Seattle is third-best city for job-seekers, Glassdoor says

Seattle’s technology-fueled job market is the third best in the country for job-seekers this year, according to a report from salary data and recruiting website Glassdoor.

But as with many of the extremes of Seattle and its rivals in the booming technology industry, Silicon Valley comes first.

San Jose, Calif., was No. 1 in the ranking, followed by San Francisco. Those cities and their neighbors are home to such technology giants as Google, Apple and Facebook, as well as a thriving startup scene.

Glassdoor compiled the list by weighing U.S. metropolitan areas by the ratio of job listings to population, cost of living, and how satisfied workers reporting to Glassdoor said they were with their job and work-life balance in surveys on the website.

Seattle is clearly beating the California cities in affordability, with Glassdoor reporting a median home value of $382,000 in the metro area, compared with $956,000 for greater San Jose, and $806,000 in San Francisco.

Seattle’s median base salary, according to Glassdoor, was $85,000, short of San Jose’s $112,000, and San Francisco’s $88,000.

Geeky job titles are among the most desired by employers. Glassdoor lists UI-UX (user interface/experience) designer, data scientist and engagement manager as its hot three jobs in the Seattle area.

Boston was ranked fourth, and Washington, D.C., rounded out the top five.