With graduation ceremonies commencing and employers planning to hire 11 percent more college grads in 2016 than in 2015, the personal-finance website WalletHub conducted an in-depth analysis of 2016’s Best & Worst Cities to Start a Career.
To help newly grads launch their careers in the right place, WalletHub’s analysts compared the relative strength of the 150 largest markets in the U.S. We did so using 17 key metrics such as number of entry-level jobs, median starting salary and housing affordability.
Best Cities to Start a Career Worst Cities to Start a Career:
1 Salt Lake City, UT 141 Mobile, AL
2 Denver, CO 142 Philadelphia, PA
3 Austin, TX 143 Glendale, CA
4 Sioux Falls, SD 144 Modesto, CA
5 Minneapolis, MN 145 North Las Vegas, NV
6 Raleigh, NC 146 Hialeah, FL
7 Oklahoma City, OK 147 Akron, OH
8 Amarillo, TX 148 Moreno Valley, CA
9 Houston, TX 149 Fresno, CA
10 Corpus Christi, TX 150 Detroit, MI
Comparing the Best & Worst:
Houston has the highest monthly median starting salary (adjusted for cost of living), $3,705, which is nearly three times higher than in Honolulu, the city with the lowest, $1,332.
Gilbert, Ariz., has the highest median annual household income (adjusted for cost of living), $84,969, which is more than three times higher than in Cleveland the city with the lowest, $25,869.
Oxnard, Calif., has the highest workforce diversity, which is slightly more than two times higher than in Durham, N.C., the city with the lowest.
Austin, Texas, has the lowest unemployment rate, 2.8 percent, which is four times lower than in Fresno, Calif., the city with the highest, 11.4 percent.
Jersey City, N.J., has the highest percentage of the population aged 25 to 34, 22.5 percent, which is slightly more than two times higher than in Cape Coral, Fla., the city with the lowest, 10.3 percent.
Irvine, Calif., has the highest percentage of the population with at least a bachelor’s degree, 65.6 percent, which is nearly six times higher than in San Bernardino, Calif., the city with the lowest, 11.7 percent.
Orlando, Fla., has the highest number of entry-level job openings per 100,000 working-age residents, 311.31, which is 39 times higher than in North Las Vegas, Nev., the city with the lowest, 7.99.
Alicja Otap
