The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area, along with two other Tampa Bay metros, are among the best areas for STEM professionals, according to a new report.
WalletHub evaluated the nation’s 100 largest metro areas to find the best metros for science, technology, engineering and math workers. Each metro was graded on key areas including STEM opportunities, STEM friendliness and quality of life.
The Tampa metro ranked as the 22nd-best for STEM workers, scoring well for professional opportunities and quality of life. It also has the second-highest annual median wage growth for STEM workers behind only the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton metro area.
The Lakeland-Winter Haven metropolitan area also made the list, landing at the No. 86 spot. Its best category was STEM friendliness. Its STEM opportunities score, the 10th worst on the report, hurt its ranking.
The North Port metro area landed near the bottom of the list at No. 94, the third worst in the state. Only the Cape Coral and Deltona metro areas ranked worst in Florida. Overall, North Port scored poorly in all three categories, but it did have the highest annual median wage growth for STEM workers.
The Orlando metro area ranked as the best in Florida landing at the No. 19 spot overall. The Jacksonville area landed at No. 63 and Miami’s metro area landed at No. 72.
