Where in the U.S. will you find the most satisfied employees? And what makes them so satisfied in their jobs? For job seekers looking to relocate or launch their career, Glassdoor has released its second annual Employment Satisfaction Report Card by City (2014), offering a comparison by city of overall employee satisfaction, number of employers hiring, business outlook expectations and more, according to local employees in the 50 largest U.S. metros.

Based on local employee feedback shared over the past 12 months, the San Francisco Bay Area takes the lead for the second year in a row, with San Jose, CA ranking #1 (3.5 employment satisfaction rating) and San Francisco, CA taking #2 (3.4).  Both cities are home to several companies that won a 2014 Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award, honoring  the 50 Best Places to Work. (Curious why employees in San Jose, CA are the most satisfied in their jobs? Check out our video to hear from local employees in their own words).

Washington, D.C. (3.4) jumps two spots from #5 on last year’s report to #3 this year, followed by Norfolk, VA (3.4) at #4 (up 8 spots from #12 last year) and Salt Lake City, UT (3.4) rounding out the top five. (Ratings based on a 5-point scale: 1.0=very dissatisfied, 3.0=OK, 5.0=very satisfied).

nterestingly, Salt Lake City (#5) ranks #1 when it comes to employee optimism for business outlook. Fifty-two percent of Salt Lake City employees believe business will improve in the next six months. Local employees report several benefits of working in Salt Lake City, including enjoying a healthy work-life balance, in part comprised of working reasonable hours and being able to take advantage of the beautiful city and outdoors.

Check out the complete results:

For simplicity of reporting, ratings are rounded to the nearest tenth. To determine rank, actual ratings extend to the thousandth.

Want to know even more about which jobs employers are hiring for in the 10 highest-rated cities? Check out just some of the most in-demand jobs:

#1: San Jose, CA

• Software Engineer
• Product Manager
• Data Scientist

#2: San Francisco, CA

• Software Engineer
• Business Analyst
• Recruiter

#3: Washington, D.C.

• Java Developer
• Business Analyst
• Technical Writer

#4: Norfolk, VA

• Sales Associate
• Project Manager
• Occupational Therapist

#5: Salt Lake City, UT

• Customer Service Representative
• Software Engineer
• Administrative Assistant

#6: San Diego, CA

• Software Engineer
• Sales Associate
• Cook

#7: Seattle, WA

• Project Manager
• Software Engineer
• Customer Service Representative

#8: Oklahoma City, OK

• Sales Associate
• Cook
• Occupational Therapist

#9: San Antonio, TX

• Customer Service Representative
• Bartender
• Restaurant Manager

#10: Austin, TX

• Software Engineer
• Business Analyst
• Staff Accountant

Note: Job titles represent just some of the most in-demand jobs per city; Based on at least 20 employers per city with at least one job listing on Glassdoor as of 6/4/14.