South Burlington, Vt., is the best city for a summer job, according to a May 20 ranking from personal finance website WalletHub.
WalletHub created the list by comparing 182 U.S. cities, including the 150 most populated and at least two of the most populated in each state across two areas: youth job market and social environment and affordability. Each city was evaluated using 21 metrics and graded on a 100-point scale, including availability of summer jobs and internships and summer employment growth.
Here are the 15 best and worst cities to get a summer job in 2026, per WalletHub:
15 best
1. South Burlington, Vt.
2. Scottsdale, Ariz.
3. Rapid City, S.D.
4. Columbia, Md.
5. Pearl City, Hawaii
6. Juneau, Alaska
7. Portland, Maine
8. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
9. Bismarck, N.D.
10. Orlando, Fla.
11. Peoria, Ariz.
12. Huntington Beach, Calif.
13. St. Louis
14. Warwick, R.I.
15. Las Vegas
15 worst
168. New Haven, Conn.
169. San Jose, Calif.
170. Tallahassee, Fla.
171. Lubbock, Texas
172. Shreveport, La.
173. Aurora, Ill.
174. Columbus, Ga.
175. Laredo, Texas
176. Philadelphia
177. Bridgeport, Conn.
178. Memphis, Tenn.
179. New York City
180. Fayetteville, N.C.
181. Jackson, Miss.
182. Baton Rouge, La.
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