The “Top U.S. Cities for New Grads” report, from career platform Glassdoor and real estate brokerage Redfin released April 14, sorts metropolitan areas into three categories: big, mid-sized, and small. Each is ranked on housing affordability, career opportunity, and urban quality of life.
Glassdoor and Redfin ranked the cities using 13 indicators across the three categories.
The metrics drew on 563,000 Glassdoor salary reviews from 2025, 662,000 employer reviews collected from early-career workers between 2023 and 2025, more than 22 million Glassdoor job postings from 2025, and over 2.5 million Redfin property sales from the same year.
Students at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., on graduation day. Photo courtesy of the university’s Facebook page |
Washington, D.C. tops the big-city group. The nation’s capital combines higher pay, abundant job openings and strong work-life balance, with the highest job-posting density of any large U.S. city at 19 per 100 workers. Tech, government, consulting and law firms anchor entry-level hiring.
New Orleans leads the mid-sized cities, primarily because its starter homes remain affordable while early-career wages are growing faster than rents.
Springfield, Illinois leads the small-city group, drawing recent graduates with strong starting salaries, career-growth potential, and a transit-friendly setup.
Salary peaks vary sharply by category. Boston records the highest starting pay among big cities at $80,026 a year. Santa Fe, New Mexico, posts the highest figure overall at $81,848.
Trenton, New Jersey, and Bridgeport, Connecticut, lead the mid-sized group at $74,570 and $72,503.
Affordability tells a different story. In Springfield, Illinois, monthly rent consumes just 16% of typical entry-level pay, the most favorable ratio of any of the 30 cities. Wichita, Kansas (17%), Houston (18%), and Rochester, Minnesota (19%) follow closely. San Diego sits at the other end, with rent swallowing 64% of an average new graduate’s paycheck. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, takes 60%. Bend, Oregon (56%) and Boston (53%) also stretch first salaries thin.
For international graduates working in the U.S. on Optional Practical Training, the rent-to-income metric is often a sharper signal than nominal salary. Santa Fe’s $81,848 average looks attractive until its 39% rent ratio enters the picture. Houston’s $65,369 with rent at 18% leaves more room for student-loan payments and savings.
Top U.S. Cities for New Grads – Big cities
| City | Average starting salary (USD/year) | Monthly rent as % of income |
| Washington, D.C. | 79,900 | 34 |
| Omaha, Nebraska | 59,100 | 28 |
| Boston, Massachusetts | 80,000 | 53 |
| Dallas, Texas | 67,500 | 26 |
| Chicago, Illinois | 72,800 | 28 |
| Houston, Texas | 65,400 | 18 |
| St. Louis, Missouri | 61,800 | 23 |
| San Diego, California | 74,100 | 64 |
| Miami, Florida | 62,700 | 33 |
| Austin, Texas | 72,000 | 35 |
Top U.S. Cities for New Grads – Mid-sized cities:
| City | Average starting salary (USD/year) | Monthly rent as % of income |
| New Orleans, Louisiana | 57,400 | 32 |
| Palm Bay, Florida | 65,000 | 25 |
| Wichita, Kansas | 55,300 | 17 |
| Mobile, Alabama | 53,000 | 23 |
| Anchorage, Alaska | 65,900 | 31 |
| Lincoln, Nebraska | 53,900 | 23 |
| Trenton, New Jersey | 74,600 | 33 |
| Bridgeport, Connecticut | 72,500 | 38 |
| Waco, Texas | 50,400 | 31 |
| Lexington, Kentucky | 52,600 | 34 |
Top U.S. Cities for New Grads – Small cities:
| City | Average starting salary (USD/year) | Monthly rent as % of income |
| Springfield, Illinois | 59,900 | 16 |
| Santa Fe, New Mexico | 81,800 | 39 |
| Panama City, Florida | 61,200 | 46 |
| Hilton Head Island, South Carolina | 51,900 | 60 |
| Macon, Georgia | 55,000 | 25 |
| Champaign, Illinois | 57,400 | 24 |
| Greenville, North Carolina | 52,200 | 26 |
| Columbia, Missouri | 51,200 | 28 |
| Bend, Oregon | 65,900 | 56 |
| Rochester, Minnesota | 68,500 | 19 |
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