It's graduation season, which means young adults are now earnestly seeking their first post-college jobs. WalletHub wanted to see which locations offer the best potential for jump-starting one's career, so the site looked at more than 180 of the most populated US cities, examining two dozen-plus metrics in two main categories: professional opportunities, which includes such factors as the availability of entry-level jobs, a city's unemployment rate, and job satisfaction; and quality of life, which looks at things like commuting time, median annual income, and how long the average workweek is. Salt Lake City emerged as the No. 1 pick, with North Las Vegas bringing up the rear. Read on for the top 10 best and worst cities to consider once you've hung your diploma on the wall:
Best Cities
- Salt Lake City
- Orlando, Fla.
- Atlanta
- Austin, Texas
- Seattle
- Boise, Idaho
- Miami (No. 1 in "Professional Opportunities" category)
- Tampa, Fla.
- Portland, Maine
- Columbia, SC
Worst Cities - Anchorage, Alaska
- Long Beach, Calif.
- Pembroke Pines, Fla.
- Newark, NJ
- Casper, Wyo.
- Detroit
- Santa Clarita, Calif.
- New York
- Shreveport, La.
- North Las Vegas, Nev.
See where other cities fall on
WalletHub's list. (
Here's where young people want to move after graduation.)