Best Cities For New Grads 2020

With the impact of COVID-19 this year, it’s more important than ever for the graduating class of 2020 to find the right cities to live that offer job opportunities, manageable cost of living, with salaries that make sense with the respective city rents, and the potential for a good social life once Shelter-in-Place or Stay-at-Home orders lift. Zumper’s ranking takes all that into account with a 7 category index to thoroughly cover the top 100 cities across the nation.

Top 10 Best Cities

1. Salt Lake City, UT

With a high concentration of young people (which we defined as 20-34 year olds) and the 5th largest single population, Salt Lake City was catapulted to the top of this list for new grads. This city also ranked in the upper third for median income for people aged 25 and younger and had high potential for job opportunities, especially with its growing tech scene, as its unemployment rate for March 2020 was 3.8%. All of this combined with great outdoor activities makes Salt Lake City Zumper’s 2020 best city for new grads.

2. Raleigh, NC

Raleigh did well across the board in terms of categories, ranking in the upper half for all. This city performed especially well with its high population of individuals with Bachelor’s degrees, which means there are many relatable people with similar educational backgrounds to this year’s new grads, and ranked in the top 20 for median income.

3. San Francisco, CA

San Francisco, the first and only West Coast city in the top 10, had the highest median income in the nation for people aged 25 and younger and the 8th lowest unemployment rate for March so there is ample opportunity for new grads to find jobs that pay highly in this city.

4. Columbus, OH

Columbus was our 4th best city for new grads due to its affordable rent, high concentration of young people, and generous amount of restaurants per capita, for when Shelter-in-Place and Stay-at-Home orders lift.

5. Nashville, TN

Ranking especially high in the number of restaurants per capita (hello Nashville hot chicken) and having the 7th highest income for new grads, Nashville was our 5th best city for graduates. Nashville also had the 6th lowest unemployment rate, which shows great job opportunities here as well.

6. Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis ranked in the top 10 for potential job opportunities, concentration of young people, and educated people with degrees, making it the 6th best overall city for new grads.

7. Boston, MA

As the first East Coast city to enter the top cities, Boston was brought to the top of the fold by its large density of young, single people and great job opportunities, with the 6th lowest unemployment rate overall.

8. Lincoln, NE

Lincoln was the 8th best city for new grads due to its very affordable rent, as one-bedrooms in this city were priced under $800, and its large number of individuals with degrees.

9. Norfolk, VA

Ranking as the 9th best city overall, Norfolk moved into our top 10 due to its 6th highest population of young people and placing in the top quarter for both the singles and median income categories.

10. Madison, WI

Rounding out our top 10 cities, Madison was the 10th best city for new grads. It had the highest concentration of young people in the nation as well as the highest potential for job opportunity with the lowest unemployment rate at 2%.

Cities Broken Down By Top Categories

4 California cities made it into the top 5 markets for highest income for people aged 25 and younger. One Washington City, Seattle, made it onto the list as well. It seems the West Coast pays its young employees the best.

All of the top 5 cities with the most job opportunities had unemployment rates below 3%. The majority of these top 5 cities were located in the Mid or South West region of the country, with the exception of Honolulu.

Providence had the highest percentage of singles in the country with 2 of 3 people living in this city being single. 2 Louisiana cities were the next best places to find singles, followed closely behind by Rochester and Salt Lake City.

In terms of youth concentration, we considered the population of 20-34 year olds in each city. Madison, Boston, Seattle, and Salt Lake City all had over 1/3 of their populations aged between 20-34. Minneapolis was right at 33%.

Methodology

To determine the best cities for new grads, we analyzed data from the top 100 U.S. cities on seven key metrics. These metrics included:

• Median one-bedroom rent from Zumper.com
• Population of 20-34 year olds (for highest concentration of “young people”) from American Community Survey 2018
• Population of 25 year olds with a Bachelor’s degree from American Community Survey 2018
• Median income of 25 year olds and younger from American Community Survey 2017
• Non-married population from American Community Survey 2018
• Restaurants per 100k people from Yelp API
• March 2020 Unemployment rate from (https://www.bls.gov/home.htm)

Each city received a rank and weighted score for each metric. In terms of weightings, median rent price, median income, and March 2020 unemployment rate each accounted for 20% of the final score. The single population accounted for 15%, the population of young people and the population of 25 year olds and older with Bachelor’s degrees each accounted for 10%, and restaurants per capita accounted for the last 5%. The final rankings were determined by adding up each city’s weighted scores to see who scored highest overall.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Full Data

(How each city ranked in the individual categories)

Overall Ranking	City	Median Rent	Young People	Population of People w/ Bachelor's	Median Income	Restaurants Per Capita	Single Population	Unemployment Rate
1	Salt Lake City, UT	51	4	17	31	94	5	21
2	Raleigh, NC	45	26	5	19	39	44	21
3	San Francisco, CA	100	16	2	1	26	31	8
4	Columbus, OH	19	17	32	41	16	36	41
5	Nashville, TN	77	22	24	7	2	59	6
6	Minneapolis, MN	77	5	8	32	93	18	9
7	Boston, MA	98	2	16	21	95	9	6
8	Lincoln, NE	14	29	21	59	5	61	21
9	Norfolk, VA	37	6	72	23	97	25	31
10	Madison, WI	66	1	8	80	6	28	1
11	Durham, NC	43	27	22	61	10	46	17
12	Tallahassee, FL	19	20	28	81	53	8	44
13	Orlando, FL	69	8	25	38	11	43	29
14	Richmond, VA	54	10	29	74	74	7	21
15	Atlanta, GA	81	11	12	24	62	12	52
16	Austin, TX	73	12	6	55	56	38	14
17	Lubbock, TX	3	18	61	89	59	41	17
18	Boise, ID	51	68	15	71	49	22	3
19	Indianapolis, IN	29	60	51	63	35	41	11
20	Denver, CO	82	14	7	11	46	44	52
21	Knoxville, TN	19	13	75	82	70	35	12
22	Greensboro, NC	10	74	26	33	25	72	48
23	Seattle, WA	93	3	1	4	58	32	68
24	Oakland, CA	96	41	18	3	19	34	48
25	Virginia Beach, VA	49	62	34	13	72	98	9
26	Santa Ana, CA	90	32	97	5	22	39	17
27	Oklahoma City, OK	12	75	61	44	64	91	4
28	Chattanooga, TN	33	47	67	62	1	56	21
29	Plano, TX	65	93	4	9	52	68	31
30	San Diego, CA	92	29	19	10	76	52	34
31	Cincinnati, OH	33	18	40	79	21	19	62
32	Dallas, TX	71	37	51	28	4	47	44
32	Honolulu, HI	86	81	34	26	9	70	2
34	Gilbert, AZ	72	100	10	16	15	79	21
35	Portland, OR	77	45	11	60	51	49	14
36	Kansas City, MO	39	50	42	40	47	56	52
37	Washington, DC	95	8	22	14	80	6	83
38	Tampa, FL	59	49	33	39	8	66	41
39	Tulsa, OK	2	80	55	72	87	88	5
40	San Jose, CA	97	81	20	2	28	90	16
41	Charlotte, NC	67	46	14	57	54	62	31
41	Arlington, TX	26	48	50	65	43	75	38
43	Scottsdale, AZ	83	98	3	12	17	92	29
44	Memphis, TN	15	72	81	66	48	26	59
45	Omaha, NE	26	77	30	36	44	80	62
46	Phoenix, AZ	47	65	68	29	30	64	52
47	Lexington, KY	11	33	27	92	65	81	44
48	El Paso, TX	5	70	80	46	18	88	59
49	Baton Rouge, LA	16	21	51	100	82	2	85
50	Des Moines, IA	36	67	65	53	33	59	52
50	St Louis, MO	33	25	51	85	63	23	71
52	Colorado Springs, CO	46	56	36	17	3	96	79
53	Anchorage, AK	41	64	38	15	50	94	71
54	San Antonio, TX	30	55	83	78	39	55	34
55	Anaheim, CA	86	70	70	25	14	77	21
56	Wichita, KS	6	84	66	75	60	95	21
57	Jacksonville, FL	32	68	71	47	29	76	51
58	Laredo, TX	16	88	89	20	85	64	71
59	Pittsburgh, PA	56	7	44	87	12	17	82
60	New York, NY	99	56	39	22	68	49	44
61	Rochester, NY	41	15	88	76	27	4	89
62	St Petersburg, FL	63	84	31	42	81	68	34
63	Houston, TX	59	38	59	48	38	49	66
64	Chandler, AZ	70	94	13	8	99	99	38
65	Irving, TX	62	34	41	68	61	70	34
66	Chesapeake, VA	51	95	48	54	32	100	12
67	Reno, NV	48	51	55	27	69	78	68
68	Tucson, AZ	7	29	78	90	55	40	79
69	Milwaukee, WI	54	41	87	86	91	14	38
70	Akron, OH	1	62	86	70	66	33	89
71	Chicago, IL	85	23	37	43	88	26	76
72	Bakersfield, CA	23	73	94	18	31	63	96
73	Winston Salem, NC	19	86	57	88	42	66	41
74	Aurora, CO	57	66	64	6	79	87	68
75	Baltimore, MD	67	38	78	83	13	16	62
76	Providence, RI	75	23	84	49	92	1	85
77	Miami, FL	91	81	73	35	83	58	20
78	Albuquerque, NM	7	78	61	77	34	74	71
79	Sacramento, CA	74	43	44	69	24	52	59
80	Fort Lauderdale, FL	89	97	46	37	23	54	48
81	Augusta, GA	12	51	93	91	78	29	76
82	Mesa, AZ	37	87	73	45	39	92	52
83	Spokane, WA	18	58	48	64	96	84	71
84	Syracuse, NY	23	28	95	96	98	10	81
85	Fort Worth, TX	49	78	60	50	57	83	52
86	Los Angeles, CA	94	40	42	34	89	29	89
87	Louisville, KY	26	92	75	51	90	73	66
88	Shreveport, LA	4	89	92	99	73	3	94
89	Detroit, MI	7	76	100	94	45	11	100
90	Buffalo, NY	63	34	81	73	67	21	83
91	Glendale, AZ	30	90	96	56	36	86	62
92	Cleveland, OH	39	54	98	98	71	12	99
93	Fresno, CA	57	61	90	58	75	48	98
94	Corpus Christi, TX	25	90	91	67	77	85	78
95	Las Vegas, NV	43	96	85	52	20	82	95
96	Philadelphia, PA	84	34	77	97	7	19	97
97	Long Beach, CA	86	44	58	84	37	37	92
98	New Orleans, LA	80	58	47	95	86	23	85
99	Henderson, NV	59	99	68	30	100	97	88
100	Newark, NJ	75	53	99	93	84	14	92