Austin ranked 4th best place to start a career

Reprinted with permission from WalletHub

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.

Fortunately, new graduates are entering the market at a good time, as the unemployment rate for people ages 20 through 24 is currently 6.9%.

The job market has made a huge recovery from the damage done by the COVID-19 pandemic, and employers plan to hire 31.6% more graduates from the Class of 2022 than they did from the Class of 2021.

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 27 key metrics that range from the availability of entry-level jobs to monthly average starting salary to housing affordability.

Source: WalletHub

 

Best Cities to Start a Career

 

Overall Rank

City

Total Score

Professional Opportunities

Quality of Life

1 Salt Lake City, UT 65.12 4 5
2 Orlando, FL 63.69 3 14
3 Atlanta, GA 63.17 2 18
4 Austin, TX 62.58 8 3
5 Seattle, WA 61.38 12 2
6 Boise, ID 60.97 7 17
7 Miami, FL 60.81 1 73
8 Tampa, FL 60.74 5 44
9 Portland, ME 60.63 10 7
10 Columbia, SC 59.93 6 33
11 Minneapolis, MN 58.33 31 4
12 Pittsburgh, PA 57.95 23 12
13 Charleston, SC 57.50 11 22
14 Tempe, AZ 57.24 48 6
15 Raleigh, NC 57.24 29 8
16 Madison, WI 57.03 61 1
17 Boston, MA 57.01 14 24
18 Durham, NC 57.00 13 25
19 St. Louis, MO 56.35 9 70
20 Scottsdale, AZ 56.02 18 29
21 Reno, NV 55.48 16 45
22 San Francisco, CA 55.36 50 11
23 Overland Park, KS 55.26 35 19
24 Denver, CO 55.07 58 9
25 Cincinnati, OH 54.32 36 28
26 Knoxville, TN 54.29 24 52
27 Portland, OR 54.03 62 15
28 Charlotte, NC 53.95 26 49
29 Wilmington, DE 53.74 21 59
30 Washington, DC 53.44 65 16
31 St. Petersburg, FL 53.37 22 71
32 San Jose, CA 53.36 39 46
33 Grand Rapids, MI 53.35 44 37
34 Tacoma, WA 53.15 20 75
35 Sacramento, CA 52.89 41 53
36 Omaha, NE 52.83 52 27
37 Chandler, AZ 52.69 45 42
38 Nashville, TN 52.14 51 41
39 Chattanooga, TN 52.02 15 113
40 Providence, RI 52.01 28 84
41 Richmond, VA 51.95 27 88
42 Fort Lauderdale, FL 51.80 42 65
43 Dallas, TX 51.71 40 79
44 Spokane, WA 51.69 43 68
45 Des Moines, IA 51.56 55 50
46 Huntsville, AL 51.38 33 81
47 Jacksonville, FL 51.37 37 92
48 Rapid City, SD 51.32 46 58
49 South Burlington, VT 51.27 67 38
50 Colorado Springs, CO 51.09 63 48
51 Rochester, NY 50.98 68 40
52 Manchester, NH 50.94 30 90
53 Gilbert, AZ 50.87 49 72
54 Fargo, ND 50.59 96 20
55 Sioux Falls, SD 50.43 75 35
56 Burlington, VT 50.33 129 10
57 Fort Worth, TX 50.31 47 91
58 West Valley City, UT 50.18 53 77
59 Irving, TX 50.10 54 82
60 Nampa, ID 49.91 25 136
61 Columbus, OH 49.90 87 26
62 Kansas City, MO 49.78 56 89
63 Charleston, WV 49.67 19 146
64 Phoenix, AZ 49.53 57 94
65 Dover, DE 49.45 17 157
66 Plano, TX 49.26 88 39
67 Cheyenne, WY 49.20 60 87
68 Columbia, MD 49.16 143 13
69 San Diego, CA 49.00 98 30
70 Tucson, AZ 48.91 86 51
71 Oakland, CA 48.83 69 78
72 Lincoln, NE 48.66 115 23
73 Mesa, AZ 48.53 59 105
74 Birmingham, AL 48.36 38 159
75 Laredo, TX 48.33 74 74
76 Oklahoma City, OK 47.96 91 61
77 St. Paul, MN 47.89 112 31
78 Glendale, AZ 47.81 64 110
79 San Antonio, TX 47.74 92 64
80 Louisville, KY 47.48 76 98
81 Virginia Beach, VA 47.42 106 47
82 Tulsa, OK 47.38 72 101
83 Newport News, VA 47.32 34 168
84 Tallahassee, FL 47.29 126 32
85 Cedar Rapids, IA 47.10 97 67
86 Irvine, CA 47.04 125 34
87 Nashua, NH 46.97 82 93
88 Indianapolis, IN 46.96 73 115
89 Fort Smith, AR 46.81 32 169
90 Arlington, TX 46.70 78 108
91 Aurora, CO 46.60 80 107
92 Las Vegas, NV 46.43 103 69
93 Worcester, MA 46.41 89 96
94 Missoula, MT 46.39 158 21
95 Houston, TX 46.15 109 62
96 Albuquerque, NM 46.08 116 56
97 Jersey City, NJ 45.86 134 43
98 Peoria, AZ 45.85 70 135
99 Vancouver, WA 45.84 84 111
100 Buffalo, NY 45.82 119 60
101 Fremont, CA 45.66 122 55
102 Lexington-Fayette, KY 45.45 151 36
103 Springfield, MO 45.41 85 116
104 Norfolk, VA 45.11 118 83
105 Huntington, WV 44.92 81 134
106 Lewiston, ME 44.85 79 140
107 Bismarck, ND 44.68 107 97
108 Chicago, IL 44.64 137 63
109 Greensboro, NC 44.54 99 119
110 Modesto, CA 44.28 71 165
111 Billings, MT 44.26 128 86
112 Akron, OH 44.20 94 133
113 New Haven, CT 43.96 141 80
114 Lubbock, TX 43.91 117 106
115 Cleveland, OH 43.83 105 121
116 Winston-Salem, NC 43.74 95 150
117 Fort Wayne, IN 43.72 90 155
118 Rancho Cucamonga, CA 43.71 121 102
119 Augusta, GA 43.53 77 171
120 Salem, OR 43.47 123 103
121 Honolulu, HI 43.34 154 66
122 El Paso, TX 43.32 146 85
123 Port St. Lucie, FL 43.29 66 176
124 Little Rock, AR 43.26 100 143
125 Baltimore, MD 43.23 114 127
126 Riverside, CA 43.21 110 130
127 Garland, TX 42.93 101 156
128 Warwick, RI 42.81 138 104
129 Oceanside, CA 42.79 104 144
130 Mobile, AL 42.66 83 172
131 Milwaukee, WI 42.49 145 99
132 Chesapeake, VA 42.39 127 122
133 New Orleans, LA 42.22 139 117
134 Santa Rosa, CA 41.90 130 128
135 Wichita, KS 41.79 140 126
136 Aurora, IL 41.79 135 124
137 Philadelphia, PA 41.70 144 120
138 Hialeah, FL 41.65 93 180
139 Ontario, CA 41.61 113 160
140 Baton Rouge, LA 41.24 152 114
141 Fresno, CA 41.20 132 149
142 Los Angeles, CA 41.20 155 109
143 Amarillo, TX 41.13 131 142
144 Stockton, CA 41.07 102 179
145 Grand Prairie, TX 41.01 124 158
146 Jackson, MS 40.98 108 173
147 Brownsville, TX 40.81 142 139
148 San Bernardino, CA 40.76 120 170
149 Santa Ana, CA 40.60 147 141
150 Memphis, TN 40.57 133 163
151 Fontana, CA 40.16 148 145
152 Chula Vista, CA 40.05 149 152
153 Las Cruces, NM 39.93 175 76
154 Columbus, GA 39.68 111 178
155 Huntington Beach, CA 39.38 168 95
156 Bakersfield, CA 39.25 160 132
157 Gulfport, MS 39.17 150 161
158 Montgomery, AL 39.09 136 174
159 Fayetteville, NC 38.89 162 118
160 Toledo, OH 38.62 156 167
161 Bridgeport, CT 38.59 161 148
162 Oxnard, CA 38.50 157 164
163 Henderson, NV 38.47 167 112
164 Garden Grove, CA 38.42 176 100
165 Cape Coral, FL 38.35 159 153
166 Corpus Christi, TX 38.04 163 137
167 Yonkers, NY 37.91 169 123
168 Anaheim, CA 37.77 166 129
169 Moreno Valley, CA 37.53 153 177
169 Glendale, CA 37.53 174 125
171 Pearl City, HI 37.45 173 131
172 Juneau, AK 37.40 182 54
173 Anchorage, AK 37.36 181 57
174 Long Beach, CA 37.24 172 138
175 Pembroke Pines, FL 37.08 165 154
176 Newark, NJ 36.08 170 166
177 Casper, WY 36.07 171 162
178 Detroit, MI 35.09 164 181
179 Santa Clarita, CA 34.42 178 151
180 New York, NY 34.32 180 147
181 Shreveport, LA 33.21 177 182
182 North Las Vegas, NV 32.90 179 175

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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