Best (big) cities for young professionals

Where to go if getting a job is just as important as having a life? Forbes provides their annual Best Cities for Young Professionals to help you decide based on the following criteria:

– Where the graduates of top universities ended up 10 years later (only counting those who moved right after graduating to discount any ‘unfair advantages’, as well as adjusting for population);
– Where the best business opportunities exist (based on Forbes’ list of 400 best big businesses and 200 best small businesses);
_ Which cities had the most young and unmarried people (ie nightlife);
– Which cities paid young professionals the best.

Keep in mind that in this ranking size matters – there should be another list for cities under 500,000. The top 40:

1. New York City, NY
2. San Francisco, CA
3. Atlanta, GA
4. Los Angeles, CA
5. Washington, DC
6. Boston, MA
7. Seattle, WA
8. Minneapolis, MN
9. Philadelphia, PA
10. Denver, CO
11. Austin, TX
12. Portland, OR
13. Charlotte, NC
14. Ste Louis, MO
15. Providence, RI
16. Chicago, IL
17. Raleigh, NC
18. Cincinnati, OH
19. San Diego, CA
20. Milwaukee, WI
21. Pittsburgh, PA
22. Nashville, TN
23. Columbus, OH
24. New Orleans, LA
25. Houston, TX
26. Cleveland, OH
27. Phoenix, AZ
28. Sacramento, CA
29. Dallas, TX
30. Salt Lake City, UT
31. Greensboro, NC
32. Miami, FL
33. Las Vegas, NV
34. Norfolk, VA
35. Orlando, FL
36. San Antonio, TX
37. Kansas City, MO
38. Detroit, MI
39. Indianapolis, IN
40. Tampa, FL

Check out the slide show here.

Thanks to Scott Hart for the reference.

About The Author

neilkt