California job dreaming? Here’s a look at where you should land

Have you been California job dreaming your entire life? Contemplating living among the movie stars, palm trees and Pacific Ocean but the time has never been quite right? Maybe working for a large West Coast company be it a record conglomerate or a Hollywood studio? Now might be the right time.

With California adding more than 339,000 jobs in September and its unemployment rate dropping to a yearly low of 4.1 percent, a new report lists where 2018’s Best & Worst California Cities are for Finding a Job.

To identify the best cities for seeking employment, the study compared more than 250 California cities across 16 key metrics, ranging from monthly median starting salary to employment growth to housing and transportation costs.

Best vs. Worst

Is the city where you want to work, eat, sleep and breathe among those that made the grade? Are you ready to send off your resume or just hop into your car and drive cross country to work and live in the Golden State?

This ranking of California cities might give you some insight as to where the best job prospects are before you hit the road with your road snacks and all.

Key Stats

• Hollister has the highest monthly average starting salary (adjusted for cost of living), $4,215, which is 4.2 times higher than in Beverly Hills, the city with the lowest at $994.
• Santa Paula has the lowest unemployment rate for people with a bachelor’s degree or higher, 0.90 percent, which is 20.7 times lower than in Coachella, the city with highest at 18.60 percent.
• Cupertino has the lowest number of part-time employees for every 100 full-time employees, 38.38, which is 3.5 times lower than in San Luis Obispo, the city with the highest at 134.49.
• El Dorado Hills has the highest median annual household income (adjusted for cost of living), $80,442, which is 2.8 times higher than in Huntington Park, the city with the lowest at $28,733.

More than palm trees

California dreaming is much more than going to the land of fruits and nuts and possibly being “discovered” like those of days gone by. Working and living in California is not as easy and carefree as some might make it out to be. Wherever you choose to land in sunny California, you will still need to find a place to live that you can afford, a job you can excel at and be able to learn the ropes of this fast moving state. This is not to say that it can’t be done —thousands of people do it all the time — it will just take a lot of determination, tenacity and drive.

For the full report and to see where your city ranks, please click here.