The best job in America when factoring all the factors, do you agree?

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A new analysis rates jobs based on median salary, job satisfaction, work-life balance, stress level, unemployment rate and growth in that sector

We’ve had the great resignation, quiet quitting, resistance to going back to the office — and now? It turns out people are looking for happiness, stability, flexibility and a good salary.

In 2023, in the wake of the worst days of the pandemic, most U.S. job switchers and others seeking employment want to land a job that at the very least keeps up with red-hot inflation and provides some level of work-life balance. But they also want to be happy. After all, most Americans spend at least eight hours a day working — many of them without paid time off.

For workers, it’s the $121,000 question in an increasingly unpredictable and yet stubbornly tight labor market: Will wage increases keep up with 7.1% inflation? They’re also asking whether you can give it your all and still have time for a life outside of work. And they’re wondering what careers have the promise of a six-figure annual income, high job satisfaction and enough openings to make getting hired a realistic option.

When it comes to how Americans in general feel about their current jobs, the number of people who are quitting may be an indication. That number, which has topped 4 million for a record 18 months in a row, went up slightly in November, to 4.17 million, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said last week. The so-called quits rate rose again to 3% from 2.9% among private-sector workers after peaking at 3.4% near the end of 2021.

The higher quit rate is generally a good sign for the economy, even one in which interest rates are rapidly rising. People quit more often when they think it will be easy to get a better job. But the labor market has become a bit more competitive, with job openings in the U.S. falling slightly to 10.46 million in November, from 10.51 million in October.

‘The 10-year outlook for the occupation is strong and expected to grow at an above-average rate.’

— Janica Ingram, careers editor at U.S. News and World Report U.S. News and World Report ranking released Tuesday looked at BLS data to identify jobs for which new hires are in the greatest demand. It then ranked those jobs using seven measurements: 10-year growth volume (the number of new jobs expected to be created), 10-year growth percentage (the estimated percentage of employment growth for the job), median salary, employment rate, future job prospects, stress level and work-life balance.

Drumroll, please. With a median annual salary of $121,000 — based on BLS data and salary ranges from other sites, including CareerBuilder — the best job in America is software developer. Software developers writes code to build and improve computer applications and programs.

“Software developers are becoming increasingly critical for the growth and sustained success of businesses across industries,” said Janica Ingram, careers editor at U.S. News.  The BLS projects a 25% increase in these positions between 2021 and 2031.