The Best Cities for Graduate Prosperity In The US 2024

Introduction to the Graduate Prosperity Index

Imagine this: You’ve just tossed your cap in the air, diploma in hand, ready to embark on your post-college journey. But as the confetti settles, a daunting question looms: “Where should I start my career?” While money and job opportunities are important factors when considering your next move, it also helps to consider if you will actually be able to live happy there. So how can you find that balance between fun and success? That’s where The Career Tribe’s 2024 Graduate Prosperity Index comes in. We’ve conducted a thorough analysis of different factors that come in to play when considering the quality of life in a new city.

Our comprehensive study dives deep into the factors such as your potential spending power and job prospects to the walkability of your future neighborhood and the vibrancy of the local youth population. Our study is designed to help you find identify where you can thrive and work-to-live versus living-to-work.

Methodology

The Best Cities for Graduate Prosperity In The US 2024

We started with a simple question: “What really matters to new grads when choosing a city?” After picking the brains of recent graduates, career counselors, and young professionals, we narrowed it down to four key factors:

  1. Monthly Disposable Income: Fancy term, simple concept. It’s how much money you’d have left in your pocket after paying for the basics. We looked at average entry-level salaries for Bachelor degree grads in different areas and cost of essential living expenses in each city (including student loan repayments). Why? Because being able to afford a night out, going for dinner with friends or simply being able to afford to see your favorite band matters.
  2. Job Market Health: To evaluate this metric, we looked at metropolitan area unemployment rates and trends. After all, you want a city where your career can take off, not just land.
  3. Walkability: Life shouldn’t be all work and no play. Our walkability score considers how easy it is to get around without a car. We chose this metric, as being able to walk to grab coffee, hit the gym, or meet friends for happy hour is a great contributing factor to the sense of community in a city.
  4. Youthfulness Score: This score is all about the vibe of the city for young people. We looked at the percentage of the population aged 20-34.

We gathered data from reliable sources like the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Association of Colleges and Employers and some specialized publicly available indexes. Then, we normalized each factor on a scale of 1-100. This means the city with the best score in each category got 100, and the rest were scaled accordingly.

Key Results

Overall Score Calculation

In our study, Milwaukee, Wisconsin takes the crown, while the Big Apple finds itself at the bottom of the barrel. Who would’ve thought, right? We’re seeing a clear trend of mid-sized cities in the Midwest and South outperforming traditional hotspots. It looks like factors like affordability, job market health, and overall quality of life are giving these “underdog” cities a serious edge. Meanwhile, some of the usual suspects – New York, Chicago, even trendy Charlotte – are facing challenges when it comes to graduate prosperity due to high cost of living factors.

Deep Dive Into Key FIndings

1. Monthly Disposable Income

The winners in the Monthly Disposable Income Study are:

1. Memphis, Tennessee, where the combination of affordable living and competitive salaries offers graduates more financial breathing room each month.

2. Louisville, Kentucky, comes in second, driven by its relatively low rent and cost of living.

3. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, ranks third, providing a solid balance between affordability and decent employment prospects.

4. Knoxville, Tennessee, follows in fourth place, offering a similar affordability advantage.

5. Las Vegas, Nevada, takes fifth, with its favorable cost-of-living metrics making it an attractive option for graduates seeking to stretch their disposable income further.

2. Job Market Health

3. Walkability

4. Youthfulness

Key Insights and Trends

After analyzing our dataset comparing various US cities across multiple factors, several interesting insights and trends emerge:

  1. Disposable Income Variations:
    • Memphis, TN leads with the highest purchasing power adjusted monthly disposable income.
    • There’s a significant gap between the highest and lowest disposable incomes, with New York City at the bottom.
  2. Job Market Health:
    • Madison, WI shows the strongest job market health score.
    • Detroit, MI has the lowest score, indicating potential economic challenges.
  3. Walkability:
    • Cities like San Francisco, New York, and Boston score high on walkability.
    • Car-dependent cities like Jacksonville, FL and Charlotte, NC score low.
  4. Youth Population:
    • Austin, TX stands out with the highest “Youthfulness Score”, suggesting it’s particularly attractive to young adults.
    • Miami and Fort Lauderdale, FL have the lowest scores, indicating an older demographic.
  5. Graduate Prosperity:
    • Milwaukee, WI has the highest Graduate Prosperity Score, balancing factors like salaries and cost of living.
    • New York, NY scores lowest, likely due to its high cost of living despite high salaries.
  6. Regional Salary Differences:
    • West Coast cities (e.g., San Jose, Seattle) tend to have higher average graduate yearly salaries.
    • Southern cities generally have lower average salaries but often balance this with lower living costs.
  7. Cost of Living vs. Salaries:
    • Cities like Memphis and Louisville offer high disposable incomes despite lower average salaries, indicating a low cost of living.
    • High-salary cities like San Francisco and New York have much lower disposable incomes due to high living costs.
  8. Metro Area Size and Youth Population:
    • Larger metro areas like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago have the highest total youth populations.
    • Smaller cities like Madison, WI and Austin, TX have high “Youthfulness Scores” despite smaller total populations.
  9. Balanced Cities:
    • Some cities like Nashville, TN and Boise, ID score consistently well across multiple metrics, suggesting they offer a good balance of opportunities and livability.

Raw Data

The Graduate Prosperity Index Raw Data

CityMetro AreaDisposable Income ScoreJob Market Health ScoreWalkability ScoreYouthfulness ScoreGraduate Prosperity Score
Milwaukee, WI, United StatesMilwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area90.583.761.526.777.4
Knoxville, TN, United StatesKnoxville, TN Metro Area89.892.43130.776.0
Boise, ID, United StatesBoise City, ID Metro Area76.176.89230.474.1
Memphis, TN, United StatesMemphis, TN-MS-AR Metro Area100.069.93539.273.7
Madison, WI, United StatesMadison, WI Metro Area51.696.549.799.571.8
Nashville, TN, United StatesNashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN Metro Area44.492.79866.471.6
Tucson, AZ, United StatesTucson, AZ Metro Area78.776.143.261.470.7
Salt Lake City, UT, United StatesSalt Lake City, UT Metro Area66.274.65990.470.5
San Antonio, TX, United StatesSan Antonio-New Braunfels, TX Metro Area75.079.936.959.369.4
Omaha, NE, United StatesOmaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA Metro Area73.183.148.226.268.2
Colorado Springs, CO, United StatesColorado Springs, CO Metro Area75.464.436.197.367.8
Minneapolis, MN, United StatesMinneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro Area70.872.071.426.266.9
Portland, OR, United StatesPortland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metro Area71.666.767.345.766.7
Phoenix, AZ, United StatesPhoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ Metro Area67.780.041.451.866.5
Jacksonville, FL, United StatesJacksonville, FL Metro Area83.076.725.621.566.0
Orlando, FL, United StatesOrlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL Metro Area66.576.841.150.164.6
Spokane, WA, United StatesSpokane-Spokane Valley, WA Metro Area81.258.249.243.064.5
Baltimore, MD, United StatesBaltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metro Area66.373.764.322.164.2
Houston, TX, United StatesHouston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX Metro Area73.066.247.545.564.0
Louisville, KY, United StatesLouisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Metro Area97.649.63423.963.9
Chattanooga, TN, United StatesChattanooga, TN-GA Metro Area72.083.92913.663.9
Honolulu, HI, United StatesUrban Honolulu, HI Metro Area40.094.065.743.763.1
Denver, CO, United StatesDenver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metro Area58.563.461.282.663.0
Fort Worth, TX, United StatesDallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metro Area63.476.334.956.062.9
Austin, TX, United StatesAustin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX Metro Area42.285.041.7100.062.9
Anchorage, AK, United StatesAnchorage, AK Metro Area62.874.130.969.962.7
Dallas, TX, United StatesDallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metro Area58.576.34656.062.6
Pittsburgh, PA, United StatesPittsburgh, PA Metro Area64.476.462.44.962.4
Philadelphia, PA, United StatesPhiladelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metro Area59.069.074.830.562.0
Albuquerque, NM, United StatesAlbuquerque, NM Metro Area82.056.642.628.661.9
Atlanta, GA, United StatesAtlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA Metro Area61.474.347.740.161.7
Seattle, WA, United StatesSeattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metro Area60.452.174.480.261.6
Indianapolis, IN, United StatesIndianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN Metro Area78.262.13139.261.6
San Jose, CA, United StatesSan Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metro Area60.864.350.566.961.1
Cleveland, OH, United StatesCleveland-Elyria, OH Metro Area75.859.457.18.460.5
Columbus, OH, United StatesColumbus, OH Metro Area70.058.541.254.560.1
Buffalo, NY, United StatesBuffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Metro Area61.464.366.626.259.7
Oklahoma City, OK, United StatesOklahoma City, OK Metro Area50.080.534.157.259.0
Sacramento, CA, United StatesSacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA Metro Area67.656.64934.957.7
Kansas City, MO, United StatesKansas City, MO-KS Metro Area70.162.235.326.157.7
Boston, MA, United StatesBoston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area42.964.582.855.157.7
Washington, DC, United StatesWashington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area39.077.076.731.357.2
Birmingham, AL, United StatesBirmingham-Hoover, AL Metro Area47.088.133.221.156.7
Cincinnati, OH, United StatesCincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metro Area66.957.149.125.856.7
San Diego, CA, United StatesSan Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA Metro Area49.758.053.383.556.6
Saint Louis, MO, United StatesSt. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area60.659.565.712.556.2
Las Vegas, NV, United StatesLas Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV Metro Area85.732.84241.056.2
Tampa, FL, United StatesTampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Metro Area52.375.549.57.355.5
Fort Lauderdale, FL, United StatesMiami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL Metro Area46.678.3560.054.5
New Orleans, LA, United StatesNew Orleans-Metairie, LA Metro Area46.667.95811.652.3
Raleigh, NC, United StatesRaleigh-Cary, NC Metro Area43.375.530.336.551.9
Los Angeles, CA, United StatesLos Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metro Area50.941.768.662.351.5
Oakland, CA, United StatesSan Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA Metro Area37.263.075.330.251.2
Reno, NV, United StatesReno, NV Metro Area51.353.243.755.451.2
Irvine, CA, United StatesLos Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metro Area58.341.743.262.350.6
Fresno, CA, United StatesFresno, CA Metro Area81.716.237.364.950.4
San Francisco, CA, United StatesSan Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA Metro Area27.963.088.730.249.5
Miami, FL, United StatesMiami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL Metro Area26.578.376.60.049.5
Charlotte, NC, United StatesCharlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area46.266.926.434.649.3
Santa Barbara, CA, United StatesSanta Maria-Santa Barbara, CA Metro Area16.864.36192.247.6
Chicago, IL, United StatesChicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI Metro Area50.132.377.235.746.5
Detroit, MI, United StatesDetroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metro Area69.921.651.122.145.4
New York, NY, United StatesNew York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA Metro Area0.055.38833.235.9

Conclusion

Choosing the right city to kickstart your post-graduation life is no small feat, but with the insights from our Graduate Prosperity Index, you’re better equipped to make an informed decision. Whether you’re looking for a city that offers great disposable income potential, a vibrant job market, or a strong sense of community, there’s something on this list for everyone. Mid-sized cities like Milwaukee and Knoxville may not have been on your radar before, but they offer a perfect balance of affordability and livability, making them ideal for recent grads. Meanwhile, cities like Austin and San Francisco may offer the excitement and cultural opportunities many young professionals crave but come with the trade-off of higher living costs.

Ultimately, the best city for you depends on your priorities—whether it’s stretching your dollar, landing your dream job, or living in a walkable, youthful environment. With the data-driven insights we’ve gathered, we hope you’ll feel more confident in making a move that aligns with both your financial goals and your lifestyle. Here’s to thriving, not just surviving, in your next adventure!

Resources & Further Reading