Best Places in America to Start Your Career

With graduation season upon us and many employers still experiencing labor shortages, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2024’s Best & Worst Places to Start a Career, as well as expert commentary, to help recent graduates launch their careers in the right place.

WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities based on 26 key indicators of career-friendliness. The data set ranges from the availability of entry-level jobs to monthly average starting salary to housing affordability.

Best vs. Worst

• Austin, Texas, has the highest monthly average starting salary (adjusted for cost of living), which is three times higher than in Juneau, Alaska, the city with the lowest.
   
• Columbia, Maryland, has the highest median annual household income (adjusted for cost of living), which is 3.3 times higher than in Detroit, the city with the lowest.
   
• Oxnard, California, has the highest workforce diversity, which is 2.3 times higher than in New Haven, Connecticut, the city with the lowest.
   
• Miami and Hialeah, Florida, have the lowest unemployment rate, which is 5.9 times lower than Detroit, the city with the highest.

How Does Your City Rank? 

“Transitioning out of school and into the workforce can be a difficult and stressful process, but certain cities make things a lot easier than others. The best cities for starting a career not only have a lot of job opportunities but also provide substantial income growth potential and satisfying work conditions. It’s also important to consider factors such as how fun a city is to live in or how good of a place it is for raising a family, to ensure life satisfaction outside of your career.”
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“Atlanta is the best place to start a career, boasting one of the highest growth rates in the median household income, at around 8.9% annually. Plus, the median annual household income in Atlanta is already pretty high, at nearly $79,000. In addition, Atlanta has a lot of job opportunities at companies that are rated at least 4 out of 5 stars on Glassdoor, along with plentiful entry-level jobs, and residents have a high rate of satisfaction with their jobs.”

– Cassandra Happe, WalletHub Analyst

Expert Commentary

What can city policymakers and corporations do to attract and retain recent graduates?

“Incentives are a good way to get graduates to a city. This can include housing and transportation subsidies, tax breaks for property tax for the first few years, and social events attracting younger professionals.”
Dr. Aaron C. Clark, DTE – Professor; Co-Director for Engineering Education, North Carolina State University

“Some of the biggest issues I hear undergraduate and graduate students discussing as they consider where to live after graduation are the cost-of-living crisis and the availability of well-paying jobs in their field. The availability of jobs seems like common sense and is understandable given their career aspirations and desire to make their college years (and financial and personal costs) ‘pay off,’ but the cities that have lots of professional jobs also tend to be the most expensive. So, this is an increasingly difficult tension for them to manage, and if cities and employers want to continue to attract more top talent, they will want to seriously address this growing problem. Of course, people have been working on the cost-of-living crisis for years and it is especially difficult, but without more affordable housing and stabilizing expenses in other areas, the main solution seems to be higher wages, which is definitely within the control of employing organizations.”
Matthew T. Hora – Associate Professor; Founding Director, Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions, University of Wisconsin-Madison

What is the biggest career mistake that young people make?

“The biggest career mistake that young people make is to talk more than listen and act as if they have all the answers. Listening is the unsung hero for developing strong relationships with coworkers and colleagues. Recent graduates who listen to their new colleagues, ask for their perspective on work issues, and respect their longer tenure in the field are the ones who typically position themselves for success and advancement within that organization. Conversely, recent graduates who lack humility and come across with an air of over-confidence and entitlement, are more likely to be overlooked during advancement opportunities.”
Bob Orndorff, D.Ed. – Senior Director, Career Services; Affiliate Associate Professor, The Pennsylvania State University

“Not exposing themselves to a robust range of job functions and industries outside of the common doctor, lawyer, business person…(fill in the blank). There are thousands of potential occupations and it behooves young people to work with a career advisor to vet the categories and create a career action plan. This plan will help young people translate their values, interests, skills, and aspirations into the language of work. Another mistake we have all made is underestimating the value of cultivating personal and professional networks. The majority of opportunities, whether they are internships or post-graduate jobs, come through the ‘hidden job market.’ The HJM is a reservoir of opportunity and information potential, accessed by (wait for it…) establishing more and better human relationships!”
Don Kjelleren – Executive Director, ’68 Center for Career Exploration, Williams College

What will the entry-level job market look like in 2024?

“Hybrid jobs are here to stay, in industries where work can be done from home. By working in person less than five days a week will allow some folks to live further away from their office. New graduates should know at least the basics of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as it will permeate every profession eventually. Get ahead of it now. Learn what else is coming. Be ahead of the curve to remain competitive. Use free or inexpensive resources to continue to learn and earn industry-recognized credentials, such as certificates and badges. Upskilling will be crucial to career growth.”
Robbin Beauchamp, MS, GCDF – Assistant Provost, Cooperative Education and Career Development, Wentworth Institute of Technology

“Strong with soft spots. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), the Class of 2024 hiring picture remains robust despite the Tech layoff news. Following two record-setting hiring years, NACE predicts a slight 1.9% retrenchment and forecasts growth in Social, Engineering, and Construction services, Oil and Gas, Food and Beverage, Accounting, Transportation, Trade, Utilities, etc. Salaries are thought to remain stable, and hybrid work currently makes up 45% of all new overall hires and 48% of new entry-level hires. NACE reports a turn away from GPA as a screening tool, instead focusing on candidates’ skills and competencies. Employers seek candidates who have work experience and relevant or transferable skills. Internships have often become the top deciding factor when employers are deciding between candidates who are otherwise equally qualified. In short, graduating members of the Class of 2024 should be generally heartened by the overall job market. Depending on their chosen sector, they may have to search slightly longer, continue building market-ready skills, and remain open to a wider range of opportunities.”
Don Kjelleren – Executive Director, ’68 Center for Career Exploration, Williams College