Milwaukee a top city for those with student loans

Brag about this, Milwaukee. The Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis area was ranked as the thirdbest metro in the country for millennials with student debt in a RewardExpert report released Wednesday.

Milwaukee was the most populous area to make the top 10 list, with its 1.5 million residents. The report noted Milwaukee’s position on the Great Lakes and its short distance from Chicago.

The area compared well with other cities for the affordability of and access to housing and transit. Median rent in the area is $740, according to the report. Median student debt is also lower than the national average by about $1,000.

Another Wisconsin area nabbed an even higher spot. The La CrosseOnalaska area, which stretches into Minnesota, was ranked second. The report said with only one exception — first-place Lincoln, Neb. — “nowhere else are millennials doing better financially than here as compared to members of the older generations.”

“With the ever-increasing price of a higher education in the United States, students now graduate with more debt in student loans than ever before,” RewardExpert CEO and cofounder Roman Shteyn said in a news release. “Merely a few decades ago, student loan balances were small enough to be repaid easily, and generally speaking, under less onerous terms. More than ever before it pays off to choose wisely when it comes to deciding where to start your career and your adult life.”

Data from consumer credit reporting agency Experian, the Urban Institute think tank and government agencies was used to compile the report. The rankings were based on five categories: housing availability and cost, transportation infrastructure and transit access, availability and accessibility of jobs requiring a college degree or higher, tax rates, and local trends in debt and credit.