These are the best U.S. cities for recent college grads

( NewsNation ) — Recent college graduates looking for a job, decent salary and affordable living should consider moving to the South, according to a new study.

Research from payroll provider ADP ranked Raleigh, North Carolina, the top metro for new grads thanks to its best-in-the-nation hiring rate and above-average wages. Other southern cities — like Austin, Texas, Atlanta and Charlotte — also made the top five.

“Areas with the greatest balance of wages, affordability, and hiring aren’t stereotypical tech and financial centers such as San Francisco, San Jose, or Seattle. They’re places in the South with strong science and technology employment,” the report noted.

ADP looked at data on more than four million people aged 20 to 29 at more than 27,000 U.S. employers from Jan. 2019 to April 2024. The analysis compared 55 U.S. metros with at least one million residents across three characteristics: annual wages, hiring rates and affordability.

Rochester, New York, finished at the bottom of the list because it had the slowest hiring rate and below-average wages. Virginia Beach, Virginia, and New Orleans were also among the worst due to low wages and hiring despite above-average affordability. Fresno, California, also finished in the bottom five, ranking low on all three metrics.

Other cities, like Cleveland and Louisville, Kentucky, stood out as affordable destinations with robust hiring but suffered from comparatively low wages. The report found Cleveland is adding new graduates to payrolls at a higher rate than 87% percent of the metros studied, but its wages are in the 35th percentile.

Meanwhile, several cities like Boston, San Jose and Seattle had notably higher salaries, but those were offset by the expensive cost of living and low hiring rates.

For many recent grads, simply getting a job will be a challenge as the labor market continues to cool .

“Recent college graduates today will have to search harder than they did a few years ago for jobs that align with their education,” the report said.

In that sense, an area’s hiring prospects may be the most important factor to consider. The top five cities with the best hiring rates were Raleigh, Baltimore, Miami, Atlanta and Las Vegas.

The 10 best cities for new graduates, according to ADP:

1. Raleigh, North Carolina
2. Baltimore, Maryland
3. Austin, Texas
4. Atlanta, Georgia
5. Charlotte, North Carolina
6. New York, New York
7. San Francisco, California
8. Cleveland, Ohio
9. Nashville, Tennessee
10. Indianapolis, Indiana

The 10 worst cities for new graduates, according to ADP:

1. Rochester, New York
2. Virginia Beach, Virginia
3. New Orleans, Louisiana
4. Fresno, California
5. Portland, Oregon
6. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
7. Hartford, Connecticut
8. Memphis, Tennessee
9. Seattle, Washington
10. Salt Lake City, Utah

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