Phoenix, Ariz., is among the cities that have a lot in common with Sacramento, according to a new analysis.
Phoenix, Ariz., is among the cities that have a lot in common with Sacramento, according to a new analysis. Matt York Associated Press file
Phoenix, Ariz., is among the cities that have a lot in common with Sacramento, according to a new analysis. Matt York Associated Press file

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Which cities mirror Sacramento the closest? The New York Times has the answer

By Benjy Egel

begel@sacbee.com

April 03, 2018 02:23 PM

Snowbirds rejoice: Sacramento's twin city is another state capital, home to cacti and spring training baseball games.

Indeed.com chief economist Jed Kolko and Josh Katz of The New York Times analyzed Indeed job postings in dozens of metropolitan areas to find the closest links. Each pair of cities was given a "similarity score" based on the number of related job postings — 100 for the exact same percentage in each sector, 0 for no overlapping postings whatsoever.

Sacramento's earned similarity scores of 79-81 with Phoenix, Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas and Denver, and 78 with Miami, Kansas City, San Diego, Atlanta and San Antonio. To see the full results, click here.

The study found these cities were the best matches for Sacramento's employment base when broken down by region and other criteria:

  • Like Sacramento, but not Sacramento: Phoenix
  • Like Sacramento, but Midwestern: Kansas City
  • Like Sacramento, but Northeastern: Philadelphia
  • Like Sacramento, but Southern: Houston
  • Like Sacramento, but less populated: Columbia, Missouri
  • Like Sacramento, but voted for Donald Trump: Dallas

Sacramento also showed up as a more populated version of Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa and San Luis Obispo and the most similar alternative to the latter two areas.

Kolko and Katz's analysis didn't appear to include government employees, which would have likely pinned Sacramento to capitals in other states. They argued a breakdown of private sector could draw similarities between cities' cultural histories as well as their economic backgrounds.

"One reliable measure of how similar two cities are is their job mix, which reflects both local advantages and history (coal, a port, great universities) and local demand (a young population that needs teachers, or an older population that needs nurses)," they wrote.

A Bee analysis published in July 2017 found people who move out of state from the Sacramento area were mostly likely to end up in the sunny climates of Phoenix, Reno, Las Vegas and Austin, as well as Seattle.

Benjy Egel: (916) 321-1052, begel@sacbee.com

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