Seattle region is No. 1 in U.S. in ranking of best cities for STEM jobs

The Seattle region topped 100 U.S. metro areas in a new ranking of the best and worst places for professionals in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) jobs.

The comparison by the personal finance website WalletHub measured the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area across 19 key metrics, ranging from percentage of workforce in STEM; STEM employment growth; median wage for STEM workers; quality of engineering universities; and more.

The Seattle region was No. 1 in professional opportunities and outpaced cities such as Austin, Boston, Madison, Wisc., and Minneapolis in the top five.

Here’s how Seattle’s STEM job market placed in assorted categories (1 = best, 50 = average):

• 2^nd – % of workforce in STEM
• 1^st – STEM employment growth
• 41^st – math performance
• 5^th – quality of engineering universities
• 1^st – median wage growth for STEM workers
• 8^th – job openings for STEM graduates per capita

WalletHub says STEM jobs are projected to grow 10.5% between 2020 and 2030, compared to 7.5% for other occupations. The median annual STEM wage in the U.S. is $89,780, compared to $40,020 for all non-STEM occupations.