Best and Worst Metro Areas for STEM Talent

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) jobs to grow 8.1% between 2024 and 2034, compared to 2.7% for all other occupations. 

Building on its 2026’s Best Cities for Jobs report, personal finance company WalletHub analyzed the 100 largest metro areas to rank the best and work markets for STEM professionals. The study evaluated 21 metrics, including per-capita job openings and median wage growth for STEM jobs.

"STEM jobs tend to have high salaries, and job opportunities grow at three times the rate of non-STEM jobs," WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo said. "We can only expect this to accelerate in the future as new technologies continue to change the employment landscape. The top metro areas for STEM professionals have high-quality schools, an abundance of jobs and high pay. They’re also great places to live. But since many STEM jobs can be done remotely, you might also consider working in one of these areas while living elsewhere.”

Best Cities for STEM Jobs

Worst Cities for STEM Jobs

In-Depth Look at the Best Metro Areas

Boston, MA

The Boston metro area is the best place for STEM professionals in 2026 in part because it prioritizes STEM advancement. R&D expenditures make up over 9% of its GDP, the highest percentage in the country. On top of that, Boston has the second-most invention patents per capita.

Boston does a good job teaching STEM fundamentals from a young age too, ranking at the top of the country when it comes to fourth and eighth-grade mathematics performance. Those students may also want to stay in the city for college and grad school, as the Boston metro area has six schools that rank in the top 100 engineering universities in the U.S. That’s the most for any metro area.

Finally, STEM employment in Boston makes up over 11% of all jobs, the sixth-highest percentage in the country. Plus, around 12% of job postings on Indeed for the metro area are in tech, the ninth-highest percentage.

Atlanta, GA

The Atlanta metro area ranks second for STEM professionals, in part because the city has the third-most job openings for STEM graduates per capita and it also ranks among the top cities for gender equity in STEM occupations, with the ninth-smallest disparity between women and men in the field.

People in the Atlanta area can expect high earnings too. The metro area ranks in the top 10 for median earnings from STEM jobs, at over $110,000 per year, adjusted for the cost of living. Atlanta is also good for tech education – students can find tech-related summer programs and the area’s engineering universities rank third in the nation. Due to its promising conditions for this field, Atlanta is sometimes referred to as "Silicon Peach.”

Seattle, WA

Seattle, one of the most well-known West Coast tech hubs, is the third-best area for STEM, in large part because it has plentiful STEM jobs. For example, the Seattle metro area ranks third in the country for STEM employment, with STEM positions making up nearly 13% of all jobs. In addition, 28.6% of new job postings on Indeed are in tech, the highest percentage in the nation.

STEM jobs in the Seattle metro aren’t just abundant – they also pay well. Seattle has one of the highest average monthly wages for new STEM employees, at nearly $12,000. Moreover, the region’s engineering universities hold the seventh spot nationwide.

Seattle’s economy is deeply tied to STEM innovation, too. Over 8.4% of the Seattle metro area’s GDP stems from research and development, the third-highest share in the country. It also has very productive inventors, with the third-most invention patents per capita.

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