NextChapter

Best counties for laid-off professionals in the Northeast

Kings County is the best all-round county for laid-off professionals in the Northeast, with a score of 86 / 100.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census data.

Key facts

  • #1 Kings County, NY: 86 / 100
  • #2 Philadelphia County, PA: 79 / 100
  • #3 Morris County, NJ: 72 / 100
  • 51 counties ranked in the Northeast
  • Data as of November 2026
  1. 1Kings County NY86 / 100
  2. 2Philadelphia County PA79 / 100
  3. 3Morris County NJ72 / 100
  4. 4Allegheny County PA71 / 100
  5. 5Suffolk County MA70 / 100
  6. 6Dauphin County PA69 / 100
  7. 7Middlesex County MA63 / 100
  8. 8Essex County NJ63 / 100
  9. 9Hillsborough County NH63 / 100
  10. 10Washington County PA63 / 100

What stands out

  • The top ten is tightly packed: Kings County leads on 86 / 100, and #10 Washington County is at 63 / 100.
  • Washington County reaches #10 on a sample of 114 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
  • Kings County is the largest market in the top ten, with 22,158 openings behind its figure.
  • Counties with fewer than 100 openings are not ranked, and small differences between neighbouring ranks are not meaningful.

Why this ranking matters

What it shows

For someone who has lost a job, the useful counties have openings for people looking, job centers to help and unemployment that is falling. This list weighs those with published weights.

How to use it

If you are between jobs, use it to find nearby counties with more going on, and read each county page for its American Job Centers and workforce board.

The top 25

  1. 1

    Kings County NY

    86 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    32
    American Job Centers
    3
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.8 points

    Based on 22,158 openings.

    Kings County job market

  2. 2

    Philadelphia County PA

    79 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    5
    American Job Centers
    3
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −1.3 points

    Based on 1,803 openings.

    Philadelphia County job market

  3. 3

    Morris County NJ

    72 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    8
    American Job Centers
    2
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −1.3 points

    Based on 801 openings.

    Morris County job market

  4. 4

    Allegheny County PA

    71 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    9
    American Job Centers
    3
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −1.0 points

    Based on 1,712 openings.

    Allegheny County job market

  5. 5

    Suffolk County MA

    70 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    25
    American Job Centers
    3
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.3 points

    Based on 4,895 openings.

    Suffolk County job market

  6. 6

    Dauphin County PA

    69 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    7
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −1.4 points

    Based on 359 openings.

    Dauphin County job market

  7. 7

    Middlesex County MA

    63 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    11
    American Job Centers
    4
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.3 points

    Based on 3,848 openings.

    Middlesex County job market

  8. 8

    Essex County NJ

    63 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    2
    American Job Centers
    2
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −2.0 points

    Based on 511 openings.

    Essex County job market

  9. 9

    Hillsborough County NH

    63 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    10
    American Job Centers
    2
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −1.1 points

    Based on 526 openings.

    Hillsborough County job market

  10. 10

    Washington County PA

    63 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    4
    American Job Centers
    2
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −1.1 points

    Based on 114 openings.

    Washington County job market

  11. 11

    Cumberland County ME

    62 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    6
    American Job Centers
    2
    Change in unemployment over a year
    +0.1 points

    Based on 273 openings.

    Cumberland County job market

  12. 12

    Lehigh County PA

    59 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    4
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −1.5 points

    Based on 281 openings.

    Lehigh County job market

  13. 13

    Rockingham County NH

    58 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    3
    American Job Centers
    2
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −1.1 points

    Based on 132 openings.

    Rockingham County job market

  14. 14

    Monroe County NY

    55 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    4
    American Job Centers
    4
    Change in unemployment over a year
    +0.2 points

    Based on 592 openings.

    Monroe County job market

  15. 15

    Hudson County NJ

    55 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    5
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −1.5 points

    Based on 861 openings.

    Hudson County job market

  16. 16

    Berks County PA

    54 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    4
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −1.2 points

    Based on 278 openings.

    Berks County job market

  17. 17

    Cumberland County PA

    53 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    7
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −1.0 points

    Based on 255 openings.

    Cumberland County job market

  18. 18

    Montgomery County PA

    53 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    8
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −1.0 points

    Based on 1,105 openings.

    Montgomery County job market

  19. 19

    Mercer County NJ

    52 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    7
    American Job Centers
    0
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −1.7 points

    Based on 553 openings.

    Mercer County job market

  20. 20

    Monmouth County NJ

    52 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    1
    American Job Centers
    2
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −1.4 points

    Based on 173 openings.

    Monmouth County job market

  21. 21

    Albany County NY

    50 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    7
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    +0.2 points

    Based on 445 openings.

    Albany County job market

  22. 22

    Chester County PA

    50 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    5
    American Job Centers
    1
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −0.8 points

    Based on 410 openings.

    Chester County job market

  23. 23

    Passaic County NJ

    50 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    1
    American Job Centers
    2
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −1.8 points

    Based on 137 openings.

    Passaic County job market

  24. 24

    Steuben County NY

    48 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    7
    American Job Centers
    2
    Change in unemployment over a year
    +0.2 points

    Based on 111 openings.

    Steuben County job market

  25. 25

    Northampton County PA

    47 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    3
    American Job Centers
    0
    Change in unemployment over a year
    −1.2 points

    Based on 177 openings.

    Northampton County job market

Full ranking

All 51 counties that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCountyScoreSample
1Kings County NY86 / 10022,158
2Philadelphia County PA79 / 1001,803
3Morris County NJ72 / 100801
4Allegheny County PA71 / 1001,712
5Suffolk County MA70 / 1004,895
6Dauphin County PA69 / 100359
7Middlesex County MA63 / 1003,848
8Essex County NJ63 / 100511
9Hillsborough County NH63 / 100526
10Washington County PA63 / 100114
11Cumberland County ME62 / 100273
12Lehigh County PA59 / 100281
13Rockingham County NH58 / 100132
14Monroe County NY55 / 100592
15Hudson County NJ55 / 100861
16Berks County PA54 / 100278
17Cumberland County PA53 / 100255
18Montgomery County PA53 / 1001,105
19Mercer County NJ52 / 100553
20Monmouth County NJ52 / 100173
21Albany County NY50 / 100445
22Chester County PA50 / 100410
23Passaic County NJ50 / 100137
24Steuben County NY48 / 100111
25Northampton County PA47 / 100177
26Somerset County NJ47 / 100257
27Onondaga County NY47 / 100482
28Erie County NY46 / 100501
29Westchester County NY46 / 100506
30Norfolk County MA45 / 100534
31Lancaster County PA45 / 100260
32Queens County NY45 / 100106
33Providence County RI44 / 100263
34Westmoreland County PA44 / 100133
35Essex County MA43 / 100433
36Union County NJ43 / 100202
37Delaware County PA43 / 100233
38York County PA41 / 100199
39Bronx County NY41 / 100184
40Middlesex County NJ41 / 100333
41Berkshire County MA41 / 100135
42Bucks County PA40 / 100169
43Worcester County MA40 / 100437
44Bergen County NJ40 / 100433
45Suffolk County NY40 / 100471
46Nassau County NY40 / 100470
47Camden County NJ39 / 100193
48Tompkins County NY34 / 100104
49Orange County NY33 / 100101
50Bristol County MA26 / 100124
51Hampden County MA20 / 100163

How this ranking works

A county's score is the weighted average of its percentile rank on each measure among the ranked counties (100 is first, 0 is last): openings per 100 unemployed 40%, american job centers 20%, change in unemployment over a year 20%, private-sector job growth since 2022 20%.

Openings are our professional roles placed in the county of the city their posting names; unemployment is BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted; jobs and sectors are BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; population is Census; American Job Centers are from CareerOneStop. The measures and weights are fixed in advance and shown here.

Only counties with at least 20,000 people in the labor force, 100 openings, 500 unemployed people and 50,000 residents are ranked.

Sample bar: counties with fewer than 100 openings are not ranked.

Sources: NextChapter job data: open professional roles by county; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Local Area Unemployment Statistics and Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; CareerOneStop American Job Center directory. Data as of November 2026.

Our job data covers professional roles on the career sites of employers we track, so figures describe that market, not every job. Spot an error? Tell us.

Questions

Which county ranks first: best counties for laid-off professionals in the northeast?
Kings County is the best all-round county for laid-off professionals in the Northeast, with a score of 86 / 100.
How many counties are ranked?
51 counties have at least 100 openings, so the list has 51 entries.
How is the ranking calculated?
A county's score is the weighted average of its percentile rank on each measure among the ranked counties (100 is first, 0 is last): openings per 100 unemployed 40%, american job centers 20%, change in unemployment over a year 20%, private-sector job growth since 2022 20%. Openings are our professional roles placed in the county of the city their posting names; unemployment is BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics, not seasonally adjusted; jobs and sectors are BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; population is Census; American Job Centers are from CareerOneStop. The measures and weights are fixed in advance and shown here. Only counties with at least 20,000 people in the labor force, 100 openings, 500 unemployed people and 50,000 residents are ranked.
How often is it updated?
Every month. This is the November 2026 edition. Older editions stay on this site at their own dated addresses.

More rankings

Cite this ranking

NextChapter, “Best counties for laid-off professionals in the Northeast,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-counties-for-laid-off-professionals-in-the-northeast

Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-counties-for-laid-off-professionals-in-the-northeast">Best counties for laid-off professionals in the Northeast (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>

Download the data: CSV · JSON. Free to use with a link back.

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