Metros with the lowest unemployment rate

Millions of Americans are without jobs and looking for work any given month in the U.S. Of course, that's notwithstanding seismic events that can send the number of unemployed workers skyrocketing into the tens of millions, as happened in 2020 with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Most regions of the U.S. have largely recovered from the last major spike in joblessness, and some have even reached previously unheard of levels of employment. Minnesota reported that just 1.8% of people looking for work were unemployed in June—the lowest unemployment rate any state has seen since the U.S. began tracking such statitistics, according to The Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Stacker compiled a list of the metros with the lowest unemployment using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Metros are ranked by the lowest percent unemployment rate in August 2022, a measure typically seen as positive for workers but difficult for employers seeking to increase productivity and output.

Tony Webster // Wikicommons

1 / 50

#50. Sioux City, Iowa

- Unemployment rate: 2.69%
- 1 month change: -0.1%%
- 1 year change: -1.1%%

MicheleHaro // Wikimedia

2 / 50

#49. Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Florida

- Unemployment rate: 2.68%
- 1 month change: -0.0%%
- 1 year change: -1.3%%

User:DouglasGreen // Wikimedia

3 / 50

#48. Gainesville, Florida

- Unemployment rate: 2.67%
- 1 month change: -0.2%%
- 1 year change: -1.2%%

Library of Congress

4 / 50

#47. Auburn-Opelika, Alabama

- Unemployment rate: 2.67%
- 1 month change: -0.2%%
- 1 year change: -0.4%%

Pat McGinley // Shutterstock

5 / 50

#46. North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton, Florida

- Unemployment rate: 2.64%
- 1 month change: -0.0%%
- 1 year change: -1.4%%

Katherine Dowler // Wikimedia

6 / 50

#45. Jefferson City, Missouri

- Unemployment rate: 2.63%
- 1 month change: +0.2%%
- 1 year change: -0.5%%

Arina P Habich // Shutterstock

7 / 50

#44. Boulder, Colorado

- Unemployment rate: 2.62%
- 1 month change: -0.3%%
- 1 year change: -1.6%%

Kolossos // Wikimedia Commons

8 / 50

#43. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Florida

- Unemployment rate: 2.61%
- 1 month change: -0.0%%
- 1 year change: -2.2%%

M Floyd // Flickr

9 / 50

#42. Birmingham-Hoover, Alabama

- Unemployment rate: 2.61%
- 1 month change: -0.2%%
- 1 year change: -0.8%%

Jodybwiki // Wikimedia Commons

10 / 50

#41. Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, Alabama

- Unemployment rate: 2.57%
- 1 month change: -0.2%%
- 1 year change: -0.6%%

aka Kath // Flickr

11 / 50

#40. Springfield, Missouri

- Unemployment rate: 2.55%
- 1 month change: +0.3%%
- 1 year change: -0.9%%

Sara Goth // Wikicommons

12 / 50

#39. Billings, Montana

- Unemployment rate: 2.53%
- 1 month change: -0.1%%
- 1 year change: -0.5%%

Alan Froegel // Wikimedia Commons

13 / 50

#38. La Crosse-Onalaska, Wisconsin

- Unemployment rate: 2.52%
- 1 month change: -0.1%%
- 1 year change: -0.3%%

Billwhittaker // Wikimedia Commons

14 / 50

#37. Iowa City, Iowa

- Unemployment rate: 2.50%
- 1 month change: +0.1%%
- 1 year change: -1.3%%

JonClee86 // Wikicommons

15 / 50

#36. Omaha-Council Bluffs, Nebraska

- Unemployment rate: 2.50%
- 1 month change: -0.2%%
- 1 year change: -0.4%%

User:DouglasGreen // Wikimedia

16 / 50

#35. Gainesville, Georgia

- Unemployment rate: 2.50%
- 1 month change: +0.4%%
- 1 year change: -0.2%%

Paul Brady Photography // Shutterstock

17 / 50

#34. Madison, Wisconsin

- Unemployment rate: 2.49%
- 1 month change: -0.0%%
- 1 year change: -0.3%%

Publichall // Wikimedia Commons

18 / 50

#33. Elkhart-Goshen, Indiana

- Unemployment rate: 2.49%
- 1 month change: -0.2%%
- 1 year change: +0.2%%

Brandonrush // Wikicommons

19 / 50

#32. Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Arkansas

- Unemployment rate: 2.47%
- 1 month change: -0.3%%
- 1 year change: -0.3%%

Prizrak 2084//Wikicommons

20 / 50

#31. Missoula, Montana

- Unemployment rate: 2.47%
- 1 month change: -0.1%%
- 1 year change: -0.5%%

j.s. clark // Wikimedia Commons

21 / 50

#30. Panama City, Florida

- Unemployment rate: 2.46%
- 1 month change: -0.1%%
- 1 year change: -1.3%%

Joseph Sohm // Shutterstock

22 / 50

#29. Portland-South Portland, Maine

- Unemployment rate: 2.46%
- 1 month change: +0.2%%
- 1 year change: -1.3%%

SD Dirk // Wikimedia Commons

23 / 50

#28. Ames, Iowa

- Unemployment rate: 2.43%
- 1 month change: +0.1%%
- 1 year change: -0.9%%

PghPhxNfk // Wikimedia Commons

24 / 50

#27. Columbus, Indiana

- Unemployment rate: 2.41%
- 1 month change: -0.4%%
- 1 year change: -0.1%%

MPearsallArt // Wikimedia Commons

25 / 50

#26. Decatur, Alabama

- Unemployment rate: 2.39%
- 1 month change: -0.2%%
- 1 year change: -0.4%%

Pixabay

26 / 50

#25. Columbia, Missouri

- Unemployment rate: 2.39%
- 1 month change: +0.1%%
- 1 year change: -0.6%%

Don Ramey Logan // Wikicommons

27 / 50

#24. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California

- Unemployment rate: 2.38%
- 1 month change: +0.2%%
- 1 year change: -2.3%%

tochichi//Wikicommons

28 / 50

#23. Rapid City, South Dakota

- Unemployment rate: 2.35%
- 1 month change: +0.4%%
- 1 year change: -0.8%%

Pixabay

29 / 50

#22. Huntsville, Alabama

- Unemployment rate: 2.34%
- 1 month change: -0.2%%
- 1 year change: -0.4%%

MojaveNC // Wikimedia

30 / 50

#21. St. George, Utah

- Unemployment rate: 2.33%
- 1 month change: +0.1%%
- 1 year change: -0.7%%

Eric Fredericks // Wikimedia

31 / 50

#20. Idaho Falls, Idaho

- Unemployment rate: 2.32%
- 1 month change: +0.1%%
- 1 year change: -0.3%%

Ebyabe // Wikicommons

32 / 50

#19. Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, Florida

- Unemployment rate: 2.28%
- 1 month change: -0.1%%
- 1 year change: -1.1%%

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

33 / 50

#18. Manchester, New Hampshire

- Unemployment rate: 2.20%
- 1 month change: +0.3%%
- 1 year change: -1.0%%

Smallbones // Wikimedia Commons

34 / 50

#17. Grand Island, Nebraska

- Unemployment rate: 2.17%
- 1 month change: -0.2%%
- 1 year change: -0.4%%

Tony Webster // Wikicommons

35 / 50

#16. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minnesota

- Unemployment rate: 2.15%
- 1 month change: +0.1%%
- 1 year change: -1.0%%

Carol M Highsmith // Wikimedia Commons

36 / 50

#15. Portsmouth, New Hampshire

- Unemployment rate: 2.13%
- 1 month change: +0.4%%
- 1 year change: -0.7%%

MoVaughn123 // Wikimedia Commons

37 / 50

#14. Dover-Durham, New Hampshire

- Unemployment rate: 2.13%
- 1 month change: +0.2%%
- 1 year change: -0.9%%

Skyguy414 // Wikicommons

38 / 50

#13. Salt Lake City, Utah

- Unemployment rate: 2.11%
- 1 month change: +0.0%%
- 1 year change: -0.7%%

Bobak Ha'Eri // Wikimedia Commons

39 / 50

#12. Bismarck, North Dakota

- Unemployment rate: 2.10%
- 1 month change: +0.1%%
- 1 year change: -0.8%%

McGhiever // Wikicommons

40 / 50

#11. St. Cloud, Minnesota

- Unemployment rate: 2.10%
- 1 month change: +0.1%%
- 1 year change: -1.3%%

Katherine Welles // Shutterstock

41 / 50

#10. Lincoln, Nebraska

- Unemployment rate: 2.10%
- 1 month change: -0.2%%
- 1 year change: -0.2%%

Scott Catron // Wikimedia Commons

42 / 50

#9. Ogden-Clearfield, Utah

- Unemployment rate: 2.06%
- 1 month change: +0.1%%
- 1 year change: -0.6%%

Glorioussandwich // Wikimedia

43 / 50

#8. Grand Forks, North Dakota

- Unemployment rate: 2.05%
- 1 month change: -0.0%%
- 1 year change: -0.9%%

Seabear70// Wikimedia

44 / 50

#7. Sioux Falls, South Dakota

- Unemployment rate: 2.01%
- 1 month change: +0.4%%
- 1 year change: -0.7%%

Ben P L // Wikimedia Commons

45 / 50

#6. Provo-Orem, Utah

- Unemployment rate: 1.93%
- 1 month change: +0.1%%
- 1 year change: -0.5%%

Nile Dean Meservy // Wikimedia Commons

46 / 50

#5. Logan, Utah

- Unemployment rate: 1.87%
- 1 month change: +0.2%%
- 1 year change: -0.4%%

Kim Schuster // Flickr

47 / 50

#4. Rochester, Minnesota

- Unemployment rate: 1.80%
- 1 month change: +0.1%%
- 1 year change: -0.8%%