With graduation season wrapped up, recent graduates are taking on new cities as they settle into the start of their professional careers. From adjusting to new time zones to exploring options available to them in the job market, change can be an uncomfortable yet exhilarating experience.
To help ease the transition, Zillow has compiled a list of the top markets for the class of 2024. Zillow’s ranking analyzed rent affordability, job opportunities and demographics in the 100 largest U.S. metro areas.
Phoenix sets the standard as the top market for 2024 graduates, with an abundance of job opportunities and a notable population of similarly-aged individuals. The city’s top ranking is primarily due to its booming job market, snagging second place among the markets analyzed by Zillow. Phoenix also holds a top 10 ranking for the share of rental listings on Zillow offering concessions, such as a free month of rent or free parking. Factors such as these aided in overcoming only middling affordability. Graduates can anticipate spending about 34.5% of their starting salary on a typical rent, ranking outside of the top 60.
Below is the breakdown of the top five markets for recent graduates:
1. Phoenix, Arizona
- Typical rent: $1,887
- Average recent college graduate income: $65,608
- Share of rental listings on Zillow offering a concession: 50.5%
2. Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Typical rent: $1,583
- Average recent college graduate income: $65,727
- Share of estimated entry-level income spent on rent: 28.9%
3. Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Typical rent: $1,858
- Share of estimated entry-level income spent on rent: 32.9%
- Share of population age 21–29: 13.9%
4. San Antonio, Texas
- Typical rent: $1,477
- Average recent college graduate income: $61,643
- Share of population age 21–29: 12.9%
5. Portland, Oregon
- Typical rent: $1,830
- Share of estimated entry-level income spent on rent: 29.0%
- Share of rental listings on Zillow offering a concession: 39.3%
Zillow’s ranking of the best markets for recent college graduates is based on five factors:
- Rent affordability: Determined by using each metro area’s typical rent according to the Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI) and an estimate of recent college graduate wages, this represents the share of income a recent college graduate can expect to spend on a new rental.
- Rent concessions: The share of rental listings on Zillow in each metro area that offered at least one concession, such as a free month’s rent or free parking, as of April 2024.
- Recent graduate incomes: Derived using the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Zillow analyzed jobs that require a bachelor’s degree but no prior experience and took the 25th percentile of wages weighted by the employment of those jobs in the geographic area.
- Job openings: The percentage change in seasonally adjusted postings since February 1, 2020, for total job postings in U.S. metro areas with a population of at least 500,000 people. Data is provided through Indeed Hiring Lab.
- Share of 20-something residents: The share of the population ages 21–29, according to the 1-year American Community Survey.
Read the full report here.
