These Are The 10 Best Cities For Zoologists

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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 Zoologist, 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 zoologists the most for their career. These are the cities across the US where zoologists 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 zoologist. The result is this list of the best cities for zoologists:

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

And where should you consider avoiding if you’re a zoologist? That would be Jacksonville.

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

How we determined the best cities to be a zoologist?

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 zoologist in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well zoologist 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 79 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 79 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 zoologists in America.

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

1. Logan, UT

Total Jobs: 30
Average Annual Salary: $88,160
Average Entry Level Salary: $53,420
Location Quotient: 4.63

2. Silver Spring, MD

Total Jobs: 260
Average Annual Salary: $97,500
Average Entry Level Salary: $69,190
Location Quotient: 3.48

3. Gulfport, MS

Total Jobs: 40
Average Annual Salary: $95,230
Average Entry Level Salary: $74,950
Location Quotient: 2.13

4. Fort Collins, CO

Total Jobs: 90
Average Annual Salary: $79,620
Average Entry Level Salary: $52,850
Location Quotient: 5.0

5. Fairbanks, AK

Total Jobs: 100
Average Annual Salary: $71,520
Average Entry Level Salary: $52,850
Location Quotient: 19.33

6. Bellingham, WA

Total Jobs: 30
Average Annual Salary: $75,860
Average Entry Level Salary: $52,440
Location Quotient: 3.17

7. Seattle, WA

Total Jobs: 720
Average Annual Salary: $82,410
Average Entry Level Salary: $46,250
Location Quotient: 3.6

8. Anchorage, AK

Total Jobs: 210
Average Annual Salary: $72,500
Average Entry Level Salary: $50,940
Location Quotient: 9.3

9. Yakima, WA

Total Jobs: 60
Average Annual Salary: $70,950
Average Entry Level Salary: $48,710
Location Quotient: 5.24

10. Walla Walla, WA

Total Jobs: 40
Average Annual Salary: $67,520
Average Entry Level Salary: $43,390
Location Quotient: 11.4

And that’s our list of the best cities for zoologists.

If you’re looking to start out your career as a zoologist 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 zoologist in America:

Detailed List Of The Best Cities For Zoologist.

Rank	State	Average Salary	Entry Level Salary	# Of People
1	Logan, UT	$88,160	$53,420	30
2	Silver Spring, MD	$97,500	$69,190	260
3	Gulfport, MS	$95,230	$74,950	40
4	Fort Collins, CO	$79,620	$52,850	90
5	Fairbanks, AK	$71,520	$52,850	100
6	Bellingham, WA	$75,860	$52,440	30
7	Seattle, WA	$82,410	$46,250	720
8	Anchorage, AK	$72,500	$50,940	210
9	Yakima, WA	$70,950	$48,710	60
10	Walla Walla, WA	$67,520	$43,390	40
11	Bremerton, WA	$73,780	$46,520	40
12	Lansing, MI	$67,350	$51,900	60
13	Portland, OR	$75,070	$47,720	320
14	Olympia, WA	$62,800	$44,370	260
15	Knoxville, TN	$73,870	$44,590	50
16	Lewiston, ID	$52,890	$44,340	40
17	Providence, RI	$83,040	$56,450	50
18	Reno, NV	$70,540	$50,070	40
19	Spokane, WA	$64,160	$46,350	80
20	Fort Worth, TX	$73,820	$55,930	30
21	Flagstaff, AZ	$59,590	$42,490	80
22	Rapid City, SD	$55,770	$36,390	70
23	Dallas, TX	$72,100	$51,540	40
24	Missoula, MT	$59,930	$35,920	60
25	Boise City, ID	$62,380	$31,770	210
26	Corvallis, OR	$63,930	$37,510	140
27	Newark, NJ	$79,190	$54,560	40
28	Bangor, ME	$57,690	$41,910	70
29	Miami, FL	$78,830	$41,990	100
30	Mount Vernon, WA	$55,170	$41,580	60
31	Urban Honolulu, HI	$79,630	$47,830	120
32	Colorado Springs, CO	$64,830	$50,840	30
33	Albuquerque, NM	$62,720	$40,260	40
34	Chicago, IL	$68,810	$50,010	120
35	Raleigh, NC	$67,010	$38,510	80
36	Duluth, MN	$56,490	$42,610	70
37	Boulder, CO	$65,510	$39,940	90
38	Burlington, VT	$57,020	$42,930	40
39	Santa Rosa, CA	$80,410	$38,080	30
40	Austin, TX	$62,670	$42,150	30
41	Tucson, AZ	$64,360	$38,680	60
42	Oakland, CA	$68,710	$46,990	130
43	Las Vegas, NV	$69,030	$43,180	50
44	San Rafael, CA	$63,430	$41,580	70
45	Denver, CO	$66,830	$42,080	160
46	Provo, UT	$49,450	$40,400	40
47	San Diego, CA	$67,650	$40,890	480
48	Charleston, SC	$56,530	$34,050	70
49	Sacramento, CA	$65,960	$43,940	210
50	Salt Lake City, UT	$57,270	$40,000	50
51	Gainesville, FL	$54,840	$33,980	110
52	St. Louis, MO	$59,230	$35,880	80
53	Minneapolis, MN	$57,830	$39,990	280
54	Ithaca, NY	$60,790	$37,960	40
55	Columbus, OH	$56,370	$36,280	40
56	Houston, TX	$76,100	$30,680	80
57	Richmond, VA	$59,990	$46,040	30
58	Worcester, MA	$64,340	$46,610	30
59	Little Rock, AR	$44,510	$37,050	40
60	Tallahassee, FL	$48,520	$33,930	130
61	Columbia, SC	$52,900	$36,260	30
62	Boston, MA	$79,480	$42,950	60
63	Baltimore, MD	$81,710	$35,660	60
64	Nassau County, NY	$73,750	$44,390	60
65	Phoenix, AZ	$60,000	$38,320	160
66	Sebring, FL	$41,300	$31,760	30
67	Harrisburg, PA	$50,630	$34,490	70
68	Madison, WI	$50,500	$33,110	120
69	Wilmington, NC	$49,780	$31,600	30
70	Tampa, FL	$50,760	$32,120	510
71	Jackson, MS	$47,220	$31,460	40
72	New York, NY	$69,030	$43,670	130
73	Virginia Beach, VA	$50,890	$32,670	140
74	Atlanta, GA	$50,290	$30,370	200
75	Fort Lauderdale, FL	$54,640	$33,250	50
76	Bakersfield, CA	$48,320	$31,740	50
77	West Palm Beach, FL	$47,440	$31,310	60
78	Oklahoma City, OK	$43,780	$16,790	50
79	Jacksonville, FL	$50,990	$30,370	40

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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