 6 years old.

In any metropolitan area in the United States, there are jobs available in any number of fields and industries. But there are places where it’s easier to find a certain type of job, given the percentage of positions of that type available in the overall job market.

When it comes to the construction and extraction industries, there are some areas in the U.S. where finding work and paying the costs of living are just a tad easier. To get a sense of those places, we looked to a recently published report from Adobo, a rental apartment search company.

For a rundown of the places where life is just a bit better for construction workers and extractors, check out our slideshow below, based on Adobo’s study.

Topping Adobo’s list is Baton Rouge. The Louisiana capitol is not a breakout star in categories like apartment costs or median wages, but the sheer number of jobs available in the area puts it above all other cities on the roster.

Baton Rouge offers 99.5 construction or extraction jobs for every 1,000 jobs available. Median wages in the city stand at $44,900 and, as of July 1, a one-bedroom apartment costs a median $798 per month.

In second position on the list is the Detroit metropolitan region. The city offers far fewer opportunities for those in the construction world—26.5 jobs per 1,000 listings. Where it shines is wages and housing costs: the average median wage in the sector is $53,790 per year and a one-bedroom apartment costs a monthly median $525.

Third place on Adobo’s list belongs to Fort Wayne, Indiana. Fort Wayne may not have as impressive a ratio of annual wages to rent, but it almost makes up for it with even lower rental costs ($490 per month) and even better job opportunities with 35.9 construction positions for every 1,000 listings offered overall.

Method

In compiling its list of top location for construction and extraction jobs, Abodo used the Bureau of Labor Statistics database to procure the latest information (from 2015) on employment per 1,000 jobs and median annual wages for all construction and extraction occupations by metropolitan statistical area. It then added its own internal data on median 1-bedroom rent costs.

To calculate the income-to-rent ratio, the median annual wages were divided by 12 to get a median monthly wage, then divided the result by the current median one-bedroom rent cost for that area.

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