Top Healthcare Industry Towns: Who’s Paying and Hiring Most
By Bridget Quigg, PayScale.com
Healthcare industry has one of the hottest job markets. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects a total of 3.2 million new jobs in this industry between 2008 and 2018. But, are healthcare employers seeking healthcare workers by the hundreds in every town? Likely not. Some locations have greater demand than others.
PayScale’s data team dug into its database and crunched the numbers on which towns have the best combination of ample job openings and good wages. They came up with a list of ten and title this exclusive group their Healthcare Hotspots.
The number one town on the list is McAllen, Texas, which happens to boast double the number of healthcare workers per capita than the national average. As Al Lee, PayScale’s director of quantitative analysis and the lead on the study says, “If you’re not working in healthcare in McAllen, Texas, you’re not working.”
What sort of wage trends are healthcare employers working with, in terms of employee pay? As the chart below from The PayScale Index reveals, wages in the healthcare industry felt the weight of the recession, but not nearly as bad as the national wages as a whole. And, healthcare wages are climbing healthily now, outpacing the rest of the nation.
| The PayScale Index uses 2006 average total cash compensation as a baseline. |  | Healthcare & Social Assistance |  | National (US) | |
Below are the leaders of the healthcare hotspots study. You can find out more about how PayScale came up with this list by reading the methodology for the research.
 | Hotspots for Healthcare Jobs |
| Hotspots for Healthcare Jobs |
| Rank | Metro Area | Median Annual Pay -
Healthcare Occupations | Healthcare Hotspot Score* |
| 1 | McAllen, TX | $54,300 | 1.91 |
| 2 | Fort Myers, FL | $51,800 | 1.72 |
| 3 | New Haven, CT | $56,200 | 1.53 |
| 4 | Modesto, CA | $63,500 | 1.49 |
| 5 | Riverside, CA | $58,700 | 1.46 |
| 6 | Sarasota, FL | $48,500 | 1.43 |
| 7 | Augusta, GA | $45,300 | 1.41 |
| 8 | Lakeland, FL | $45,800 | 1.4 |
| 9 | Poughkeepsie, NY | $53,800 | 1.39 |
| 10 | Youngstown, OH | $45,000 | 1.39 |
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