NextChapter

Best county job markets for job seekers in the Mid-Atlantic

Loudoun County is the best all-round county for job seekers in the Mid-Atlantic, with a score of 85 / 100.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census data.

Key facts

  • #1 Loudoun County, VA: 85 / 100
  • #2 Arlington County, VA: 83 / 100
  • #3 Richmond city, VA: 80 / 100
  • 64 counties ranked in the Mid-Atlantic
  • Data as of November 2026
  1. 1Loudoun County VA85 / 100
  2. 2Arlington County VA83 / 100
  3. 3Richmond city VA80 / 100
  4. 4Anne Arundel County MD79 / 100
  5. 5Cumberland County PA73 / 100
  6. 6Howard County MD72 / 100
  7. 7Dauphin County PA71 / 100
  8. 8Chester County PA71 / 100
  9. 9Frederick County MD68 / 100
  10. 10Harford County MD68 / 100

What stands out

  • The top ten is tightly packed: Loudoun County leads on 85 / 100, and #10 Harford County is at 68 / 100.
  • Frederick County reaches #9 on a sample of 182 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
  • Arlington County is the largest market in the top ten, with 1,989 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

A good job market is more than one number. This list weighs openings per unemployed person, the unemployment rate, job growth and population growth, with the weights shown.

How to use it

Use it to shortlist counties to research. Open the county page for the employers, colleges and job centers behind the score.

The top 25

  1. 1

    Loudoun County VA

    85 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    8
    Unemployment rate
    3.4%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +13.9%

    Based on 638 openings.

    Loudoun County job market

  2. 2

    Arlington County VA

    83 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    45
    Unemployment rate
    2.9%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +4.6%

    Based on 1,989 openings.

    Arlington County job market

  3. 3

    Richmond city VA

    80 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    22
    Unemployment rate
    4.1%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +9.0%

    Based on 1,147 openings.

    Richmond city job market

  4. 4

    Anne Arundel County MD

    79 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    8
    Unemployment rate
    3.0%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +8.3%

    Based on 790 openings.

    Anne Arundel County job market

  5. 5

    Cumberland County PA

    73 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    7
    Unemployment rate
    2.6%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +1.6%

    Based on 255 openings.

    Cumberland County job market

  6. 6

    Howard County MD

    72 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    7
    Unemployment rate
    3.0%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +4.2%

    Based on 406 openings.

    Howard County job market

  7. 7

    Dauphin County PA

    71 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    7
    Unemployment rate
    3.2%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +3.9%

    Based on 359 openings.

    Dauphin County job market

  8. 8

    Chester County PA

    71 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    5
    Unemployment rate
    2.6%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +2.6%

    Based on 410 openings.

    Chester County job market

  9. 9

    Frederick County MD

    68 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    4
    Unemployment rate
    3.1%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +3.1%

    Based on 182 openings.

    Frederick County job market

  10. 10

    Harford County MD

    68 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    5
    Unemployment rate
    3.1%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +5.4%

    Based on 227 openings.

    Harford County job market

  11. 11

    Morris County NJ

    68 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    8
    Unemployment rate
    3.5%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +2.4%

    Based on 801 openings.

    Morris County job market

  12. 12

    Montgomery County PA

    66 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    8
    Unemployment rate
    2.7%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +0.1%

    Based on 1,105 openings.

    Montgomery County job market

  13. 13

    Fairfax County VA

    63 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    20
    Unemployment rate
    3.4%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +1.7%

    Based on 4,186 openings.

    Fairfax County job market

  14. 14

    Washington County PA

    62 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    4
    Unemployment rate
    3.0%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +5.5%

    Based on 114 openings.

    Washington County job market

  15. 15

    Northampton County PA

    62 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    3
    Unemployment rate
    3.3%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +4.0%

    Based on 177 openings.

    Northampton County job market

  16. 16

    Prince William County VA

    61 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    2
    Unemployment rate
    3.5%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +8.1%

    Based on 152 openings.

    Prince William County job market

  17. 17

    Berks County PA

    60 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    4
    Unemployment rate
    3.4%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +3.3%

    Based on 278 openings.

    Berks County job market

  18. 18

    Lehigh County PA

    59 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    4
    Unemployment rate
    3.5%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +3.2%

    Based on 281 openings.

    Lehigh County job market

  19. 19

    Lancaster County PA

    59 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    3
    Unemployment rate
    2.5%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +2.6%

    Based on 260 openings.

    Lancaster County job market

  20. 20

    York County PA

    57 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    3
    Unemployment rate
    3.0%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +1.9%

    Based on 199 openings.

    York County job market

  21. 21

    Roanoke city VA

    57 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    9
    Unemployment rate
    3.9%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +3.5%

    Based on 181 openings.

    Roanoke city job market

  22. 22

    Allegheny County PA

    56 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    9
    Unemployment rate
    3.0%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +1.4%

    Based on 1,712 openings.

    Allegheny County job market

  23. 23

    Albany County NY

    55 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    7
    Unemployment rate
    3.9%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +2.6%

    Based on 445 openings.

    Albany County job market

  24. 24

    New Castle County DE

    55 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    5
    Unemployment rate
    4.6%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +4.6%

    Based on 744 openings.

    New Castle County job market

  25. 25

    Alexandria city VA

    55 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    19
    Unemployment rate
    3.2%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    −1.6%

    Based on 583 openings.

    Alexandria city job market

Full ranking

All 64 counties that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCountyScoreSample
1Loudoun County VA85 / 100638
2Arlington County VA83 / 1001,989
3Richmond city VA80 / 1001,147
4Anne Arundel County MD79 / 100790
5Cumberland County PA73 / 100255
6Howard County MD72 / 100406
7Dauphin County PA71 / 100359
8Chester County PA71 / 100410
9Frederick County MD68 / 100182
10Harford County MD68 / 100227
11Morris County NJ68 / 100801
12Montgomery County PA66 / 1001,105
13Fairfax County VA63 / 1004,186
14Washington County PA62 / 100114
15Northampton County PA62 / 100177
16Prince William County VA61 / 100152
17Berks County PA60 / 100278
18Lehigh County PA59 / 100281
19Lancaster County PA59 / 100260
20York County PA57 / 100199
21Roanoke city VA57 / 100181
22Allegheny County PA56 / 1001,712
23Albany County NY55 / 100445
24New Castle County DE55 / 100744
25Alexandria city VA55 / 100583
26Kings County NY55 / 10022,158
27Montgomery County MD54 / 1001,177
28Bucks County PA52 / 100169
29Chesapeake city VA51 / 100132
30Essex County NJ48 / 100511
31Somerset County NJ48 / 100257
32District of Columbia DC48 / 1004,393
33Westchester County NY48 / 100506
34Philadelphia County PA47 / 1001,803
35Prince George's County MD46 / 100622
36Suffolk County NY46 / 100471
37Monmouth County NJ45 / 100173
38Norfolk city VA45 / 100327
39Hudson County NJ45 / 100861
40Onondaga County NY45 / 100482
41Mercer County NJ45 / 100553
42Bergen County NJ43 / 100433
43Orange County NY43 / 100101
44Virginia Beach city VA43 / 100259
45Monroe County NY39 / 100592
46Montgomery County VA38 / 100113
47Henrico County VA38 / 100100
48Nassau County NY37 / 100470
49Lynchburg city VA37 / 100113
50Westmoreland County PA37 / 100133
51Delaware County PA36 / 100233
52Steuben County NY35 / 100111
53Union County NJ35 / 100202
54Erie County NY33 / 100501
55Hampton city VA33 / 100111
56Baltimore city MD32 / 1001,061
57Passaic County NJ31 / 100137
58Baltimore County MD30 / 100326
59Camden County NJ30 / 100193
60Queens County NY30 / 100106
61Middlesex County NJ28 / 100333
62Newport News city VA27 / 100123
63Tompkins County NY27 / 100104
64Bronx County NY25 / 100184

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 30%, unemployment rate 25%, private-sector job growth since 2022 25%, population growth since 2020 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; Census Bureau population estimates. 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 county job markets for job seekers in the mid-atlantic?
Loudoun County is the best all-round county for job seekers in the Mid-Atlantic, with a score of 85 / 100.
How many counties are ranked?
64 counties have at least 100 openings, so the list has 64 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 30%, unemployment rate 25%, private-sector job growth since 2022 25%, population growth since 2020 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 county job markets for job seekers in the Mid-Atlantic,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-county-job-markets-in-the-mid-atlantic

Link to it: <a href="https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-county-job-markets-in-the-mid-atlantic">Best county job markets for job seekers in the Mid-Atlantic (NextChapter, November 2026)</a>

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

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