Manufacturing used to be one of the largest industries in America. In 1910, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that nearly one-third of workers worked in manufacturing. Today, that number has shrunk to 8.7%. Many smaller cities that historically relied on these manufacturing jobs have suffered as a result of their decline. But manufacturing in America is probably more robust than you imagine. Many metro areas across the country have growing manufacturing sectors that employ workers in good jobs and enable them to save for their future.

Below we look at data on six factors to rank the best places to work in manufacturing. Specifically, we look at the manufacturing share of the workforce, percent change in manufacturing jobs from 2013 to 2016, percent change in average manufacturing income from 2013 to 2016, percent change in manufacturing jobs from 2015 to 2016, percent change in manufacturing income from 2015 to 2016 and manufacturing income as a percent of local housing costs. Check out our data and methodology below to see where we got our data and how we put it together to create our final rankings.

This is our third annual look at the best places to work in manufacturing. Check out the 2017 version here.

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