Where the best job prospects are in the U.S.

Like a guy looking for a date who goes where the most women are to increase his chances, so goes the search for a job.

Go where the most jobs are and the least number of applicants, and you're more likely to find a job.

Narrowing the job search is easier with Indeed.com's Job Market Competition Index, which compares the number of unemployed to the number of job postings in the 50 biggest cities in the United States.

With Washington, D.C. at the top of the list with a 6:1 ratio of six job postings for every unemployed person on the job search site, the index shows how much competition is out there and helps job seekers track which parts of the country offer the best chance of finding a job.

A new president in office, and a federal stimulus package, must help provide jobs in the nation's capitol.

At the bottom of the list of the 50 biggest cities is -- no surprise -- Detroit, with one job posting for every 18 unemployed people.

A map of job postings per capita is depressing because instead of big, red dots all over the map, most metro areas have small dots. The biggest dot is in Washington, D.C., which has 132 jobs per 1,000 people.

I've written before about some of the best cities to get a fresh start on a new job, based on where the jobs are, but the Indeed.com list really lays it out and makes it easy to find job listings in the listed cities.

After Washington, D.C. and its six job listings for every unemployed person, here are other top cities with a job listing to unemployed ratio of 1:2 or better, followed by their ratio:

• Jacksonville, Fla., 3:1
• Baltimore, Md., 1:1
• Salt Lake City, Utah, 1:2
• New York, N.Y., 1:2
• San Jose, Calif., 1:2
• Hartford, Conn., 1:2

The worst cities after Detroit's 1:18 ratio of job listings to unemployed, with a ratio of 1:7 or worse are:

• Miami, Fla., 1:10
• Riverside, Calif., 1:9
• Los Angeles, Calif, 1:8
• Portland, Ore., 1:7
• Chicago, Ill., 1:7

Now you know which cities to stay away from if you want to increase your chances of finding a job.

Chances are the guy looking for a date isn't scouting out construction sites.

Aaron Crowe is a freelance journalist in the San Francisco Bay Area. Reach him at www.AaronCrowe.net