Columbus Among Best Cities For Young Professionals In 2017: Forbes

COLUMBUS, OH — When new college graduates from across the country plan their next move, they might consider looking for a job in the Columbus metropolitan area, which Forbes said in a ranking released Monday is an ideal landing spot with relatively high salaries for recent graduates and reasonable rents.

Forbes looked at a range of factors to come up with a definitive list and while some cities might seem like obvious choices for young professionals, there are certainly some surprises. According to Forbes, the top city for young professionals in 2017 is Salt Lake City. What makes the city so attractive is its 3.2 percent unemployment rate, a 2.54 percent projected job growth for 2017 and a median grad salary of $50,500, which is higher than many other cities. Forbes also notes that rent in the city is fairly cheap, with a two-bedroom going for around $1,100.

In compiling the list, Forbes used six metrics, of which the median salary earned by college grads with less than five years of experience was the best predictor for whether a city would make the list. Another metric, rental affordability, was the least likely to predict whether a city would make the list.
The other metrics Forbes used are local unemployment rates, data on job growth and projections, networking opportunities and social outlook. Forbes ranked each of the 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the United States using these metrics. Read more on the metrics Forbes used to come up with the list.

What made the Columbus area stand out? Here’s what Forbes said:

Recent grad median salary: $49,500
Median rent as share of median salary: 24 percent
Unemployment rate: 4.0 percent
Projected annual job growth: 1.43 percent
Adults with bachelor’s degrees or higher: 34 percent
Population aged 20 to 29: 14 percent

The top 25 cities for young professionals in 2017 are:

1. Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area
2. Boise City, Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area
3. San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, California Metropolitan Statistical Area
4. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Arizona Metropolitan Statistical Area
5. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colorado Metropolitan Statistical Area
6. Raleigh, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area
7. Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area
8. Columbus, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area
9. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California Metropolitan Statistical Area
10. Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area
11. Oakland-Hayward-Berkeley, California Metropolitan Statistical Area
12. Jacksonville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area
13. Silver Spring-Frederick, Rockville, Maryland Metropolitan Statistical Area
14. Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area
15. Austin-Round Rock, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area
16. Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, California Metropolitan Statistical Area
17. Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area
18. San Diego-Carlsbad, California Metropolitan Statistical Area
19. Tampa-St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area
20. Boston, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area
21. St. Louis, Missouri-Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area
22. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area
23. Charleston-North Charleston, South Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area
24. Omaha-Council Bluffs, Nebraska-Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area
25. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minnesota-Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area

» Click here to see more statistics on the cities that make the list, including median income, unemployment rate and more.

Written by Feroze Dhanoa (Patch National Staff)

Photo of Columbus skyline by John Mueller via Flickr Commons