The conversation about labor in manufacturing has been wide-ranging lately, from fixes involving reaching out to and training more unskilled workers or to sweetening the pot when it comes to what Millennials supposedly want from their work. Employers and prospective employees can sometimes seem to be speaking a different language when it comes to expectations and what they hope to get out of a job or a career. One thing most people can probably agree on is that the commute is key: a person is less likely to move for their job than to find one at home.
Kempler Industries recently surveyed 236 metro areas in the United States and ranked them to find the best place for manufacturing jobs. They judged cities by the number of manufacturing jobs per 100,000 people, median income for manufacturing workers, and median housing cost in each city, using data they sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau and Zillow.
The top five list is as follows:
- Wichita, Kan.
- Fort Wayne, Ind.
- Battle Creek, Mich.
- Toledo, Ohio
- Portland, Ore.
Kempler notes that many of the cities on the list are relatively small, with Portland as an exception. This may be because of cost of living, but the report did not specify a conclusive reason.
The fastest-growing metros in terms of industry growth are Clarksville, Tenn., Reno, Nev., and Cape Coral, Fla.
Average earnings in the manufacturing industry are $27.21 per hour, which works out to $54,420 per year. This varies widely by city, though: the average manufacturer in San Jose, Calif. might make $76,010 per year on average, while the average is just above $30,000 in Jackson, Miss.
You can find the complete list here.
