Where work pays: How does where you live matter for your earnings? - Lauren Bauer, Audrey Breitwieser, Ryan Nunn, and Jay Shambaugh; Brookings

Educational and occupational choices matter for your earnings, but where you work matters, too. Employment opportunities and wages in some occupations vary substantially from state to state, county to county, and city to city. One location might be a great place to earn a living as a nurse but not as a construction worker (e.g., New Orleans, Louisiana), while a different location might be the opposite (e.g., Utica, New York). Does it make sense for people starting or advancing their careers to move? And if it does, to where should they move? Editor's Note: An interactive tool accompanies this economic analysis, allowing users to see the distribution of annual earnings across the United States for a given occupation and age group, adjusting for cost of living and taxes. https://www.brookings.edu/research/where-work-pays-how-does-where-you-live-matter-for-your-earnings/