Advertisements

Seattle Space Needle Washington fogSeattle took the top spot.Tim Durkan/Flickr

Advertisements

All around the country, college grads are contemplating their next steps.

Finding a new spot to settle down is probably a number one concern for anyone who's not moving back home.

Unfortunately, most of the urban hubs teeming with job opportunities are also some of the least affordable places to live.

Trulia, a online home-buyer resource, and Indeed, a job site, teamed up to compile a study breaking down some of the "sweet spots" for grads — places with plenty of job opportunities and affordable housing.

The study first identified popular jobs for young grads, based on US Census Bureau data regarding 22- to 27-year-olds with a bachelor's degree. Next, Indeed scoured all of its March 2017 job listings for such occupations, coming up with the share of job postings in each area in occupations where the share of college grads is at least twice as high as the national average.

Trulia then calculated the median personal income for employed recent grads using census data and identified the share of rentals reasonably priced for typical grads.

The locations they came up with are all pretty much outliers. Here are the six spots that are great options for recent grads, based on job opportunities and housing costs:

6. Dayton, Ohio

6. Dayton, Ohio
Wikimedia Commons

Percent of job postings that are ideal for recent grads: 15.6%

Advertisements

Percent of rental listings that are affordable for recent grads: 42.8%

5. Detroit, Michigan

5. Detroit, Michigan
grego1402/Flickr

Percent of job postings that are ideal for recent grads: 18.9%

Percent of rental listings that are affordable for recent grads: 39.5%

4. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

4. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Always Shooting/Flickr

Percent of job postings that are ideal for recent grads: 16.2%

Percent of rental listings that are affordable for recent grads: 27.2%

3. Baltimore, Maryland

3. Baltimore, Maryland
m01229/Flickr

Percent of job postings that are ideal for recent grads: 19.9%

Percent of rental listings that are affordable for recent grads: 13.4%

2. Hartford, Connecticut

2. Hartford, Connecticut
Wikimedia Commons

Percent of job postings that are ideal for recent grads: 19.4%

Percent of rental listings that are affordable for recent grads: 13.3%

1. Seattle, Washington

1. Seattle, Washington
Advertisements
Ramanathan Kathiresan/Flickr

Percent of job postings that are ideal for recent grads: 23.7%

Percent of rental listings that are affordable for recent grads: 7.6%