This past September, financial planning website Smart Asset named Ames the top city for career opportunities. Among the rankings, Detroit came in at number five, Iowa City ranked number six and, just outside of the top 10, Des Moines ranked number  12.

Just last year, Ames was ranked eighth on the list while Iowa City did not even make the top 10. The question is, what changed from last year allowing both cities to rank higher?

Smart Asset takes seven factors into account when creating their best cities for career opportunities list. These seven elements include unemployment rates, one-year change in total employment, median income, income growth with age, median housing costs, career counselors per 1,000 workers and number of higher education teachers per 1,000 workers.

While last year Ames’ total employment growth was less than one percent, this year that number more than doubled to a 2.2 percent growth rate. Ames also has an unemployment rate of just 2.6 percent compared to the national rate of 4.4 percent.

Finally, the main reason for Ames’ number one spot according to Smart Asset is plentiful jobs and long-term earning potential. Late stage workers earn over 50 percent more than early stage workers- this means that the longer a person stays at a job, the more likely they are to receive a raise in income. Increased income through time motivates people to stay in Ames which in turn boosts the economy of the city overall.

Though Iowa City did not make the top 10 last year, they rank number six on the 2017 list. The city’s employment growth is 3.7 percent, a rate higher than that of Ames. However, Iowa City has a higher unemployment rate at 2.9 percent. Just slightly lower than Ames, late stage workers in Iowa City earn almost 50 percent more than early income workers.

Although Des Moines did not make the top 10 list this year, the employment growth rate is one of the highest in the country coming in at 4.3 percent growth. However, the unemployment rate is three percent which is more than Ames and Iowa City, but less than the national rate.

Overall, Smart Asset found that most of the cities on their list could be found in the Midwest, only one of which was considered a big city.

According to Smart Asset, “[Midwest] cities tend to offer a mix of affordability and good employment prospects. The downside is that average workers in the Midwest do not make quite as much as workers elsewhere.”