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Rankings Show the Best and Worst Cities to Start a New Career

The struggles endured in recent years by America’s young people pale in comparison to those suffered by their peers in Spain and Greece, where youth unemployment in excess of 50 percent has spawned great social unrest. Still, finding a job in the U.S. — l

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The struggles endured in recent years by America’s young people pale in comparison to those suffered by their peers in Spain and Greece, where youth unemployment in excess of 50 percent has spawned great social unrest. Still, finding a job in the U.S. — let alone laying the foundation for a long and prosperous career — is far from simple.

But there’s reason for optimism among the graduating class of 2015 and the scores of young people so disillusioned with the job market that they’ve given up their search for employment. Not only do more employers plan to hire recent college grads in 2015, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, but hiring in general is also on the rise.

Increased hiring obviously doesn’t guarantee employment, though. Young people still must learn how to maximize their marketability. In addition to customizing cover letters and making social media accounts safe for work, that could very well entail finding a new place to live and work. After all, employment opportunities vary significantly based on simple geography.

In order to help job market entrants launch their careers in the right place, WalletHub analyzed the 150 largest U.S. cities to determine the relative strength of their job markets as well as the attractiveness of their social scenes and other factors that are important to job market entrants. They did so using 19 key metrics such as workforce diversity, median annual income and number of leisure establishments.

 

Best Cities to Start a Career

 

Worst Cities to Start a Career

 

1

Irving, TX

 

141

Milwaukee, WI

 

2

Grand Prairie, TX

 

142

Mobile, AL

 

3

Austin, TX 

 

143

Modesto, CA

 

4

Denver, CO

 

144

Augusta, GA

 

5

Houston, TX

 

145

Cleveland, OH

 

6

Corpus Christi, TX

 

146

Stockton, CA

 

7

Fremont, CA

 

147

Columbus, GA

 

8

Fort Worth, TX

 

148

Toledo, OH

 

9

Sioux Falls, SD

 

149

Fresno, CA

 

10

Tulsa, OK

 

150

Detroit, MI

The full study can be found on WalletHub’s website.