Best & Worst Places To Start A Career

WalletHub

John S Kiernan, Managing Editor

Deciding where to lay the foundation for a long and prosperous career can be a tall order, especially for recent graduates entering the job market for the first time. After all, there are many factors — job-market saturation, housing affordability and commuter-friendliness, for instance — to consider about each prospective area.

Unfortunately, new graduates aren’t entering the market at a great time, as the unemployment rate for people ages 20 through 24 was 10.5% in April 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The good news is that employers plan to hire 7.2% more graduates from the Class of 2021 than they did from the Class of 2020. Due to increased hiring and the vaccine rollout, we should expect to see significant declines in unemployment this year.

In order to help new graduates start their search for a career, WalletHub compared the relative market strength and overall livability of more than 180 U.S. cities to help recent college graduates find the best cradles for their budding careers. We examined each city based on 28 key metrics that range from the availability of entry-level jobs to monthly average starting salary to housing affordability.

Best Cities to Start a Career

Overall Rank	City	Total Score	Professional Opportunities	Quality of Life
1	Salt Lake City, UT	69.15	2	2
2	Orlando, FL	65.81	1	27
3	Atlanta, GA	64.99	3	19
4	Austin, TX	61.94	22	1
5	Columbia, SC	61.10	5	31
6	Charleston, SC	60.88	9	14
7	Seattle, WA	60.72	24	4
8	Overland Park, KS	60.38	11	23
9	Durham, NC	60.19	6	46
10	Scottsdale, AZ	60.18	13	17
11	Tempe, AZ	59.82	34	3
12	Boise, ID	59.68	17	18
13	Tampa, FL	59.53	4	95
14	Knoxville, TN	59.33	7	54
15	Cincinnati, OH	59.22	16	30
16	Madison, WI	59.21	33	5
17	Raleigh, NC	58.59	28	11
18	Huntsville, AL	58.20	19	45
19	Denver, CO	58.16	32	10
20	Reno, NV	57.94	30	21
21	Portland, ME	57.89	46	6
22	Pittsburgh, PA	57.87	29	16
23	Richmond, VA	57.47	20	55
24	Cheyenne, WY	57.05	27	42
25	San Francisco, CA	56.81	51	9
26	Birmingham, AL	56.37	10	99
27	St. Petersburg, FL	56.34	12	94
28	Irving, TX	56.31	31	44
29	Nashville, TN	55.79	39	39
30	Charlotte, NC	55.61	37	50
31	Grand Rapids, MI	55.54	14	101
32	Omaha, NE	55.45	47	33
33	South Burlington, VT	55.13	44	47
34	Chandler, AZ	55.12	59	28
35	Jacksonville, FL	55.06	23	91
36	Sacramento, CA	55.04	41	49
37	St. Louis, MO	55.00	8	141
38	West Valley City, UT	54.99	38	61
39	Kansas City, MO	54.90	55	34
40	Chattanooga, TN	54.87	18	108
41	Boston, MA	54.85	53	38
42	Nampa, ID	54.63	25	89
43	Colorado Springs, CO	54.27	36	73
44	Fort Worth, TX	54.21	43	63
45	San Diego, CA	54.17	82	13
46	Tacoma, WA	54.16	21	111
47	Fort Smith, AR	54.13	35	74
48	Dallas, TX	53.92	58	52
49	Plano, TX	53.76	83	22
50	Minneapolis, MN	53.59	80	25
51	Gilbert, AZ	53.57	60	56
52	Springfield, MO	53.46	61	60
53	Tulsa, OK	53.39	57	64
54	Des Moines, IA	53.34	62	59
55	Phoenix, AZ	53.12	56	69
56	Sioux Falls, SD	52.89	85	40
57	Washington, DC	52.78	110	8
58	Manchester, NH	52.58	49	82
59	Lincoln, NE	52.51	108	15
60	Rochester, NY	52.25	42	96
61	Fargo, ND	52.21	94	41
62	Wilmington, DE	52.13	26	147
63	Mesa, AZ	52.10	65	75
64	Columbia, MD	52.06	118	26
65	Irvine, CA	51.97	95	36
66	Billings, MT	51.90	103	35
67	Portland, OR	51.90	104	24
68	Virginia Beach, VA	51.84	93	43
69	Lubbock, TX	51.78	87	57
70	Oakland, CA	51.77	67	79
71	Spokane, WA	51.70	48	106
72	Glendale, AZ	51.63	64	84
73	San Jose, CA	51.21	66	92
74	Oklahoma City, OK	51.19	109	32
75	Burlington, VT	51.18	145	12
76	Columbus, OH	51.02	127	20
77	Miami, FL	50.89	15	174
78	Fort Wayne, IN	50.85	40	150
79	Riverside, CA	50.67	79	78
80	Indianapolis, IN	50.65	78	85
81	Nashua, NH	50.53	68	102
82	Rancho Cucamonga, CA	50.53	98	66
83	Tucson, AZ	50.41	117	48
84	Rapid City, SD	50.36	142	29
85	Arlington, TX	50.32	84	80
86	Winston-Salem, NC	49.99	50	145
87	Peoria, AZ	49.89	77	104
88	Ontario, CA	49.87	72	113
89	Vancouver, WA	49.81	70	121
90	Tallahassee, FL	49.76	133	51
91	Wichita, KS	49.70	92	86
92	St. Paul, MN	49.61	122	58
93	Mobile, AL	49.40	69	131
94	Houston, TX	49.26	114	67
95	Augusta, GA	49.25	54	155
96	New Orleans, LA	49.10	111	71
97	Missoula, MT	48.83	171	7
98	Modesto, CA	48.80	63	149
99	Aurora, CO	48.76	52	161
100	Honolulu, HI	48.70	138	53
101	Fremont, CA	48.64	124	72
102	San Antonio, TX	48.40	106	87
103	Fresno, CA	48.37	76	140
104	Fort Lauderdale, FL	48.30	45	166
105	Oceanside, CA	48.26	100	98
106	Albuquerque, NM	48.19	113	88
107	Baton Rouge, LA	48.03	102	100
108	Laredo, TX	47.85	86	134
109	Cedar Rapids, IA	47.74	150	65
110	Cleveland, OH	47.72	91	135
111	Bismarck, ND	47.70	136	76
112	Amarillo, TX	47.67	121	90
113	Garland, TX	47.61	112	103
114	Warwick, RI	47.55	71	160
115	Newport News, VA	47.53	90	138
116	Grand Prairie, TX	47.46	101	118
117	Santa Rosa, CA	47.42	96	128
118	Huntington, WV	47.31	88	139
119	Casper, WY	47.21	154	62
120	Montgomery, AL	47.13	115	114
121	San Bernardino, CA	46.90	105	127
122	Las Vegas, NV	46.90	123	110
123	Akron, OH	46.66	97	143
124	Chesapeake, VA	46.58	126	119
125	Lexington-Fayette, KY	46.57	149	77
126	Little Rock, AR	46.32	147	81
127	Moreno Valley, CA	46.30	120	129
128	Los Angeles, CA	46.29	137	97
129	Louisville, KY	46.29	99	148
130	Huntington Beach, CA	46.03	159	68
131	Worcester, MA	45.98	131	124
132	Milwaukee, WI	45.85	139	109
133	Greensboro, NC	45.61	75	170
134	Providence, RI	45.60	89	167
135	Salem, OR	45.35	144	112
136	Fontana, CA	45.31	140	122
137	Dover, DE	45.08	107	159
138	Buffalo, NY	45.01	119	157
139	Norfolk, VA	44.78	130	152
140	Jackson, MS	44.68	143	132
141	Aurora, IL	44.67	129	153
142	Oxnard, CA	44.52	141	137
143	Bakersfield, CA	44.42	151	116
144	Henderson, NV	44.41	152	115
145	Cape Coral, FL	44.38	116	163
146	Memphis, TN	44.22	134	154
147	Stockton, CA	44.13	124	162
148	Pearl City, HI	44.00	160	105
149	Chicago, IL	43.99	163	83
150	Charleston, WV	43.84	74	177
151	Port St. Lucie, FL	43.81	73	178
152	Lewiston, ME	43.80	81	176
153	Chula Vista, CA	43.76	156	117
154	Brownsville, TX	43.52	148	146
155	Garden Grove, CA	43.40	167	93
156	Glendale, CA	43.09	161	125
157	Long Beach, CA	42.98	158	133
158	Corpus Christi, TX	42.90	153	144
159	Santa Ana, CA	42.87	157	136
160	Toledo, OH	42.73	128	169
161	Juneau, AK	42.62	182	37
162	Anchorage, AK	42.55	178	70
163	Gulfport, MS	42.33	175	107
164	Fayetteville, NC	42.29	165	130
165	Las Cruces, NM	42.19	168	126
166	Anaheim, CA	42.13	169	120
167	Baltimore, MD	42.10	131	171
168	Jersey City, NJ	41.80	170	123
169	Shreveport, LA	40.65	166	158
170	El Paso, TX	40.31	173	151
171	New Haven, CT	40.31	162	165
172	Yonkers, NY	40.15	174	156
173	Santa Clarita, CA	39.86	177	142
174	Philadelphia, PA	39.54	155	175
175	North Las Vegas, NV	38.66	176	164
176	Columbus, GA	37.95	164	172
177	Pembroke Pines, FL	37.78	146	179
178	Detroit, MI	37.77	135	181
179	Bridgeport, CT	36.49	179	168
180	New York, NY	33.15	181	173
181	Hialeah, FL	33.05	172	182
182	Newark, NJ	30.89	180	180

Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that city, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.

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