There will be nearly two million college graduates hitting the streets soon. Although aspirations are high, good jobs are still scarce. Where you live matters.
Some cities are better than others for finding a decent job. One important metric, though, is knowing how much money you can keep in your pocket in any given city. Some areas will fleece you just for rent. While you may find a great opportunity, if you can't save money, it's a hollow victory.
A simple way of determining whether a city is worth moving to is to see what you'll likely pay for housing, food and other essentials. Rent can consume a big part of your paycheck in many big cities. If you're starting out at a relatively low salary, a move to a major metro area may not be worth it.
To no one's surprise, you can get really walloped on basic living expenses in places like New York City, where, if you're fortunate to earn a starting salary of $47, 000, you'd spend
Heading to Silicon Valley? You'd get soaked even worse than New York, spending nearly 80% of your salary on living expenses in San Francisco. Los Angeles isn't far behind, absorbing 60% of your paycheck. So while these glamor cities have much to offer in the way of jobs and atmosphere, unless you're earning big bucks, they may not be good financial moves.
A general benchmark for how much you should spend on housing is around 30% of your annual income. Above that and it will be harder to save money for retirement or have much discretionary income. Remember, you still have to buy food, clothes and have some cash left over to grab a beer, lunch or dinner.
"Graduates should consider cities such as Austin, Atlanta and Houston, where the average spending percentages add up to 36% or below for one-bedroom apartments," the survey found. "A good snag considering Austin was ranked by WalletHub as the third best city to find a job in 2016 and Atlanta employed over 530,000 people last year. However, Houston takes the cake with rental costs as low as 29% of average entry-level income."
Apart from the cost of living, you also need to know where the most new jobs are being created. Hint: They are rarely being generated in the highest-profile coastal cities and often in places that get little attention. Here are WalletHub's top cities for top job opportunities:
Salt Lake City
Cincinnati
Orlando
Irvine,
Minneapolis
What can you say about these cities? For one, they are not tied into a single industry. Although they may be creating tech jobs, they have diversified economies that weather recessions and have attracted graduates because they have established companies.
It's also helpful to know which cities are growing their job base. For that measure, consider Ft. Lauderdale and Pembroke Pines, Florida; San Bernardino and Oceanside, California; and Irving, Texas.
It's tough to make that first move out of college. The big world will require a lot of you. But if you have flexibility and the willingness to adapt to changes in the workplace -- and world at large -- you're going to thrive. Finding a place that will nurture your talents while allowing you to keep some cash in your pocket is a great way to start.
