Top spots for grads
Here are the top seven cities for freshly minted college grads in Realtor.com’s ranking:
Austin, Texas
Rent-to-income ratio: 21.4%
Share of graduate-friendly occupations (no prior experience required): 29.6% (tops in category) Share of recent college grads: 3.3% Average commute time: 26 minutes Yelp culture and lifestyle business per 1,000 households: 21.5
Rental vacancy rate: 9% (tops in category)
Unemployment rate: 3.3%
Job postings index (based on average of 100): 125
Bloomington, Minnesota
Rent-to-income ratio: 19.9% (most affordable in category)
Share of graduate-friendly occupations (no prior experience required): 26.7%
Share of recent college grads: 2.5% Average commute time: 23 minutes Yelp culture and lifestyle business per 1,000 households: 22.4
Rental vacancy rate: 7.9% (tops in category)
Unemployment rate: 3.1% (Lowest in category)
Job postings index (based on average of 100): 125
Pittsburgh
Rent-to-income ratio: 21.7%
Share of graduate-friendly occupations (no prior experience required): 26.7%
Share of recent college grads: 4.4% (tops in category)
Average commute time: 25 minutes Yelp culture and lifestyle business per 1,000 households: 24.6
Rental vacancy rate: 6.3% Unemployment rate: 3.5%
Job postings index (based on average of 100): 131
Raleigh, North Carolina
Rent-to-income ratio: 21.4%
Share of graduate-friendly occupations (no prior experience required): 28.8%
Share of recent college grads: 2.9% Average commute time: 25 minutes Yelp culture and lifestyle business per 1,000 households: 17.1
Rental vacancy rate: 8.7% Unemployment rate: 3.4%
Job postings index (based on average of 100): 119
Overland Park, Kansas
Rent-to-income ratio: 20.7% Share of graduate-friendly occupations (no prior experience required): 24.5%
Share of recent college grads: 3.3% Average commute time: 22 minutes (lowest in category)
Yelp culture and lifestyle business per 1,000 households: 18.1
Rental vacancy rate: 7.5% Unemployment rate: 3.4%
Job postings index (based on average of 100): 124
Richmond, Virginia
Rent-to-income ratio: 24.6% Share of graduate-friendly occupations (no prior experience required): 25.8%
Share of recent college grads: 3.7% Average commute time: 24 minutes Yelp culture and lifestyle business per 1,000 households: 24.4
Rental vacancy rate: 4.9% Unemployment rate: 3.4%
Job postings index (based on average of 100): 127
Scottsdale, Arizona
Rent-to-income ratio: 24.4% Share of graduate-friendly occupations (no prior experience required): 22.1%
Share of recent college grads: 2.9% Average commute time: 23 minutes Yelp culture and lifestyle business per 1,000 households: 25.2
Rental vacancy rate: 8.1% Unemployment rate: 4%
Job postings index (based on average of 100): 166 (tops in category)