Recent college grads have a lot on their minds this summer: With the nation's unemployment rate rising last month and the wealth gap between generations widening, making it harder than ever to buy a first home, where should they go from here?
A new study from Zumper might help. The study analyzed the 100 most populous cities in the country to see which are the best for recent graduates based on several metrics (where enough data was available). These metrics include average rent for a bedroom and average restaurant price per person, as well as U.S. Census Bureau data on the population between 18 and 34 years old, the number of 25-year-olds with a bachelor's degree, the number of single people, the median income of young residents, and the local unemployment rate.
Topping the list is Minneapolis, with a reasonable median rent for a one-bedroom apartment ($1,150 per month) and 15th-highest unemployment rate (5.2%). Oklahoma City's median rent ($849) was the lowest of the top 15 cities, earning it the 10th-highest ranking overall. San Francisco comes in at number 5 due to its high median income for people under 25 ($87,946) and high median rent ($2,895).
Laredo, Texas, fell to the bottom of the list due to its low percentage of 25-year-olds with bachelor's degrees. It also ranked low in median income and number of restaurants per capita. Its high scores in average rent ($850) and unemployment rate (5.5%) were not enough to make up for its shortcomings. Augusta, Georgia, ranked 91st for median income ($22,861) but 99th overall. Providence, Rhode Island finished one place higher at 31st for its unemployment rate (7.1%), but it was much lower due to its small population of young residents.
New York City, which ranked 20th overall, had the highest median rent of any metro area studied, but it also had the largest population of 18-34 year olds (over 2 million people) and the highest median income.
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