College Grads, Maybe Skip the Big Cities

ADP finds the most favorable prospects in Raleigh, Milwaukee metro areas
Posted Jul 21, 2025 8:07 AM CDT
College Grads Find the Most Promise in 2nd-Tier Cities
Graduates line up before the start of a community college commencement in East Rutherford, NJ, May 17, 2018.   (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Researchers are offering a tip to college graduates entering "one of the toughest markets for entry-level jobs in years," per the Wall Street Journal: The most promising locations aren't America's largest metro areas. Payroll-services provider ADP ranked 55 metro areas for college graduates, based on affordability, wages, and hiring rates for jobs that typically require a degree, finding more favorable prospects in the likes of Raleigh, Milwaukee, Austin, and Denver than in New York City or Washington, DC. The top 10 metro areas:

  1. Raleigh, North Carolina
  2. Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin
  3. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Maryland
  4. Austin-Round Rock, Texas
  5. Birmingham-Hoover, Alabama
  6. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colorado
  7. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tennessee
  8. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Arizona
  9. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida
  10. New York-Newark-Jersey City, New York-New Jersey-Pennsylvania
Click here for more details, or check out the best cities for first-time homebuyers here.

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