Looking for a STEM career? New report says Huntsville is best in the US

Cummings Research Park in Huntsville 3.26.2015

Cummings Research Park is a 3,800-acre park in Huntsville with over 300 companies and 26,000 employees specializing in engineering, technology, research and design. (Sarah Cole | Scole@al.com)

By Lucy Berry | lberry@al.com AL.com
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on June 02, 2015 at 11:28 AM, updated June 02, 2015 at 1:30 PM

The same organization that ranked Huntsville the top city for engineers and the second best place for technology jobs has offered another accolade to the area’s growing STEM community.

NerdWallet has named Huntsville the best place for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) grads in the U.S. Nearby Decatur, the only other Alabama city to make the ranking, fell at No. 34 on the list.

The top 10 best cities for STEM grads in 2015 are:

  1. Huntsville
  2. San Jose, Calif.
  3. Boulder, Colo.
  4. Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.
  5. Seattle
  6. Kennewick, Wash.
  7. San Francisco
  8. Washington, D.C.
  9. Houston
  10. Palm Bay, Fla.

Calling Huntsville the “STEM heart of the South,” NerdWallet strategy analyst Sreekar Jasthi praised the city’s STEM industry, high average STEM salary and low cost of living. The city has 155.65 STEM employees per 1,000 jobs, an average STEM salary of $91,900.81 and a median rent of $725 for an overall score of 76.39, according to the report.

NerdWallet, which looked at the size of the industry and income for STEM jobs in 354 of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas, calculated the ranking using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and U.S. Census Bureau.

Jobs in the computer, math, architecture, engineering, and life/physical/social science fields were analyzed. Click here to see the report.