These Cities Offer Best Start for Young Careers

No one region of the U.S. has a monopoly on the best cities for young professionals, says a new study evaluating job and economic opportunities for young adults.

Using nine metrics including median rent, job diversity, median earnings, and median housing costs as a percentage of median earnings, SmartAsset ranked the 10 best cities for young professionals, and Sioux Falls, S.D. topped the list for the second time in a row. The unemployment rate for young adults in the Queen City of the Midwest is 1.49 percent, the lowest of all cities studied. Additionally, the median full-time employee needs to spend only 23 percent of their income to afford the median rent in the city.

How you start your career is an important determinant for future financial success. Young professionals who are able to find a high-paying career earlier are able to build more savings, get promoted earlier and have more long-term, financial flexibility. Where you start is also important. Some cities have affordable housing that allows young professionals to invest in the housing market or lets them rent while investing their savings with a financial advisor. Other cities offer a wide range of job opportunities, meaning young adults are not stuck in dead-end jobs they don’t enjoy.

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