50 Cities With Cheap Rent and Good Jobs for New College Grads
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There are certain things that as a new college graduate you have little control over, such as when you're forced to join the real world. If you happened to graduate in 2008 as I did — when the economy was hemorrhaging jobs while the stock and housing markets were collapsing — you were somewhat out of luck.
Still, there were things you could have done to improve your financial odds even in the Great Recession, such as picking a city with the best odds of finding a good-paying job and an affordable place to live.
Which begs the question: Where are those cities for young grads today?
The real estate site Trulia and the careers site Indeed have teamed up to look at which cities provide the best combination of affordable rental properties and the types of jobs that typically employ new grads.
Their conclusion: Finding the ideal place to work and live is tricky, because the market in which you might find the best-paying jobs may also happen to be too pricey for a 22-year-old to afford rent.
Take the San Jose/Sunnyvale/Santa Clara, Calif. metro area. That region of the Silicon Valley had the highest percentage of jobs that were amenable to those right out of college. Almost a third of all postings in San Jose were "grad-friendly," and recent grads could expect to earn around $3,333 a month — the second highest median personal income in the country, just behind the Washington, DC/Arlington, VA market.
Trouble is, all of that economic activity has dramatically driven up demand and prices for homes and apartments. In the San Jose market, new grads can only afford 2.5% of the available rental listings in the area.
"Do new grads have to choose between a paycheck in their pocket or a roof over their head? To an extent, yes," wrote Indeed and Trulia's chief economists Jed Kolko and Ralph McLaughlin, the study's authors.
Yet the researchers note that there are some "sweet spots" that offer the best of both worlds. These goldilocks towns, according to the report, include Seattle, Hartford, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Dayton.
Money took the data from the survey and organized it a bit differently.
We eliminated any location where less than than 10% of the housing market was accessible to new grads, and then looked at the top job markets among the remaining towns on the list.
Here are the Top 50 of those markets, ranked in order of median monthly income.
1. Houston-The Woodlands- Sugar Land, TX
Monthly Income: $3,188
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 18.4%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 16.7%
2. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Monthly Income: $2,925
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 11.1%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 16.5%
3. Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT
Monthly Income: $2,890
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 13.3%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 19.4%
4. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
Monthly Income: $2,882
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 13.4%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings:19.9%
5. Kansas City, MO-KS
Monthly Income: $2,753
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 35.2%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 14.6%
6. Jacksonville, FL
Monthly Income: $2,724
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 17.4%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 14.2%
7. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
Monthly Income: $2,713
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 10.2%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 19.5%
8. Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA
Monthly Income: $2,713
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 23.7%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 14.4%
9. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
Monthly Income: $2,635
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 13.5%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 18.1%
10. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
Monthly Income: $2,635
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 15.2%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 16.5%
11. Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI
Monthly Income: $2,635
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 27.9%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 15.1%
12. Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA
Monthly Income: $2,635
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 17.1%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 14.8%
13. Baton Rouge, LA
Monthly Income: $2,632
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 15.6%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 14.5%
14. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
Monthly Income: $2,583
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 15.4%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 17.5%
15. Raleigh, NC
Monthly Income: $2,581
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 9.8%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 19.3%
16. Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
Monthly Income: $2,581
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 39.5%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 18.9%
17. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
Monthly Income: $2,581
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 12.5%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings:17.3%
18. Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN
Monthly Income: $2,581
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 18.7%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 15.6%
19. Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV
Monthly Income: $2,581
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 18.2%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 14.6%
20. Columbus, OH
Monthly Income: $2,545
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 22.5%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 15.1%
21. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
Monthly Income: $2,544
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 17.9%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 17.3%
22. Charleston-North Charleston, SC
Monthly Income: $2,544
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 11.5%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings:13.9%
23. Austin-Round Rock, TX
Monthly Income: $2,539
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 10%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 19.8%
24. Pittsburgh, PA
Monthly Income: $2,527
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 27.2%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 16.2%
25. Ogden-Clearfield, UT
Monthly Income: $2,525
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 12.8%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 15.2%
26. Dayton, OH
Monthly Income: $2,503
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 42.8%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 15.6%
27. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
Monthly Income: $2,503
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 10.3%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 15.1%
28. New Orleans-Metairie, LA
Monthly Income: $2,503
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 12.7%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 13.8%
29. Richmond, VA
Monthly Income: $2,500
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 19.2%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 15.9%
30. Bakersfield, CA
Monthly Income: $2,481
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 29.2%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 15.8%
31. St. Louis MO-IL
Monthly Income: $2,459
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 32.3%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 15%
32. Memphis, TN-MS-AR
Monthly Income: $2,447
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 28.9%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 15.3%
33. Cleveland-Elyria, OH
Monthly Income: $2,447
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 30.4%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 15.5%
34. Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC
Monthly Income: $2,419
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 15.7%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 13.8%
35. Oklahoma City, OK
Monthly Income: $2,333
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 20.3%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 13.7%
36. Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI
Monthly Income: $2,330
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 17.1%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 14%
37. Madison, WI
Monthly Income: $2,311
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 15.3%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 14.8%
38. Modesto, CA
Monthly Income: $2,256
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 20.7%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 14.4%
39. Jackson, MS
Monthly Income: $2,250
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 24.1%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 15.2%
40. Rochester, NY
Monthly Income: $2,198
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 18.4%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 16%
41. Columbia, SC
Monthly Income: $2,151
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 14.9%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 14.1%
42. Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ
Monthly Income: $2,111
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 13.7%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 14.5%
43. Syracuse, NY
Monthly Income: $2,100
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 17.9%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 15.8%
44. Greensboro-High Point, NC
Monthly Income: $2,083
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 18.7%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 14%
45. Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY
Monthly Income: $2,065
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 16.1%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 16.8%
46. Tucson, AZ
Monthly Income: $2,065
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 14.9%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 16.4%
47. Fresno, CA
Monthly Income: $1,917
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 10.9%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 14.9%
48. Albuquerque, NM
Monthly Income: $1,847
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 14.2%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 13.9%
49. Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL
Monthly Income: $1,844
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 11.5%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 16.3%
50. Boise City, ID
Monthly Income: $1,780
Percentage of Listings Affordable to Recent College Grad: 15.5%
Percentage of Grad-Friendly Job Postings: 15.5%