Today’s job market offers plenty of opportunities for relocation, and this figure is expected to grow, according to Global Employee Relocation Services Market Report 2024. Already in 2021, the market size was valued at $14 billion, and according to forecasts, this figure should reach $15 billion in 2027. Quite expectedly, a lot of positions open to relocation are tech and IT-related, but the size of the job market alone offers plenty of other opportunities for digital nomads and professionals looking for a change of scenery.
So we decided to put our knowledge of these market trends into practice, and see what jobs are available in certain cities across the world. Since SignalHire is a contact database most commonly used by recruiters working worldwide, we have their search queries at our disposal and it’s pretty easy to see which cities are in highest demand for employees — according to recruiters’ factual searches. Even better, we can also identify the in-demand positions for each location — so let’s see which cities are best to get a job, move and do business!
1. New York, NY, United States
Job Growth: 1.6%
Average Annual Salary: $90,000
Top 3 In-Demand Jobs in the City: Project Manager, Software Developer, Managing Partner
New York has always been a lively, fast-paced place of business that easily welcomes innovation. Notably, software developers and project managers rank first and fifth, respectively, in our previous analysis of the most in-demand IT jobs worldwide.
These professionals will not have any problem finding a job in New York and neither will managing partners, as the City That Never Sleeps is also considered one of the largest finance performance cities with hundreds of lucrative offers for experienced business developers and even best cities to search for a job.
2. San Francisco, CA, United States
Job Growth: 0.4%
Average Annual Salary: $113,000
Top 3 In-Demand Jobs in the City: Account Executive, Estimator Project Manager, Sales Executive
San Francisco is one of the best cities for finance jobs around the world, based on our previous study. In fact, it ranks second-best twice in a row already.
And in fact it is already second-best two times running. While many of the job opportunities in San Francisco are related to finance and sales, it does not mean that other professionals will not have jobs in this beautiful city. As a hub of commerce, San Francisco has a long, illustrious history and it isn’t ready to relinquish its spot in the sun. The Bay Area has seen a big boom in construction projects since 2023 as well, which accounts for the city’s demand for estimator project managers.
3. Singapore, Singapore
Job Growth: 0.8%
Average Annual Salary: $70,000
Top 3 In-Demand Jobs in the City: HR Manager, CEO, Insights Manager
ingapore is also an international hub welcoming professionals globally and among the best cities to work and do business. And even though Q1 2024 has seen a slight decline in non-resident employment opportunities compared to the last year, the companies are still looking for qualified HR and business managers to oversee the activities of the many international companies located in this city.
Choice is abundant here, with many giants like Google, Amazon and Apple establishing Asian headquarters in Singapore. There are also many international companies in other niches beyond IT: Capital Land, Wilmar International, Flex.
4. Bengaluru, India
Job Growth: 6% (nationwide)
Average Annual Salary: ₹957k ($11,500)
Top 3 In-Demand Jobs in the City: Purchase Manager, Talent Acquisition, IT Manager
Bengaluru is one of the fastest-growing IT hubs in the subcontinent, unofficially dubbed the Silicon Valley of India. Over the last year, the city has seen a 24% increase in IT job postings, an impressive figure compared to overall national employment growth of 6%.
While Bengaluru is a gold mine for IT related jobs, it does not necessarily mean that every opening there is tech-centric. In fact many companies are wishing for non-technical manages to manage purchase, hire new talents and take most of the existing team along. Apart from being the land of opportunities, it is also brimming with culture and things to see that make it one of the best cities to work and live in if you are seeking an entirely new life experience.
5. Vancouver, BC, Canada
Job Growth: 0.6%
Average Annual Salary: CAD 74,500 ($54,700)
Top 3 In-Demand Jobs in the City: Architectural Designer, Project Architect, Job Captain
In recent years, the Vancouver Metro area has experienced a considerable construction boom, so the city must continue seeking architectural designers, project architects and job captains to oversee contracts while ensuring adherence to all workplace policies.
And although employment opportunities in Vancouver are now biased towards residential construction, the city used to be known for science and healthcare industries — and it continues to be one of the best cities on Earth when it comes to job prospects in these fields.
6. Sydney, NSW, Australia
Job Growth: 8.3% (projected), 2.1% nationwide
Average Annual Salary: AUD 93,244 ($62,800)
Top 3 In-Demand Jobs in the City: General Manager, Software Developer, Account Manager
According to recent studies, Australian businesses have been placed under intense pressure to fill the existing positions, with local organisations already actively looking for methods to attract more overseas workers. Unsurprisingly, a large number of these job vacancies are in the IT field, but the range of available opportunities is not technology-exclusive.
Professional services and science account for more than 20 per cent of all Sydney jobs, in addition to technology. Not to mention the huge shortage of qualified employees in tech-centric firms makes it easier for foreigners to get visas — not something Down-Under has been keen on issuing before very recently.
7. Seattle, WA, United States
Job Growth: 0.6% (projected)
Average Annual Salary: $85,600
Top 3 In-Demand Jobs in the City: Architectural Designer, Job Captain, Executive Assistant
And why is Seattle one of the best cities to work as today it runs on a strange combination of low-tech and high-tech economy. At this time, the environment is undergoing significant growth since IT startups are inquiring to register their office here. This inevitably led to a ramp up in construction projects that made architectural designers the “hot” professionals in the area, along with job captains and executive assistants to manage legal and HR compliance.
8. Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Job Growth: 8.3% (projected), 2.1% nationwide
Average Annual Salary: AUD 89,100 ($60,000)
Top 3 In-Demand Jobs in the City: Account Manager, Business Developer, CEO
When looking for a job in Australia, Melbourne is one of the best cities where you can land one alongside probably Sydney as well which we already covered above. These two cities have the greatest demand for qualified experts but, Melbourne’s job market has somewhat shifted into business development as opposed to pure tech.
The city is also actively researching for new energy technologies, innovates supply chains and food processing development, develops tourism, invests in international education programs. Combined, this yields a high demand for elite management personnel across different occupations.
9. London, United Kingdom
Job Growth: 1.3%
Average Annual Salary: GBP 43,300 (55,600)
Top 3 In-Demand Jobs in the City: Business Developer, Software Developer, Data Analyst
Historically, the UK capital has been linked with finance and commerce, for which there is a high demand for business developers. And London is a centre of innovation, which in the modern world means the breakneck speed of the it industry. Not surprisingly, the software developers are in high demand here closely followed by data analyst — which is another booming IT profession today and high in demand.
The high number of immigrants from around the world is one more reason that London is one of the best cities in the world to work and live. London is also a true multi-cultural hub, and its impressive history makes it nothing short of a deserving place to look for work.
10. Toronto, ON, Canada
Job Growth: 1.8%
Average Annual Salary: CAD 115,000 ($77,500)
Top 3 In-Demand Jobs in the City: HR Manager, Site Superintendent, Project Coordinator
Like the previous city (Vancouver), Toronto is in a construction boom that makes it one of the best cities to find your job. But Toronto job offers are not only about construction — in the buzzing international hub, there is a demand for HR managers and project coordinators as well — especially, in the IT niche. So, as is the case with many other places on this list, the city joyfully accepts talented tech professionals from around the globe.
Methodology
To compile this analysis of the best cities to find a job around the world, we’ve gathered data from our internal database throughout June 2023 — May 2024. We scaled the total quantity of search requests from recruiters, selecting the cities with the highest number and referencing the 3 most popular jobs in these areas. We tried to create a rating based on analyzing the information published about business life, living standards, and job availability for foreign citizens as well as local residents in general. The principles of basic decision-making apply here, so we ranked the cities from most to least cosmopolitan—regions that open their gates for job seekers and entrepreneurs globally.
Data on job and employment growth for each of these locations were gathered from government databases and local statical platforms. When there was no data available for employment growth in the last year, we simply used government forecasts or reviewed the unemployment stats to note its decline rate over the last year.
Data on average salary was extracted from the official government agencies of relevant countries, public statistical resources, and independent analytical platforms such as SalaryExpert and Payscale. The number represents base salary excluding bonuses and is a median figure that isn’t overly weighted toward any sector.
On the other hand, one would be well advised to bear in mind that our internal database is mostly used by recruiters and business developers and as such our data on the most popular positions may be somewhat slanted towards IT and other digital white-collar occupations. Yet as a would-be relocation guide, this guide to hunting for jobs in the world’s best cities is a great mirror of employment opportunities for traditionally ‘mobile’ professions.
Conclusion
There are plenty of qualified jobs available in IT, sales, accounting and management internationally. Admittedly, some of the cities processed may be a little too exotic for job prospects. If this is you, we recommend reading our assessment of the best cities in the USA for work as well as top UK cities with a variety of job options. Both are based off data from 2023-2024 so it is still somewhat relevant and cultural shock stands next to nothing!
