The lives of many recent graduates change in May and June, as former students look to begin new lives, often in new cities with new jobs. Navigating the changes can be challenging, as different markets across the country offer varying experiences for its residents. We created a ranking of the best metropolitan areas for recent graduates, based on average recent college graduate incomes, rent, the presence of other young people, and job growth.

#1: Colorado Springs, Colorado

Colorado Springs, home to the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, is the top market for college grads in 2023, exemplifying how markets with a smaller population, relatively affordable rents and lots of career prospects contribute to a high quality of life for individuals beginning a new phase in their lives. The typical recent graduate can expect to make around $63,000 annually. While the typical graduate will spend about 35% of their income on rent without roommates (which is on the more expensive end of rent burdens), strong job growth and a large population in their twenties makes Colorado Springs the highest ranked market in the country.

#2: Spokane, Washington

Nearly 300 miles east of Seattle is the second best metro for recent graduates, the basketball-loving Spokane. Typical rent is $1,563 compared to $2,223 in Seattle, meaning the typical recent graduate will spend about 31% of their income on rent. Though the twenty-something population is less than in other metropolitan areas, plentiful job opportunities push this market near the top of the list. 

#3: Des Moines, Iowa

Named the number one spot in the U.S. for insurance companies, Des Moines, Iowa is the third best market for recent graduates. The typical graduate can expect to make just under $60,000 in this metro, but luckily for them the rent burden is lower than other markets across the country. Typical asking rents are $1,202, meaning that rent costs less than a quarter of the typical graduate’s salary. Coupled with strong job growth, that housing affordability helps to make Des Moines a solid place to live for any recent graduate.

#4: Phoenix, Arizona

Sunny Phoenix, the 11th largest metro in the U.S., is pushed to fourth place in our ranking primarily by abundance of job openings, making it a place of opportunity for recent graduates. The typical salary here is just over $62,000, which can make the typical rent of $1,918 tough on the purse strings, but the higher population of twenty-somethings may make finding a roommate to share costs with easier. 

#5: Buffalo, New York

The fifth best market for recent college graduates is Buffalo. Asking rents here ($1,257 per month) are a full $2,000 cheaper than in the New York City metro area, meaning grads can expect to spend about a quarter of their monthly income on housing. The number of job openings may make up for the relatively low population in their twenties, making Buffalo a respectable starter city for recent graduates.

Methodology

Zillow used data on typical asking rents, incomes, job growth, and the share of the population aged 21-29 to rank various metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) in the country. 

• Typical asking rents come from the Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI).
• Income is provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). We use educational and training requirements to approximate recent college graduate wages by analyzing jobs that require a bachelor’s degree but no prior experience, and take the 25th percentile of wages weighted by the employment of those jobs in the geographic area from the OEWS.
• Job growth data is provided by Indeed’s Hiring Lab. It provides the % change in seasonally-adjusted postings since February 1, 2020 for total job postings in US metropolitan areas with a population of at least 500,000 people.
• The share of the population aged 21-29 is taken from the 1-year American Community Survey.

We developed an index based on these data to rank MSAs, after normalizing each variable using Z-scores. The ranking is composed of the share of income spent on the typical asking rents, the typical recent graduate income, the share of the population aged 21-29, and job growth, with the share of income spent on rent weighted most negatively, and the share of population aged 21-29 receiving less positive weight.