2018’s Best and Worst Places to Start a Career

With graduation season upon us and employers planning to hire 4 percent more graduates from the Class of 2018 than they did from the Class of 2017, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2018’s Best & Worst Places to Start a Career.

To help recent graduates launch their careers in the right place, WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities based on 27 key indicators of career-friendliness. The data set ranges from availability of entry-level jobs to monthly average starting salary to housing affordability.

Best vs. Worst

• Durham, N.C., has the highest monthly average starting salary (adjusted for cost of living), $3,746, which is 2.7 times higher than in Honolulu and Pearl City, Hawaii, the cities with the lowest at $1,396.
• Gilbert, Ariz., has the highest median annual household income (adjusted for cost of living), $90,085, which is 3.5 times higher than in Hialeah, Fla., the city with the lowest at $25,474.
• Oxnard, Calif., has the highest workforce diversity, which is 2.4 times higher than in New Haven, Conn., the city with the lowest.
• South Burlington, Vt., has the lowest unemployment rate, 1.80 percent, which is 5.5 times lower than in Detroit, the city with the highest at 9.90 percent.

To view the full report and your city’s rank, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-cities-to-start-a-career/3626/

More from WalletHub

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• Best & Worst States for Nurses
• Best & Worst Metro Areas for STEM Professionals
• Best & Worst States for Doctors
• Best Places to Be a Real-Estate Agent
• Best & Worst States for Teachers