Best Cities for Construction Managers to Build their Careers

By Charles Thibault on November 16, 2009

WANTED's Supply/Demand Ratios are constructed to maximize a job seeker's probability of finding employment:

For a given occupation, which cities have the greatest demand for them?
For a given city, which occupations are in most demand there?

Our S/D Ratios are an index scale centered around 100, with values greater than 100 indicating Hiring Demand that is greater than the national average. Sorting markets or occupations descending on the S/D Ratio maximizes a job seeker's chance of finding a job.

This week, we look at Construction Managers (Standard Occupation Code 119021). According to the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), Construction Managers are well versed in project management, must possess excellent communication skills, and must also have detailed knowledge of building codes and construction practices. Most Construction Managers have a bachelor's degree or higher, although this is not a formal requirement in many instances. It's also important to note that the Bureau of Labor Statistics lumps Construction Managers with "Management Occupations" (SOC 110000) – they are not part of the "Construction and Extraction Occupations" grouping (SOC 470000). The average annual salary for Construction Managers is almost $90,000, which indicates a high level of professional specialization.

We'll have to disagree with O*NET, however, on their claim that Construction Managers are "In Demand". In fact, according to WANTED Analytics, which tracks online job postings on over 1,000 employment websites, Hiring Demand for Construction Managers has been shrinking 2.6% a month on average over the past 4 years. On the other hand, Hiring Demand for all construction workers has deteriorated much faster, down 3.4% a month on average over the past 4 years.

Source: WANTED Analytics

That being said, relative to the number of workers employed, there are almost 5 times more online job ads for Construction Managers than there are for other construction occupations:

Occupation	US Employment	Online Job Ads (Sept)	Job Ads/Worker (Sept)	Job Ads/Worker (Annual)
Construction Managers	220,550	1,268	0.57%	6.9%
All Other Construction Occupations	5,882,810	7,550	0.13%	1.5%

So – which cities are the best for Construction Managers to find work?

CBSA Code	CBSA Description	Job Ads (Sept)	Employment	S/D Ratio
47900	Washington, DC	415	5880	135
41860	San Francisco, CA	206	3430	127
35620	New York, NY	453	14380	124
31100	Los Angeles, CA	313	8110	124
45940	Trenton, NJ	42	360	123
37980	Philadelphia, PA	151	3410	120
33460	Minneapolis, MN	99	1880	118
14460	Boston, MA	138	3520	117
39300	Providence, RI	41	480	117
17820	Colorado Springs, CO	46	590	117
12580	Baltimore, MD	116	3170	115
35380	New Orleans, LA	43	620	114
42540	Scranton, PA	20	170	113
19740	Denver, CO	97	2770	112
16980	Chicago, IL	129	4590	112
12060	Atlanta, GA	136	5710	110
38300	Pittsburgh, PA	59	1330	110
15380	Buffalo, NY	33	500	109
25420	Harrisburg, PA	21	230	109
26180	Honolulu, HI	42	810	108

No surprise, larger markets represent better employment opportunities for Construction Managers. Some surprises, though, are Trenton NJ, Providence RI, Colorado Springs CO, Scranton PA, Harrisburg PA, and Honolulu HI.