NextChapter

Best county job markets for job seekers in the West Coast

Benton County is the best all-round county for job seekers in the West Coast, with a score of 90 / 100.November 2026 edition. Updated monthly, from public Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census data.

Key facts

  • #1 Benton County, WA: 90 / 100
  • #2 Deschutes County, OR: 82 / 100
  • #3 Clark County, WA: 76 / 100
  • 34 counties ranked in the West Coast
  • Data as of November 2026
  1. 1Benton County WA90 / 100
  2. 2Deschutes County OR82 / 100
  3. 3Clark County WA76 / 100
  4. 4Placer County CA72 / 100
  5. 5Spokane County WA71 / 100
  6. 6Orange County CA65 / 100
  7. 7Santa Clara County CA64 / 100
  8. 8Sacramento County CA61 / 100
  9. 9Snohomish County WA59 / 100
  10. 10San Diego County CA58 / 100

What stands out

  • The top ten is tightly packed: Benton County leads on 90 / 100, and #10 San Diego County is at 58 / 100.
  • Deschutes County reaches #2 on a sample of 100 openings, a smaller market than most of the top ten, so its rank can move more from month to month.
  • Santa Clara County is the largest market in the top ten, with 9,172 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

    Benton County WA

    90 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    4
    Unemployment rate
    3.5%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +5.9%

    Based on 133 openings.

    Benton County job market

  2. 2

    Deschutes County OR

    82 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    2
    Unemployment rate
    3.9%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +5.3%

    Based on 100 openings.

    Deschutes County job market

  3. 3

    Clark County WA

    76 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    2
    Unemployment rate
    3.6%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +3.3%

    Based on 174 openings.

    Clark County job market

  4. 4

    Placer County CA

    72 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    3
    Unemployment rate
    4.4%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +2.5%

    Based on 250 openings.

    Placer County job market

  5. 5

    Spokane County WA

    71 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    2
    Unemployment rate
    3.2%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +1.6%

    Based on 179 openings.

    Spokane County job market

  6. 6

    Orange County CA

    65 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    7
    Unemployment rate
    4.3%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +1.1%

    Based on 4,573 openings.

    Orange County job market

  7. 7

    Santa Clara County CA

    64 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    21
    Unemployment rate
    4.2%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    −0.4%

    Based on 9,172 openings.

    Santa Clara County job market

  8. 8

    Sacramento County CA

    61 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    4
    Unemployment rate
    5.1%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +3.1%

    Based on 1,571 openings.

    Sacramento County job market

  9. 9

    Snohomish County WA

    59 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    2
    Unemployment rate
    4.9%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +4.6%

    Based on 371 openings.

    Snohomish County job market

  10. 10

    San Diego County CA

    58 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    5
    Unemployment rate
    4.7%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +0.9%

    Based on 3,888 openings.

    San Diego County job market

  11. 11

    Washington County OR

    57 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    3
    Unemployment rate
    4.1%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    −1.6%

    Based on 436 openings.

    Washington County job market

  12. 12

    King County WA

    56 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    13
    Unemployment rate
    4.8%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    −2.2%

    Based on 8,591 openings.

    King County job market

  13. 13

    San Mateo County CA

    55 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    18
    Unemployment rate
    3.9%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    −3.0%

    Based on 2,927 openings.

    San Mateo County job market

  14. 14

    San Francisco County CA

    51 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    58
    Unemployment rate
    4.0%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    −7.6%

    Based on 11,689 openings.

    San Francisco County job market

  15. 15

    Los Angeles County CA

    51 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    5
    Unemployment rate
    4.5%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +0.2%

    Based on 10,860 openings.

    Los Angeles County job market

  16. 16

    San Luis Obispo County CA

    50 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    2
    Unemployment rate
    4.6%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +1.6%

    Based on 103 openings.

    San Luis Obispo County job market

  17. 17

    Marin County CA

    48 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    2
    Unemployment rate
    4.3%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +0.0%

    Based on 123 openings.

    Marin County job market

  18. 18

    Pierce County WA

    46 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    1
    Unemployment rate
    5.1%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +3.3%

    Based on 241 openings.

    Pierce County job market

  19. 19

    Solano County CA

    46 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    1
    Unemployment rate
    5.3%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +3.8%

    Based on 138 openings.

    Solano County job market

  20. 20

    Contra Costa County CA

    46 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    2
    Unemployment rate
    4.8%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +0.7%

    Based on 488 openings.

    Contra Costa County job market

  21. 21

    Sonoma County CA

    45 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    2
    Unemployment rate
    4.3%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    −1.7%

    Based on 211 openings.

    Sonoma County job market

  22. 22

    Multnomah County OR

    45 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    4
    Unemployment rate
    4.3%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    −2.8%

    Based on 843 openings.

    Multnomah County job market

  23. 23

    Alameda County CA

    43 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    6
    Unemployment rate
    4.7%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    −1.8%

    Based on 2,273 openings.

    Alameda County job market

  24. 24

    Riverside County CA

    43 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    1
    Unemployment rate
    5.9%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    +3.8%

    Based on 557 openings.

    Riverside County job market

  25. 25

    Lane County OR

    43 / 100

    Openings per 100 unemployed
    2
    Unemployment rate
    4.4%
    Private-sector job growth since 2022
    −0.1%

    Based on 132 openings.

    Lane County job market

Full ranking

All 34 counties that qualified, with the figure each is ranked on.

RankCountyScoreSample
1Benton County WA90 / 100133
2Deschutes County OR82 / 100100
3Clark County WA76 / 100174
4Placer County CA72 / 100250
5Spokane County WA71 / 100179
6Orange County CA65 / 1004,573
7Santa Clara County CA64 / 1009,172
8Sacramento County CA61 / 1001,571
9Snohomish County WA59 / 100371
10San Diego County CA58 / 1003,888
11Washington County OR57 / 100436
12King County WA56 / 1008,591
13San Mateo County CA55 / 1002,927
14San Francisco County CA51 / 10011,689
15Los Angeles County CA51 / 10010,860
16San Luis Obispo County CA50 / 100103
17Marin County CA48 / 100123
18Pierce County WA46 / 100241
19Solano County CA46 / 100138
20Contra Costa County CA46 / 100488
21Sonoma County CA45 / 100211
22Multnomah County OR45 / 100843
23Alameda County CA43 / 1002,273
24Riverside County CA43 / 100557
25Lane County OR43 / 100132
26Santa Barbara County CA42 / 100331
27San Joaquin County CA41 / 100193
28Ventura County CA38 / 100318
29Fresno County CA34 / 100223
30San Bernardino County CA33 / 100670
31Kern County CA26 / 100325
32Stanislaus County CA23 / 100138
33Santa Cruz County CA23 / 100110
34Monterey County CA17 / 100114

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 west coast?
Benton County is the best all-round county for job seekers in the West Coast, with a score of 90 / 100.
How many counties are ranked?
34 counties have at least 100 openings, so the list has 34 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 West Coast,” November 2026 edition. https://launchyournextchapter.com/rankings/best-county-job-markets-in-the-west-coast

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

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

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