Top 15 Cities With the Most Innovative Workers

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Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on Smartest Dollar.

Entrepreneurs, economic experts, public officials, and many more tout the benefits of innovation in the modern economy. Innovation can drive economic growth by creating new jobs or industries, improving efficiency and productivity, and raising the quality of life.

Some economists have calculated that innovation contributes approximately 50% of annual U.S. GDP growth.

Jobs in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields are most commonly thought of as quintessentially innovative fields. And it is true that new inventions, technologies, and scientific discoveries have rapidly reshaped society and the economy since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

But in reality, innovation is not limited to STEM professions. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ O*NET database defines innovative jobs as those requiring creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems. And under this definition, innovative jobs are found in a wide range of disciplines beyond STEM fields, from the arts to education to entertainment.

In fact, many of the most innovative jobs according to O*NET are found in the arts, including highly creative jobs like choreographers, poets/lyricists, and writers/authors. Innovative jobs also include STEM fields like mechanical engineering, biochemistry, and biophysics, along with positions that bridge technology and the arts, like video game design.

At the other end of the spectrum, the jobs that O*NET considers less innovative include positions that are primarily manual labor, like agricultural graders, sorters, cutters, and trimmers, or service jobs, like hosts and hostesses or parking attendants.

Using data from O*NET and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, here are the cities with the most innovative workers.

15. Providence-Warwick, RI-MA

Providence, Rhode Island
Sean Pavone / Shutterstock.com
  • Composite innovation index: 59.45
  • Share of workers in the most innovative jobs: 3.2%
  • Total workers in the most innovative jobs: 17,000
  • Average annual wage for all workers: $60,530
  • Average annual wage for workers in the most innovative jobs: $85,627

14. Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI

Milwaukee homes
Henryk Sadura / Shutterstock.com
  • Composite innovation index: 59.45
  • Share of workers in the most innovative jobs: 3.4%
  • Total workers in the most innovative jobs: 26,590
  • Average annual wage for all workers: $56,190
  • Average annual wage for workers in the most innovative jobs: $77,605

13. Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN

Cincinnati
Anne Kitzman / Shutterstock.com
  • Composite innovation index: 59.50
  • Share of workers in the most innovative jobs: 3.4%
  • Total workers in the most innovative jobs: 34,480
  • Average annual wage for all workers: $54,910
  • Average annual wage for workers in the most innovative jobs: $81,629

12. Pittsburgh, PA

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
James Kirkikis / Shutterstock.com
  • Composite innovation index: 59.58
  • Share of workers in the most innovative jobs: 2.8%
  • Total workers in the most innovative jobs: 29,240
  • Average annual wage for all workers: $56,060
  • Average annual wage for workers in the most innovative jobs: $75,208

11. Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI

Grand Rapids, Michigan
Suzanne Tucker / Shutterstock.com
  • Composite innovation index: 59.61
  • Share of workers in the most innovative jobs: 3.5%
  • Total workers in the most innovative jobs: 17,750
  • Average annual wage for all workers: $52,660
  • Average annual wage for workers in the most innovative jobs: $69,637

10. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

Minneapolis, Minnesota
nikitsin.smugmug.com / Shutterstock.com
  • Composite innovation index: 59.78
  • Share of workers in the most innovative jobs: 3.6%
  • Total workers in the most innovative jobs: 65,960
  • Average annual wage for all workers: $63,990
  • Average annual wage for workers in the most innovative jobs: $83,195

9. Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT

Hartford, Connecticut
James Kirkikis / Shutterstock.com
  • Composite innovation index: 59.83
  • Share of workers in the most innovative jobs: 2.6%
  • Total workers in the most innovative jobs: 14,030
  • Average annual wage for all workers: $67,140
  • Average annual wage for workers in the most innovative jobs: $83,451

8. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO

Denver, Colorado
edgeofreason / Shutterstock.com
  • Composite innovation index: 59.91
  • Share of workers in the most innovative jobs: 3.6%
  • Total workers in the most innovative jobs: 52,340
  • Average annual wage for all workers: $66,750
  • Average annual wage for workers in the most innovative jobs: $85,378

7. Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY

Buffalo, New York
Atomazul / Shutterstock.com
  • Composite innovation index: 59.92
  • Share of workers in the most innovative jobs: 2.8%
  • Total workers in the most innovative jobs: 14,070
  • Average annual wage for all workers: $56,140
  • Average annual wage for workers in the most innovative jobs: $76,041

6. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD

Baltimore
f11photo / Shutterstock.com
  • Composite innovation index: 59.95
  • Share of workers in the most innovative jobs: 3.0%
  • Total workers in the most innovative jobs: 37,920
  • Average annual wage for all workers: $64,500
  • Average annual wage for workers in the most innovative jobs: $94,731

5. Cleveland-Elyria, OH

Cleveland, Ohio
Pedro Gutierrez / Shutterstock.com
  • Composite innovation index: 59.98
  • Share of workers in the most innovative jobs: 3.4%
  • Total workers in the most innovative jobs: 32,460
  • Average annual wage for all workers: $55,860
  • Average annual wage for workers in the most innovative jobs: $79,598

4. Rochester, NY

Rochester, Minnesota
IMG_191 / Shutterstock.com
  • Composite innovation index: 60.09
  • Share of workers in the most innovative jobs: 2.5%
  • Total workers in the most innovative jobs: 11,740
  • Average annual wage for all workers: $56,830
  • Average annual wage for workers in the most innovative jobs: $70,092

3. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI

Detroit as seen from the air.
Andrey Bayda / Shutterstock.com
  • Composite innovation index: 60.21
  • Share of workers in the most innovative jobs: 4.1%
  • Total workers in the most innovative jobs: 73,810
  • Average annual wage for all workers: $59,060
  • Average annual wage for workers in the most innovative jobs: $86,951

2. Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH

Boston, Massachusetts
f11photo / Shutterstock.com
  • Composite innovation index: 60.23
  • Share of workers in the most innovative jobs: 3.0%
  • Total workers in the most innovative jobs: 78,220
  • Average annual wage for all workers: $76,850
  • Average annual wage for workers in the most innovative jobs: $98,387

1. Austin-Round Rock, TX

Traffic in Austin, Texas
Philip Lange / Shutterstock.com
  • Composite innovation index: 60.36
  • Share of workers in the most innovative jobs: 3.2%
  • Total workers in the most innovative jobs: 34,150
  • Average annual wage for all workers: $60,260
  • Average annual wage for workers in the most innovative jobs: $81,527

Methodology

Man analyzing data on a laptop
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The data used in this analysis is from O*NET’s Occupation-Level Innovation Score and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.

To determine the locations with the most innovative workers, researchers calculated a composite innovation index for each location. The composite innovation index is an employment-weighted average of the occupation-level innovation scores for each location. In the event of a tie, the location with the greater share of workers in the most innovative jobs — those with an O*NET score of 80 or above — was ranked higher.

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