This Underrated Midwest City Is The Best Place To Find A Job In 2025

With its abundance of museums and art centers, seemingly endless green spaces, and nickname of "Beer City," Grand Rapids is a fun place to be. And with its expanding tech market and flourishing insurance industry, it's no wonder the Michigan city was named the fastest-growing metro area in the United States for jobs and new talent, according to a recent LinkedIn study. 

The city was lauded for its growing job market and proximity to Lake Michigan (only about a 40-minute drive to its shores). Contributing to its ranking as a top market, Grand Rapids boasts an average income of $65,235 and an average home listing price of $524,195, with the top industries currently hiring in the manufacturing, professional services, and healthcare spaces. Top employers currently include Corewell Health, Grand Valley State University, and Meijer.

Grand Rapids is where art, beer, and Midwest charm meet big-city flair, and there's plenty to do for residents, no matter the season. In the winter, plan to head to the annual World of Winter celebration — which the Midwest city calls America's largest winter festival — or check out one of the many museums, like the (indoor) Grand Rapids Art Museum. Summer brings warmer temperatures and beckons residents to get outdoors with a picnic in one of the more than 75 parks, paddling on the Grand River, or heading to one of the nearby beaches, such as the mesmerizing Grand Haven State Park on the shores of Lake Michigan within an hour's drive of the city. Or spend the weekend tracing Grand Rapids' Beer City Ale Trail, made up of more than 35 craft breweries.

After Grand Rapids, the area around Boise, Idaho, came in second on the list of the fastest-growing metro areas. That was thanks to a development boom and its own tech industry (which LinkedIn said was spurred by the expansion of semiconductor manufacturing from Micron). Boise was followed by the greater Harrisburg area, the capital of Pennsylvania, which is attracting retirees thanks to its low cost of living — the average home listing price is only $430,775 — and the area's investments in small businesses and healthcare. The Albany metro area and the greater Milwaukee area round out the top five cities on the list.

To calculate its rankings, LinkedIn looked at mid-size U.S. cities that had a combination of both flourishing job markets and growing professional communities. Momentum in the job market was measured by taking into account factors like new positions added to LinkedIn profiles, the number of job postings, and the number of LinkedIn members in each area. The list was based on data gathered between March 1, 2023, and February 1, 2025. When putting the list together, LinkedIn said it excluded metro areas with more than 2.5 million members in an effort to spotlight emerging labor market dynamics.