According to a recent survey, which has St. Louis at the top, the finest locations in the U.S. for fresh college graduates to begin a career are not on the eastern seaboard. Instead, they are in the Midwest.
Research by an insurance agency rated U.S. cities on their important role in economic development and affordability, as well as travel cost and livability, as college graduates generally earn less immediately in their careers.
The rankings, based on an “overall attractiveness” score out of 100, with 100 being the most appealing, were condensed to the best city in each state.
Here is the list of top 10 cities for new grads to launch new careers:
- St. Louis: 100
- Minneapolis, Minnesota: 98.3
- Rapid City, South Dakota: 88.8
- Pittsburgh: 85.5
- Lincoln, Nebraska: 84.9
- Portland, Oregon: 78.9
- Fargo, North Dakota: 75.8
- Fort Wayne, Indiana: 73.7
- Denver: 73.3
- Tampa, Florida: 73.0
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The Midwest is located in 6 the top ten cities, including the top 3. These communities provide similar transportation and amusement alternatives to bigger coastal towns while maintaining a relatively cheap cost of living.
On the overall list, major cities like New York City, Los Angeles, and Seattle were rated between No. 12 and No. 20, with New York ranking highest of the three at No. And yet had greater living expenses, these cities performed well overall due to the availability of alternate forms of transportation and activities.
If a city has a lower unemployment rate, a lower cost of living, lower one-bedroom rental prices, a high alternative transit score, and more arts and entertainment per capita, it will score better overall.
Based on statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor from 2021 and the typical household budget in the U.S., the cost of living is calculated. Insurify reduced the weighting of rental expenses by 50% because housing costs are also included in the cost of living. Alternative transportation ratings were multiplied by 1.5 to account for the greater savings of not owning a car.
Calculations are based on information gathered from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Other information is sourced from Apartment List, a website that lists rentals. The Commonwealth Fund and Gas Buddy are private health care groups.
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