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Best places to live after college graduation, according to Stacker

By Jaclyn DeJohn
Published  May 15, 2024 9:00pm CDT
Education
FOX 26 Houston

As we enter commencement season, college graduates will be seeking a variety of jobs and lifestyles. Therefore, different areas are going to cater more to some than others. For example, one graduate may highly value living in a younger community with plenty of recreational activities to dabble in, while others are focused on career growth and earning as much as possible out of the gate. 

With this in mind, SmartAsset set out to determine the best overall places for new college graduates, ranking 370 metro areas based on metrics for the job market, costs, and social aspects.

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Key findings

  • The best place for college graduates is in Wisconsin. The Oshkosh-Neenah metro area ranks first in part due to a particularly low unemployment rate of 0.5% and relatively low cost of living at $32,760 annually for basic necessities and taxes for a single adult. Socially, 16.1% of residents are in their 20s, and there are plenty of bars. The Eau Claire, WI metro area also makes the top 10, with similar metrics and a 1.7% unemployment rate.
  • College graduates earn the highest incomes near the Bay Area and Washington D.C. While the high costs in these areas present some risks for fresh college graduates who have yet to secure a job, the highest income potential for graduates is in the metro areas of San Jose ($102,478), San Francisco ($99,685), California-Lexington Park, MD ($92,170), Napa ($85,698) and DC-Arlington-Alexandria ($85,145).
  • Jackson, TN has the lowest cost of living and very low unemployment. For a single adult with no kids to support themselves with necessities, it'd only take a pre-tax salary of $27,955, compared to the average $51,630 income here for college graduates. The unemployment rate is only 0.2%, the eighth-best studywide. But the area ranks lower for social factors, with a low rate of people in their 20s (13.0%) and relatively few venues for food, drinking, and entertainment.
  • One quarter or more of the population is in their 20s in these metro areas. The Manhattan, KS area has the most people between the ages of 20 and 29 at 27.8%. For the Jacksonville, NC metro, that figure is 25.4%. Lawrence, KS metro (24.9%) and the College Station-Bryan, TX area (24.8%) have similarly high rates of people in their 20s.
  • The Ocean City, NJ metro is best for college grads looking for things to do. The Ocean City, NJ metro, which ranked sixth overall for college grads, has the most restaurants per capita and is second only to Los Angeles when it comes to entertainment venues.

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Top 10 places for new college graduates

  1. Oshkosh-Neenah, WI Metro Unemployment rate: 0.5% Income for bachelor's degree holders: $61,016 Basic costs for a single adult: $32,760 Residents aged 20-29: 16.1% Restaurants per capita: 0.00144 Bars per capita: 0.00050 Entertainment venues per capita: 0.00049
  2. Unemployment rate: 0.5%
  3. Income for bachelor's degree holders: $61,016
  4. Basic costs for a single adult: $32,760
  5. Residents aged 20-29: 16.1%
  6. Restaurants per capita: 0.00144
  7. Bars per capita: 0.00050
  8. Entertainment venues per capita: 0.00049
  9. Lawrence, KS Metro Unemployment rate: 1.0% Income for bachelor's degree holders: $53,714 Basic costs for a single adult: $33,363 Residents aged 20-29: 24.9% Restaurants per capita: 0.00195 Bars per capita: 0.00026 Entertainment venues per capita: 0.00038
  10. Unemployment rate: 1.0%
  11. Income for bachelor's degree holders: $53,714
  12. Basic costs for a single adult: $33,363
  13. Residents aged 20-29: 24.9%
  14. Restaurants per capita: 0.00195
  15. Bars per capita: 0.00026
  16. Entertainment venues per capita: 0.00038
  17. College Station-Bryan, TX Metro Unemployment rate: 0.7% Income for bachelor's degree holders: $58,476 Basic costs for a single adult: $32,968 Residents aged 20-29: 24.8% Restaurants per capita: 0.00160 Bars per capita: 0.00013 Entertainment venues per capita: 0.00032
  18. Unemployment rate: 0.7%
  19. Income for bachelor's degree holders: $58,476
  20. Basic costs for a single adult: $32,968
  21. Residents aged 20-29: 24.8%
  22. Restaurants per capita: 0.00160
  23. Bars per capita: 0.00013
  24. Entertainment venues per capita: 0.00032
  25. Grand Forks, ND-MN Metro Unemployment rate: 0.9% Income for bachelor's degree holders: $52,240 Basic costs for a single adult: $31,138 Residents aged 20-29: 19.3% Restaurants per capita: 0.00159 Bars per capita: 0.00038 Entertainment venues per capita: 0.00059
  26. Unemployment rate: 0.9%
  27. Income for bachelor's degree holders: $52,240
  28. Basic costs for a single adult: $31,138
  29. Residents aged 20-29: 19.3%
  30. Restaurants per capita: 0.00159
  31. Bars per capita: 0.00038
  32. Entertainment venues per capita: 0.00059
  33. Eau Claire, WI Metro Unemployment rate: 1.7% Income for bachelor's degree holders: $60,980 Basic costs for a single adult: $31,595 Residents aged 20-29: 15.4% Restaurants per capita: 0.00164 Bars per capita: 0.00056 Entertainment venues per capita: 0.00050
  34. Unemployment rate: 1.7%
  35. Income for bachelor's degree holders: $60,980
  36. Basic costs for a single adult: $31,595
  37. Residents aged 20-29: 15.4%
  38. Restaurants per capita: 0.00164
  39. Bars per capita: 0.00056
  40. Entertainment venues per capita: 0.00050
  41. Ocean City, NJ Metro Unemployment rate: 2.1% Income for bachelor's degree holders: $63,550 Basic costs for a single adult: $36,150 Residents aged 20-29: 9.3% Restaurants per capita: 0.00638 Bars per capita: 0.00021 Entertainment venues per capita: 0.00145
  42. Unemployment rate: 2.1%
  43. Income for bachelor's degree holders: $63,550
  44. Basic costs for a single adult: $36,150
  45. Residents aged 20-29: 9.3%
  46. Restaurants per capita: 0.00638
  47. Bars per capita: 0.00021
  48. Entertainment venues per capita: 0.00145
  49. Iowa City, IA Metro Unemployment rate: 0.6% Income for bachelor's degree holders: $57,449 Basic costs for a single adult: $34,549 Residents aged 20-29: 22.9% Restaurants per capita: 0.00196 Bars per capita: 0.00020 Entertainment venues per capita: 0.00046
  50. Unemployment rate: 0.6%
  51. Income for bachelor's degree holders: $57,449
  52. Basic costs for a single adult: $34,549
  53. Residents aged 20-29: 22.9%
  54. Restaurants per capita: 0.00196
  55. Bars per capita: 0.00020
  56. Entertainment venues per capita: 0.00046
  57. Fargo, ND-MN Metro Unemployment rate: 0.9% Income for bachelor's degree holders: $61,108 Basic costs for a single adult: $31,013 Residents aged 20-29: 18.5% Restaurants per capita: 0.00152 Bars per capita: 0.00024 Entertainment venues per capita: 0.00057
  58. Unemployment rate: 0.9%
  59. Income for bachelor's degree holders: $61,108
  60. Basic costs for a single adult: $31,013
  61. Residents aged 20-29: 18.5%
  62. Restaurants per capita: 0.00152
  63. Bars per capita: 0.00024
  64. Entertainment venues per capita: 0.00057
  65. Jacksonville, NC Metro Unemployment rate: 1.9% Income for bachelor's degree holders: $63,836 Basic costs for a single adult: $32,032 Residents aged 20-29: 25.4% Restaurants per capita: 0.00151 Bars per capita: 0.00013 Entertainment venues per capita: 0.00023
  66. Unemployment rate: 1.9%
  67. Income for bachelor's degree holders: $63,836
  68. Basic costs for a single adult: $32,032
  69. Residents aged 20-29: 25.4%
  70. Restaurants per capita: 0.00151
  71. Bars per capita: 0.00013
  72. Entertainment venues per capita: 0.00023
  73. Great Falls, MT Metro Unemployment rate: 1.5% Income for bachelor's degree holders: $54,985 Basic costs for a single adult: $32,510 Residents aged 20-29: 13.8% Restaurants per capita: 0.00182 Bars per capita: 0.00047 Entertainment venues per capita: 0.00106
  74. Unemployment rate: 1.5%
  75. Income for bachelor's degree holders: $54,985
  76. Basic costs for a single adult: $32,510
  77. Residents aged 20-29: 13.8%
  78. Restaurants per capita: 0.00182
  79. Bars per capita: 0.00047
  80. Entertainment venues per capita: 0.00106

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Data and methodology

To evaluate overall rankings, we broke our metrics down into three subcategories: Jobs, Affordability, and Social, and applied them to 370 metro areas for which data was available.

Jobs define the career opportunities and stability within a local economy, and consists of:

  • Unemployment: Unemployment data is for people aged 25-64 who hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Data is sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau 2022 1-Year American Community Survey.
  • Income: This is the median earnings of bachelor's degree holders aged 25 or older. Data is sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau 2022 1-Year American Community Survey.

Affordability evaluates the costs of living in a particular metro area. This data comes from MIT's Living Wage Calculator for 2023 and incorporates the costs of housing, food, medical care, transportation, and other miscellaneous necessities.

Social measures local demographic and business metrics to evaluate general social potential and includes:

  • Population aged 20-29: This measures the percentage of the population that falls between ages 20 and 29. Data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau 2022 1-Year American Community Survey.

The following social metrics were given half-weightings relative to other metrics:

  • Restaurants: This is the number of restaurants per capita. Restaurant data comes from the County Business Patterns 2021 Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau.
  • Bars: The number of bars per capita. Data comes from the County Business Patterns 2020 Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau.
  • Entertainment venues: The number of entertainment venues per capita, sourced from the County Business Patterns 2020 Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau.