2026 Compare Cities Job Market:
Cookeville, TN vs Merced, CA

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Highlights
- Job Growth in Merced has been positive.
- Merced has 3.9% less unemployment than Cookeville.
- Merced job growth has increased by 6.0% in the past 10 years.
 Cookeville, TNMerced, CAUnited States
 Current Unemployment  Unlock9.3%6.0%
 Future Job Growth42.3%  Unlock33.5%
 Recent Job Growth  Unlock-5.2%-6.2%
 3 Yr. Job Growth0.5%  Unlock-3.6%
 5 Yr. Job Growth  Unlock-2.1%-0.7%
 10 Yr. Job Growth8.6%  Unlock6.3%
Reviews for Cookeville    12 Reviews

Over 4 years ago

I lived in Cookeville for around 7 years non consecutively. Don’t expect to go on a walk here. Sidewalks are fairly abundant but they are not well maintained and there  More

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My wife and I both moved here to work for state government. Other people are right, the pay is awful, hovering around $28k for people with masters and doctorates. Rental  More

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Been here for 4-5 years now, crime is on the rise and pay is stagnant, don't look for much over 28k a year in gross income here. Lots of areas are getting metro  More

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Reviews for Merced    44 Reviews

Merced is totally slept on - you want a little bit of everything CA has to offer, at a fraction of the price of other CA cities? Merced is the place to go. The town  More

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Over 6 years ago

Good place to live. More affordable than most of california. The city is growing and there is alot of business and growth here. Moved from the Bay area years ago and  More

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Great place to live. Lots of progress and changes coming to the city. Great place to raise a family. UC Merced is expanding and businesses are investing. Downtown is  More

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