These Are The 10 Best Cities For Bartenders

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Whether you’re just starting out your career, or looking to make a move, it can be important to know what part of the country offers the best chance for your long term career prospects. And for a very common profession like Bartenders, the regional differences can have a big impact on your salary and career options.

To help you make the best decision possible, we at Zippia wanted to look at the cities that offer bartenders the most for their career. These are the cities across the US where bartenders get paid well, relative to the cost of living, and jobs are plentiful.

So we did what we do best and dove into the numbers from the BLS to figure out which cities have the best opportunities for bartenders.The result is this list of the best cities bartenders:

So there you have it — Fairbanks is the best city when it comes to being a bartender.

And where should you consider avoiding if you’re a bartender? That would be Dover.

Read on to see how we completed our research on the best cities for bartenders and for more on the top ten cities.

How we determined the best cities to be a bartenders?

Here at Zippia, we talk to a lot of people of all different backgrounds looking for jobs. Our research has concluded that there are two common things people want in a job:

Availability of jobs
Pay

So in order to find out the best cities for bartenders in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well bartenders get paid. This led to the following criteria taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Occupational Employment Statistics for 2015:

Location quotient. A measure of how common a job is a given city.
Average annual salary.
Average annual salary for entry level work.

To make all the salary numbers more apples to apples across cities, we compared the salary data relative to the state’s cost of living.

This left us with enough data for 403 metro areas across the country. We then took the primary area of the metro and labeled that the ‘city’ for this analysis. So, for example, “Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA NECTA Division” became simply Boston.

In order to develop an overall ranking, we ranked each city for each criteria from 1 to 403 where 1 was the best.

We then averaged all the rankings for a city into a Job Score with the city having the lowest overall Job Score earning the distinction of being the best city for bartenders in America.

So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each city so great for bartenders.

1. Fairbanks, AK

Total Jobs: 330
Average Annual Salary: $28,650
Average Entry Level Salary: $20,790
Location Quotient: 2.03

2. Mount Vernon, WA

Total Jobs: 270
Average Annual Salary: $30,970
Average Entry Level Salary: $19,830
Location Quotient: 1.37

3. Walla Walla, WA

Total Jobs: 130
Average Annual Salary: $32,470
Average Entry Level Salary: $25,010
Location Quotient: 1.26

4. Rapid City, SD

Total Jobs: 530
Average Annual Salary: $21,710
Average Entry Level Salary: $18,230
Location Quotient: 1.91

5. Bremerton, WA

Total Jobs: 430
Average Annual Salary: $35,330
Average Entry Level Salary: $19,860
Location Quotient: 1.24

6. Olympia, WA

Total Jobs: 590
Average Annual Salary: $27,370
Average Entry Level Salary: $19,950
Location Quotient: 1.36

7. Corvallis, OR

Total Jobs: 220
Average Annual Salary: $28,260
Average Entry Level Salary: $19,520
Location Quotient: 1.45

8. San Francisco, CA

Total Jobs: 6,550
Average Annual Salary: $34,100
Average Entry Level Salary: $20,510
Location Quotient: 1.5

9. Bismarck, ND

Total Jobs: 400
Average Annual Salary: $25,730
Average Entry Level Salary: $17,950
Location Quotient: 1.27

10. Santa Fe, NM

Total Jobs: 320
Average Annual Salary: $31,850
Average Entry Level Salary: $17,540
Location Quotient: 1.28

And that’s our list of the best cities for bartenders

If you’re looking to start out your career as a bartender these are the cities that should be at the top of your list. You’ll find high pay, available jobs, and chances for career advancement.

If you’re curious, here are the worst cities to be a bartender in America:

Detailed List Of The Best Cities For Bartenders

Rank	State	Average Salary	Entry Level Salary	# Of People
1	Fairbanks, AK	$28,650	$20,790	330
2	Mount Vernon, WA	$30,970	$19,830	270
3	Walla Walla, WA	$32,470	$25,010	130
4	Rapid City, SD	$21,710	$18,230	530
5	Bremerton, WA	$35,330	$19,860	430
6	Olympia, WA	$27,370	$19,950	590
7	Corvallis, OR	$28,260	$19,520	220
8	San Francisco, CA	$34,100	$20,510	6,550
9	Bismarck, ND	$25,730	$17,950	400
10	Santa Fe, NM	$31,850	$17,540	320
11	Wenatchee, WA	$24,870	$19,910	270
12	Seattle, WA	$33,370	$19,940	6,890
13	Kahului, HI	$45,210	$20,360	760
14	Myrtle Beach, SC	$23,360	$16,050	1,400
15	Tacoma, WA	$28,870	$19,830	1,240
16	Bend, OR	$26,650	$19,520	360
17	Naples, FL	$29,830	$17,660	1,020
18	Spokane, WA	$26,680	$19,930	1,000
19	Wheeling, WV	$20,920	$17,100	400
20	Great Falls, MT	$20,740	$17,150	400
21	Bellingham, WA	$26,640	$19,840	350
22	Sioux Falls, SD	$20,790	$18,080	840
23	Burlington, VT	$28,980	$19,160	540
24	Kennewick, WA	$25,830	$20,020	450
25	Charleston, SC	$23,790	$16,130	1,890
26	Longview, WA	$23,660	$19,820	200
27	Crestview, FL	$26,370	$17,460	1,040
28	Cleveland, OH	$22,250	$17,330	4,910
29	Grants Pass, OR	$21,770	$19,430	260
30	Missoula, MT	$20,240	$17,170	550
31	Portland, OR	$24,590	$19,350	5,630
32	Michigan City, IN	$21,920	$16,370	280
33	Billings, MT	$20,970	$17,350	550
34	Austin, TX	$26,420	$16,380	5,130
35	Flagstaff, AZ	$26,370	$17,240	400
36	Deltona, FL	$25,710	$17,600	1,410
37	The Villages, FL	$25,530	$17,480	200
38	Dayton, OH	$22,410	$17,300	1,450
39	Weirton, WV	$19,300	$17,080	250
40	Tampa, FL	$27,810	$17,670	6,510
41	Anchorage, AK	$34,610	$19,080	670
42	San Angelo, TX	$30,040	$16,140	240
43	Bloomington, IN	$22,060	$16,410	370
44	Atlantic City, NJ	$28,930	$18,450	1,320
45	Morgantown, WV	$19,070	$16,970	380
46	Salem, OR	$22,390	$19,430	970
47	Hilton Head Island, SC	$19,930	$16,100	770
48	Grand Forks, ND	$19,840	$16,220	600
49	St. Louis, MO	$21,680	$16,690	6,380
50	Columbus, OH	$21,480	$17,270	4,420
51	San Luis Obispo, CA	$32,180	$19,620	490
52	Napa, CA	$33,270	$19,330	340
53	South Bend, IN	$21,190	$16,120	870
54	Akron, OH	$20,200	$17,230	1,670
55	Decatur, IL	$22,920	$17,990	380
56	North Port, FL	$27,490	$17,450	1,560
57	Santa Rosa, CA	$30,620	$19,290	950
58	Toledo, OH	$19,520	$17,180	1,640
59	Gulfport, MS	$20,330	$16,120	880
60	Omaha, NE	$20,800	$16,980	2,960
61	Medford, OR	$23,870	$19,450	340
62	Las Vegas, NV	$28,070	$16,720	12,190
63	Port St. Lucie, FL	$26,430	$17,640	650
64	Albany, OR	$24,560	$19,590	150
65	Santa Maria, CA	$30,700	$19,480	780
66	Fort Lauderdale, FL	$29,020	$17,450	3,820
67	Ann Arbor, MI	$30,200	$17,730	510
68	Brunswick, GA	$28,060	$16,190	160
69	Panama City, FL	$25,610	$17,360	520
70	Orlando, FL	$35,720	$17,410	5,330
71	Detroit, MI	$22,920	$17,460	3,040
72	San Antonio, TX	$23,700	$16,220	4,920
73	Indianapolis, IN	$24,440	$16,200	3,730
74	Palm Bay, FL	$25,680	$17,530	1,030
75	San Diego, CA	$30,790	$19,180	6,390
76	San Rafael, CA	$28,370	$19,370	540
77	Providence, RI	$22,180	$18,860	3,700
78	Youngstown, OH	$18,760	$16,980	1,360
79	Sebastian, FL	$24,490	$17,290	420
80	Champaign, IL	$22,340	$17,990	700
81	Flint, MI	$22,920	$17,440	530
82	Fargo, ND	$19,780	$16,100	1,050
83	Louisville/Jefferson County, KY	$20,440	$15,920	2,220
84	Lewiston, ID	$20,880	$16,640	100
85	Tucson, AZ	$27,300	$17,280	1,510
86	Salinas, CA	$29,030	$19,150	800
87	Yakima, WA	$24,100	$20,000	250
88	Chico, CA	$26,300	$19,080	550
89	Ocean City, NJ	$24,780	$18,590	630
90	Miami, FL	$32,330	$17,450	4,260
91	Grand Rapids, MI	$21,210	$17,410	2,500
92	Monroe, MI	$21,480	$17,540	170
93	Punta Gorda, FL	$24,070	$17,280	350
94	Muskegon, MI	$21,210	$17,430	290
95	Elgin, IL	$23,490	$18,150	1,170
96	Victoria, TX	$29,050	$16,440	130
97	Cape Coral, FL	$23,910	$17,320	1,660
98	Gettysburg, PA	$22,390	$16,400	330
99	Fort Wayne, IN	$20,820	$15,870	1,140
100	Battle Creek, MI	$23,800	$17,610	160

Never miss an opportunity that’s right for you.

Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

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