College Grads, Here Are Most Career Friendly Cities In NY

YORKTOWN, NY — About 1.8 million students nationwide will turn the tassels on their mortar boards this spring and begin their working careers. Where they choose to live will be an important consideration, according to a new study that ranked cities according to their career friendliness.

For its study, the personal finance website WalletHub looked at 27 indicators of career-friendliness, including the availability of entry-level jobs to the average monthly starting salaries to housing affordability.

Overall, Salt Lake City, Utah, is the best place for college graduates to settle in, followed by Orlando, Florida; Atlanta, Georgia; Charleston, South Carolina; and Tempe, Arizona, which rounded out the top five.

The bottom five cities were, respectively, Santa Clarita, California; Shreveport, Louisiana; Oxnard, California; Hialeah, Florida; and Newark, New Jersey.

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In New York, only four cities made the cut: Rochester, at No. 69; Buffalo, at No. 89; New York City, at No. 165, and — in the Hudson Valley — Yonkers, at No. 168.

The WalletHub career friendliness study compared 182 cities, including the two most populous in each state across two broad categories — professional opportunities and quality of life — and then drilled down in 27 areas that were graded on a 100-point scale.

Job opportunities aren’t the only factor new graduates should consider, according to Nick Praedin, director of experiential education and Rossin College liaison at the Center for Career and Professional Development at Lehigh University.

The availability of public transportation, affordable housing, opportunities for entertainment and a social life, cultural diversity and the proximity of the place where they grew up are all important considerations, Praedin said.

“It is important to remember through all of this that just because a city is right for one person, that doesn’t mean it is right for everyone,” James R. Lowe, assistant provost at the University of Connecticut, said in a statement accompanying the study. “When doing your research and outreach, make sure to engage with multiple people on each topic. Everyone will have a different opinion. Your job is to collect all of these views and make an informed decision of your own.”

Among other findings from the study:

• The highest average monthly starting salary, adjusted for the cost of living, was found in Durham, North Carolina, at $3,746, which is 2.7 times higher than in Honolulu and Pearl City, Hawaii, the cities with the lowest at $1,396.
• Gilbert, Arizona, has the highest median annual household income, adjusted for cost of living, at $90,085, which is 3.5 times higher than Hialeah, Florida, the city with the lowest at $25,474.
• Oxnard, California, has the highest workforce diversity, which is 2.4 times higher than in New Haven, Connecticut.
• South Burlington, Vermont, has the lowest unemployment rate at 1.8 percent, which is 5.5 times lower than in Detroit, the city with the highest at 9.9 percent.

Written by Beth Dalbey, Patch National Staff, with additional reporting by Michael Woyton/Patch Staff.

Image via Shutterstock.