For the most part, we are out of the recession. Sure, many people are still feeling the effects, but the economy has been steady for quite a bit now and people are finding jobs. Things are looking up. That being said, there are still cities where career opportunities are more abundant and where professionals will find more chance of success.

SmartAsset investigated the job market data in the 355 largest metro areas in the U.S., taking into consideration the growth rate in job availability, number of vocational and career counselors in metro areas areas, as well as the wage growth from early to late careers.

And the results are interesting, to say the least.

For one, Utah is leading the way, with three out of the top 4 best metro areas being in the Beehive State. California, despite its reputation as a Golden State of opportunity actually fared extremely poorly, with no metro areas in the top 25 and five in the bottom 25.

The metro area that topped the list is Provo, Utah, followed closely by Logan, also in Utah, Fargo, North Dakota and Utah’s capital, Salt Lake City in the fourth place. Dayton, Ohio rounds off the top 5. The other five cities that made it to top 10 are Austin, Texas; Toledo, Ohio; Burlington, Vermont; Madison, Wisconsin and Buffalo, New York.