Oh, The Places You Should Go
As thousands of new college graduates descend upon the job and rental markets, which states and cities will they be most likely to find a job and a place to live?
Finding a Place to Work
The overall U.S. unemployment rate is dropping as the economy continues to recover, but not all states or cities are feeling the recovery the same way. Here is the employment picture around the U.S.:
North Dakota 3.3
Nebraska 3.8
Vermont 4.1
South Dakota 4.3
Iowa 4.9
Utah 4.9
Wyoming 4.9
Oklahoma 5.0
Hawaii 5.1
Virginia 5.3
Minnesota 5.4
Kansas 5.6
Montana 5.6
New Hampshire 5.7
Alaska 6.2
Idaho 6.2
Louisiana 6.2
Massachusetts 6.4
Texas 6.4
Maryland 6.6
Missouri 6.7
New Mexico 6.9
West Virginia 7.0
Colorado 7.1
Maine 7.1
Ohio 7.1
Wisconsin 7.1
Alabama 7.2
Arkansas 7.2
Delaware 7.3
Washington 7.3
Florida 7.5
Arizona 7.9
Pennsylvania 7.9
Tennessee 7.9
Connecticut 8.0
Kentucky 8.0
New York 8.2
Oregon 8.2
Georgia 8.4
South Carolina 8.4
District of Columbia 8.5
Michigan 8.5
Indiana 8.7
New Jersey 9.0
Rhode Island 9.1
North Carolina 9.2
California 9.4
Mississippi 9.4
Illinois 9.5
Nevada 9.7
Metro areas
Midland, TX 3.1
Iowa City, IA 3.5
Lincoln, NE 3.5
Ames, IA 3.6
Bismarck, ND 3.6
Burlington-South Burlington, VT 3.6
Odessa, TX 3.7
Logan, UT 3.9
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA 4.1
Sioux Falls, SD 4.1
Finding a Place to Live
New graduates don’t always have cash to spare; here’s a look at median rent prices by state as well as the cities with the highest rental vacancy rates:
HI 1,293
CA 1,155
MD 1,108
NJ 1,108
DC 1,059
AK 1,007
CT 1,006
NV 993
VA 989
MA 988
NY 984
FL 952
DE 949
NH 918
WA 911
RI 890
AZ 859
CO 851
VT 829
IL 828
OR 819
GA 800
UT 793
TX 788
MN 757
PA 738
ME 722
NC 720
MI 716
LA 715
WI 708
SC 706
WY 700
ID 694
IN 687
TN 682
NM 680
KS 671
OH 670
MO 668
AL 657
MS 644
NE 644
OK 636
MT 627
KY 613
IA 611
AR 606
ND 564
SD 562
WV 552
Most Places to Rent:
Myrtle Beach SC 33.4%
Fort Walton Beach FL 27.6%
Panama City FL 22.5%
Dalton GA 22%
Gulfport-Biloxi MS 26.9%
Elkhart-Goshen IN 19.3%
Cape Coral-Fort Myers FL 19.2%
Athens GA 18.7%
Jackson TN 18%
Putting It All Together
It’s not just about finding a place to live and a good job; it helps if the job pays well and the place isn’t a dump. So here are the top five states for new graduates*, based on areas with high income, low unemployment and reasonable rents.
1. Wyoming
Unemployment 4.9%
Median rent $700
Median income $47,851
2. Virginia
Unemployment 5.3%
Median rent $989
Median income $44,762
3. New Hampshire
Unemployment 5.7%
Median rent $918
Median income $44,084
4. Minnesota
Unemployment 5.4%
Median rent $757
Median income $42,843
5. North Dakota
Unemployment 3.3%
Median rent $564
Median income $40,596
* Income over $40,000; median rent under $1,000; and unemployment below 6%.
SOURCES:
U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, proximityone.com
