2018’s Best & Worst Metro Areas for STEM Professionals

From Wallet Hub, January 10, 2018

STEM workers are in fierce demand and not just in the global epicenter of high tech known as Silicon Valley. According to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics analysis, STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — professions grew at over twice the rate as non-STEM workers did between 2009 and 2015. And most types of STEM jobs will expand faster than all occupations until 2024.

Given their growing demand, STEM careers today comprise some of the most lucrative employment, paying higher salaries and boasting far fewer threats of unemployment compared with other types of jobs. STEM workers in 2015 earned an average annual wage of $87,570, nearly double the national average of $45,700 for all non-STEM jobs, according to the most recent figures from the BLS.

To determine the best markets for STEM professionals, WalletHub compared the 100 largest metro areas across 17 key metrics. Their data set ranges from per-capita job openings for STEM graduates to annual median wage growth for STEM jobs to projected demand for STEM workers by 2020….

read … STEM Professionals

Honolulu, HI

• Overall Rank 82nd
• Total Score 35.68
• 'Professional Opportunities' Rank 89th
• ‘STEM-Friendliness’ Rank 97th
• ‘Quality of Life’ Rank 58th
• Annual Median Wage for STEM Professionals -- 100th (dead last)
• Housing Affordability -- 100th (dead last)