Since the great recession hit in 2008, financial jobs have been hard to come by. In the US, the centers of gravity have shifted across the country, with some cities fading in the vibrancy of their financial sectors and others thriving.
If you’ve been searching for a finance job, you’ve probably noticed that, despite the current economic climate, there are plenty of options available. Which option you take, however, will depend greatly on the type of finance job you are looking for and the type of place you are looking to live.
Every major US city is a financial hub of some sorts, but not all offer the same abundance of jobs in finance, or those with the best pay. Accounting Principals, an accounting and finance staffing agency recently released a list of their top ten cities for finance jobs. Here’s why I think those cities were chosen.
Here is a breakdown of the top US cities to find finance jobs.
1. Dallas, Texas
Much of the financial services hiring that’s happening in Dallas is in the energy sector and other industries that support energy. Right now, all sectors within energy are hot, including oil and gas, production and exploration, shale plays, energy trading, utilities, oilfield service, and energy related technology.
There’s a heavy need for finance and accounting professionals in both the corporate accounting/shared services and in the operations sectors of these corporations. And you don’t need experience working in the energy field to find finance or accounting work in Texas.
2. Houston, Texas,
Houston hosts a large concentration of Fortune 500 companies across several different sectors, although energy and real estate are especially hot. With companies closely monitoring their operating expenses, several large businesses have relocated to Texas for the tax incentives and cost of living,
3. San Francisco, California
San Francisco is the finance capital of the western United States. There are many brokerage and banking firms with offices in the San Francisco area, and companies such as Charles Schwab and Franklin Templeton Investments have their headquarters there. As the gateway to Silicon Valley, San Francisco has a particular focus on the technology sector, and the Bay Area is the worldwide headquarters of the venture-capital industry.
4. Irvine, California
The California city Irvine has a high concentration of Fortune 500 Company headquarters and has recently seen a host of companies in commercial real estate, bio tech and hospitality move their corporate offices to town.
5. New York
New York is commonly regarded as the finance capital of the world. Many of the largest investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch are headquartered there. So too are several large banks, including Citigroup and JP Morgan. Nearly every large, global financial institution has a presence in New York. The city has lost a large number of jobs due to the credit crisis, but Wall Street is still the place to be.
