Savannah, GA Job Market & Economy
The real relocation question isn't whether Savannah is nice. It's whether you can find work in your field, and whether it pays enough. Fair question, and the honest answer depends a lot on what you do. Some sectors here pay above the national average. Others run below it.
I sell homes here and I watch this economy closely, because a stable job market is what makes a mortgage make sense. Here's what the numbers actually say.
A Tight Labor Market
Savannah's unemployment was 3.0 percent in March 2026, below the national rate, and it's held under the national average for years. The labor force hit a record 220,400 that month (FRED). Total nonfarm jobs sat around 215,900 in April 2026, a slight 0.5 percent dip year over year, mostly from trade-policy headwinds in logistics.
| Period | Unemployment |
|---|---|
| 2022 annual | 3.0% |
| 2023 annual | 2.9% |
| 2024 annual | 3.1% |
| Dec 2025 | 2.8% |
| March 2026 | 3.0% |
Source: FRED / Georgia DOL / BLS.
Who the Big Employers Are
| Employer | Sector | Local employees |
|---|---|---|
| Gulfstream Aerospace | Aerospace / manufacturing | ~13,000 |
| Fort Stewart / Hunter Army Airfield | Military / federal | 6,700 |
| Savannah-Chatham Co. Board of Education | Public education | 5,882 |
| Memorial Health (HCA) | Healthcare | ~3,860 |
| Georgia Southern University | Higher education | 2,781 |
| St. Joseph's/Candler | Healthcare | ~2,535 |
| SCAD | Higher ed / arts | 2,320 |
| Georgia Ports Authority | Logistics | 1,790 |
| Hyundai Metaplant (Bryan Co.) | EV manufacturing | 1,444+ (ramping to 8,500 by 2031) |
Sources: Savannah Chamber; AJC Jan 2026; Revelio Labs 2025; GPA.
Worth noting: the two big hospital systems together employ around 6,400, which makes healthcare the second-largest private cluster after Gulfstream.
What Sectors Actually Pay
This is the part that matters. Savannah's overall mean wage is about $28.31 an hour, roughly $58,885 a year, which is around 13 percent below the national average (BLS OES, May 2024). But that average hides big swings by field.
| Occupational group | Savannah annual (est.) | vs. national |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture & engineering | ~$126,464 | +22% |
| Production (manufacturing) | ~$55,099 | +10% |
| Healthcare practitioners | ~$90,941 | -13% |
| Computer & mathematical | ~$97,989 | -16% |
| Transportation & material moving | ~$48,630 | ~parity |
| Food prep & serving | ~$30,930 | -14% |
| All occupations (mean) | ~$58,885 | -13% |
The standout is engineering, which pays 22 percent above national here, thanks to Gulfstream's concentration of aerospace engineers. Production workers beat the national average too. SEDA notes Savannah has roughly seven times the national concentration of aerospace mechanics. Median household income is about $57,137 (Niche). And because cost of living runs a few percent below national, the real purchasing-power gap is smaller than the wage gap looks on paper.
The Three Pillars: Port, Aerospace, Tourism
Port of Savannah. The third-busiest container port in the U.S., moving 5.7 million TEUs in FY2025 (up 8.6 percent). It supports about 81,816 direct jobs in Chatham County and nearly 112,000 across coastal Georgia (GPA, Nov 2025). Roles run from longshoremen and crane operators to logistics management, rail, and warehouse work across roughly 125 million square feet of industrial space. GPA has committed $4.5 to $5 billion over ten years to push capacity toward 9 million TEUs by 2035.
Gulfstream Aerospace. Georgia's largest manufacturer and Savannah's largest private employer, headquartered here since 1967, with around 13,000 local employees including 2,600 in R&D. As of early 2025 the company reportedly would hire 1,200 people immediately if it could find them (Georgia Trend), so demand for aerospace talent is real and current.
Tourism. 12.9 million visitors and $4.1 billion in spending in 2025, supporting about 40,780 jobs (Tourism Economics / Visit Savannah). It's stable at record levels, though wages here skew lower than the port and aerospace.
The New Arrivals Reshaping Things
The big one is the Hyundai Metaplant in Ellabell (Bryan County, about 20 miles west), a $12.6 billion EV plant that opened in March 2025 as the largest economic development project in Georgia history. It's ramping toward 8,500 jobs by 2031, with a $2.7 billion Phase 2 announced in September 2025 adding roughly 3,000 more. The supplier ecosystem has already brought 20-plus companies and 7,000-plus announced jobs to the region. Manufacturing employment around Savannah is up roughly 29 percent since the 2022 announcement.
But Hyundai isn't the only thing in motion. A few more worth knowing if you're weighing a move:
Memorial Health's $265 million patient tower (announced March 2025). This is a major expansion of the region's only Level I trauma center, adding inpatient beds and a modernized surgical wing. For newcomers, that means a steady, multi-year pipeline of construction hiring now, and clinical and support-staff hiring once it opens, since healthcare is already Savannah's second-largest private employment cluster.
The Savannah Convention Center expansion, a completed $276 million project that roughly doubled the facility's footprint on Hutchinson Island, adding meeting space and a new ballroom. Bigger, more frequent conventions mean steadier work across hospitality, catering, and events, not just the seasonal tourist rush.
Ocean Terminal's $1.6 billion redevelopment, the Georgia Ports Authority's project to convert the terminal into an all-container facility with extended berths and modern container-handling infrastructure. It's a long-horizon investment, one that keeps port-related logistics, rail, and warehouse hiring growing well past this decade.
A small but growing tech scene. Information-sector employment is up 33.3 percent year over year, admittedly off a small base, and 6.4 percent of workers here are remote, above the state and national averages. It's not Atlanta's tech corridor, but between expanding fiber broadband and a wave of remote professionals relocating for lifestyle reasons, the runway is real.
FAQ
What is Savannah's unemployment rate?
3.0 percent as of March 2026, below the national average, and the labor force just hit a record 220,400.
Who are the biggest employers in Savannah?
Gulfstream leads at around 13,000, followed by Fort Stewart and Hunter (6,700), the school board (5,882), Memorial Health (about 3,860), and Georgia Southern (2,781). Hyundai's Metaplant will pass 8,500 by 2031.
What pays best in Savannah?
Aerospace engineering, at around $126k, runs 22 percent above the national average. Manufacturing production beats national too, and finance and management run high per SEDA data.
What is the average salary in Savannah?
About $58,885 across all jobs, roughly 13 percent below national, though the lower cost of living closes part of that gap.
Are there healthcare jobs in Savannah?
You're in good shape. Healthcare's the metro's third-largest sector at around 27,742 jobs, Memorial's expanding, and practitioners average about $91k.
Can you work remotely from Savannah?
It keeps getting easier. 6.4 percent of workers here are already remote, above state and national averages, with growing fiber broadband and a 21-minute average commute.
Savannah or Atlanta for work?
Atlanta's market is bigger and more corporate. Savannah's specialized instead: aerospace, port logistics, tourism, healthcare, and education, with less competition for skilled trades and engineering, a lower cost of living, and shorter commutes. Unemployment runs similarly low, but wages outside aerospace tend to run lower.
A Note From Me
If you're relocating for a specific employer, the next question is where to live relative to that commute, what the homes cost, and what the taxes and flood picture look like. That's my lane. Tell me your job site, Gulfstream, the port corridor, the Metaplant, a hospital, and your budget, and I'll map the neighborhoods that make sense for you.
Thinking about making a move?
A simple conversation, with no expectations, is where we start. Tell me where you are in the process and I’ll help you think through what comes next. Whether you’re relocating for work, retiring to the coast, or still deciding whether Savannah is the place, I’m happy to talk it through.
