Help Wanted: Portland, Maine, Named Top Spot for Summer Job Opportunities

Maine's largest city recently received high praise for its employment opportunities.

WalletHub, a popular personal finance website, has published its annual report on the best American cities to for summer jobs. Not only can Portland be found near the top, but it's also the highest-ranked New England cities on the list. Not too shabby at all.

Portland ranks as the 4th best city for summer job opportunities. That's out of a list of 182 cities used in WalletHub's survey. I have to say, that's a very reputable ranking for Portland, especially with it being the highest rated in the entire Northeast.

Maine scored a 56.92 out of a possible 100 points. The scoring system is based on two major categories: youth job market and social environment & affordability. These categories are broken down into 21 subcategories to make it as detailed as possible. You can read about the methodology here.

Maine finished with an overall ranking of 10th in youth job market. I'm not shocked to see such a high ranking for this category. Portland is a tourist town. Just think of the countless seasonal opportunities for Maine's young workforce.

The Pine Tree State did even better in the social environment & affordability category, coming in with an eigth-place ranking. I must say, this is a bit more of a surprise. Portland isn't exactly known for its affordability. However, this just illustrates we are not alone in the epidemic of rising housing and living costs.

Portland was one of just two New England cities that made the top 10 in this study. South Burlington came in just a few places behind Portland at number six.

Portland was also not the only Maine city represented. The city of Lewiston was in the survey, finishing mid-pack. Lewiston had an overall ranking of 95. This included a solid 74th ranking in job opportunities.

So what was the top city on the survey? That would be Columbia, MD. The Baltimore and DC suburb aced the competition, including a number one ranking in job market.

Crab cakes, football, and jobs. That's what Maryland does.

You can check out the entire list here.