Scottsdale ranked No. 1 on WalletHub’s list of best cities for jobs in 2026

PHOENIX — The city of Scottsdale was ranked the best city in the United States for finding a job in 2026 while four other Arizona cities cracked the top 50, according to a study released Tuesday.

WalletHub’s “Best Cities for Jobs (2026)” compared 182 cities, which included the 150 most-populated cities in the U.S. as well as at least two cities in each state that had the largest population.

Chandler was the next highest ranking Arizona city, coming in at 14th while Gilbert was 28th and Tempe and Peoria were 30th and 33rd, respectively. Meanwhile, Mesa ended up in 55th.

There were two other Arizona cities that made it into the top 100, which was Phoenix at 72nd and Glendale at 80th. The worst-rated city to find a job in the Grand Canyon State was Tucson at 130th.

Breaking down Scottsdale’s ranking

The cities in WalletHub’s study were compared across the two categories of job market and socio-economics, which had 31 different metrics with corresponding weights to add up to a total score of 100.

Scottsdale had an overall score of 66.71, ranked first in job market and tied for first with five other cities, including Gilbert, for median annual income at $101,000, which was adjusted for cost of living. The study cited that Scottsdale also has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country.

As far as the other Arizona cities on the list, Chandler scored 61.32 points, Gilbert got 58.94 points, Tempe achieved 58.39 points, Peoria received 57.90 points and Mesa recorded 56.17 points.

Meanwhile, Phoenix scored 55.17 points, Glendale got 54.71 points and Tucson brought up the rear with 50.39 points.

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