CareerBliss Reveals Company Culture Trumps Cash in its Top 20 Happiest U.S. Cities for Young Professionals

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CareerBliss, the leading online career community empowering people to find happier jobs, with over 3 million open jobs, confidential reviews and salary information on CareerBliss.com, announced the latest data identifying the Top 20 Happiest U.S. Cities for Young Professionals for 2012. Los Angeles, San Jose and Sunnyvale top the list, affirming California leads the way for young professionals looking for workplace happiness.

“Through our research, we have found that a positive company culture, which focuses on overall happiness and not just compensation, is key for young professionals”

“Through our research, we have found that a positive company culture, which focuses on overall happiness and not just compensation, is key for young professionals,” said Heidi Golledge, Chief Happiness Officer and co-founder of CareerBliss. “We have cities ranking higher, even though some are paying less because they offer a happier life for employees who chose to live and work there.

“This study reveals what really matters to folks in their career. It is vital for employers and young professionals to understand what factors impact their happiness so the YPs can feel empowered and know where to take their next career step or the employer can start to change their culture to create happiness.”

CareerBliss’ Top 20 Happiest U.S. Cities for Young Professionals for 2012

Rank	City	Bliss Score
1	Los Angeles, CA	3.952
2	San Jose, CA	3.951
3	Sunnyvale, CA	3.950
4	Indianapolis, IN	3.942
5	San Diego, CA	3.884
6	Irvine, CA	3.866
7	Atlanta, GA	3.857
8	Boston, MA	3.845
9	San Francisco, CA	3.833
10	San Antonio, TX	3.828
11	Las Vegas, NV	3.820
12	Seattle, WA	3.784
13	Irving, TX	3.783
14	Philadelphia, PA	3.779
15	Orlando, FL	3.763
16	Pittsburgh, PA	3.743
17	New York, NY	3.716
18	Plano, TX	3.705
19	Miami, FL	3.679
20	Houston, TX	3.672

Methodology used to find the Top 20:

The research results are based on analysis from more than 38,000 employee reviews, completed between 2011 and 2012. Young professionals—defined by CareerBliss as employees with less than 10 years’ experience in a full-time position—were asked to rate 10 key factors that affect workplace happiness including, work-life balance, compensation, company culture, overall work environment, company reputation, relationships with managers and co-workers, opportunities for growth, job resources, daily tasks, and job autonomy.

The key factors were rated by employees on a 5-point scale, including an indication as to how important each factor was to their overall happiness at work. The numbers were combined to find an average rating of overall employee happiness for each respondent, and then sorted by location to find which cities have highest “Bliss Scores”—happiest young workers.

“Everyone at CareerBliss is dedicated to understanding what work environments are happiest for all professionals to help both employers and employees find true lasting success,” said Golledge. “This information can help mold the career path for young professionals and help employers build happier work environments that foster long-term employee relationships.”

About CareerBliss

CareerBliss is a unique online career community designed to help everyone find happiness in the workplace. An information hub for everyone that works—employers, job seekers and recruiters—CareerBliss offers the ability to find out what constitutes happiness, to seek out new jobs, or to improve upon a current job using our PhD Board of Advisors. CareerBliss offers more than six million independent company reviews and salary comparisons, and three million job listings. For more information, visit www.CareerBliss.com.