Choosing your move after college graduation can be a positively daunting task because you're faced with the dilemma of too many options! Maybe you're moving to a new city without knowing many people or you're venturing to another part of the country, or maybe your plan is to stay local. It's an exciting decision because you can move anywhere you please and there's nothing controlling your decision but your own ambitions.
While curiosity about a new city will create the biggest draw, there are several other components that should be considered when evaluating the big move. Apartments.com and CBcampus.com came up with a list of the top 10 cities for new grads, based on the following factors: availability of entry-level job openings, rental prices for one-bedroom apartments, and large resident populations of young adults in their early 20s. Find out which cities made the top 10 when you read more.
Here's the list along with the average prices for one-bedroom apartments. While San Francisco didn't make the cut, I can tell you that moving here after graduating college was the best decision I ever made! Over the years it has continued to win me over with its charm and unexpected opportunities.
- Philadelphia, $962
- Boston, $1,343
- New York, $1,520
- Phoenix, $741
- Chicago, $1,029
- Dallas-Fort Worth, $755
- Los Angeles, $1,435
- Houston, $778
- Detroit, $699
- Atlanta, $773
Betsey Johnson
Aminaka Wilmont
City Walk
I'd like to know where they think you can find a one bedroom in Manhattan for 1,500. Outside of the city sure, but not on the island for sure.
1Yay, I'm moving to the second best city for law school this August.
And apparently,
it's cheaper than LA, where I went for undergrad.
2In Detroit, most of the new grads move to the Lofts, which is a gated apartment community. Its super nice...just don't stray too far near the "Cass Corridor" or the outskirts of Wayne State U's campus after hours...
3I live in Chicago and I pay no where near that average. I bet they looked at the trendier neighborhoods.
4Pittsburgh would be on that list if our post grads wouldn't move back with their parents in the burbs. This place was rated most livable city in 2007, and somehow all the 20 year olds are like "I can't live in the city, blah blah blah some dumb reason"..I live in a trendy area and pay $575 for a 750sf one bedroom.
5Apts in Harlem or Inwood cost $1500 ... but taking the train from Inwood would take as much time to get to Midtown as if you lived in Jersey or the suburbs of NY.
There are also one bedroom apts with shared bathrooms that rent for $1500.
6i live in dallas and pay just under that average, though technically i live in a suburb. either way, good to know it's one of the cheaper ones.
Phoenix was good too when i lived there, very reasonable.
7Coutorture would collectively like to laugh at the $1,500 one bedroom statistic for New York! You can't even find a one bedroom for that price in Queens these days. A studio starts at $1700 anymore.
8The rent in Houston might be close to dirt cheap, but you will eat double that when you factor in your LA-like commute...or pay $1000+ to live somewhere closer in without roaches.
9None of the options are terribly appealing to me.
10I live in Philly and pay just a little bit more than that for a GIANT two-bedroom. I think I just got really lucky, though. Philly is a very affordable city.
11Spot on for Dallas. I'll be moving to a suburb and will be right under the average at $735.
12Dear lord whatever you do dont move to Phoenix! Gross!
Helloooo move to DC!
13Ooo! Ooo! Or San Diego!
14I live in Phoenix and pay $650 for a 400 sq ft studio and it's really nice.
15My friend lives right near the Wall Street area and lives in a one bedroom paying $2800. My sister in law got lucky a few years ago and got an apt. near the South Street seaport through a subsidized housing lottery and is currently paying $1800 for a two bedroom.
16I was surprised that Washington DC didn't make the list. I went to school in Oklahoma, and while most people either move to Dallas/Ft. Worth or stay in Oklahoma, I know a ton of people that have moved to DC since graduating. Of course since I studying political science, my perception may be slightly skewed.
17Advice for you new college graduates: live with roommates if you can. It'll most likely to be cheaper, and guess what? You can put more money into a savings account! And really, saving $500/month extra (assuming you automatically put it in savings instead of accidentally spending it) will help a heck of a lot.
You'll have that money for emergencies, or be able to spend it on something else in your future, like a vacation or a down payment on a house!
18SF totally should have made the list! I am so happy I moved her after college. I planned to stay for two years and it's been eight!
19I live in Boston and I can say from unfortunate experience that the job market is awful right now!
20Pittsburgh is kind of small and definitely doesn't have the great weather or opportunities that some other cities have, but it's really affordable and there are actually a good amount of jobs here. My fiance and I have a house 5 min from the city for 825 a month.
21SF would be on the list if it were up to me, but it is really expensive, but not as much as NY, I think.
22I live in Dallas - not a suburb, but in the far north away from downtown. And I pay $677 but I paid $545 for a slightly more ghetto complex two blocks away last year.
Like Houston, you have to factor in the difference between living up north and being able to
use public transportation vs. having to own a car if you live in TX. And gas is SOO much now! However, the cost of living here is still much cheaper overall.
I agree with the idea of getting a roommate. I have enjoyed living by myself to a certain extent but I am moving in with my friend from college in the fall and it will be so nice to split bills. Also it is her townhouse, so I will be paying more than $200 less but helping her earn equity instead of just throwing money into a landlord's pocket.
23All of my friends from college are either in Boston or New York and if I ever leave London, I'd move to either of those two, though Philly looks pretty good too!
24I'm so happy that other people were happy about their decision to move to SF! I've been dying to live there and I'm only 17!
25Boston is oay but you may fend better for a more safe neighborhood if you look a wee bit south of the city.
26I am sad that I am not going to Pittsburgh for grad school this fall, but I am still looking for literally any way to get me there. I am in love with that city. I am also looking at SF simply because I am interested in Gap Inc. and they are HQ'd there.
I am glad that people have great things to say about either place!
27I live in San Diego, just graduated from a San Diego university, and I can say not only is the job market out here hellacious for new grads (the few entry level jobs I've applied to and actually gotten interviews for all they seem to want to ask about is the recent huge drug ring bust at my university. Ugh.) but the housing market is terrible too. Because of the housing market bottoming out in the last 18 months there are a lot more condos that were built to sell that they are now leasing but they're being leased for ridiculous prices since so many more people are having to rent now as they can't afford to buy. Last year I lived in an okay 2br apartment in a nice area (Little Italy) with the rent at $2300/mo. I now live in a nicer apartment but without an A/C in what can best be described as the ghetto (City Heights) for $1400/mo. San Diego is a great great city but it's definitely not a city for new grads unless your parents are still, mercifully, footing the bill.
28Hmmm Detroit is sounding better already...LOL
29That's cheap!
As someone who live in Philly, jobs in the city are nearly impossible to find. A lot of people have to commute to the suburbs to work, especially in those in the business sector. So you have to factor in having a car as well, since public transit here is awful.
30I disagree about what's been said about Houston- Houston is having such a boom right now while the rest of the country is in recession- we only have 3.8% unemployment btw. The commutes can be bad but are noooo waaayyy that of LA- (best friend living there) and you just have to be smart about the times you chose to drive. Also about apt's- Houston has amazing rent prices and endless brand new apt complexes- better yet they are tearing down lots of old housing and putting up affordable townhouses. . . don't diss Houston we are lucky to be living the way we are here these days. It's only the pick-up truck owners that are getting screwed bc of diesel prices. I really really appreciate the good fortune we are having here now.
31I left Detroit at 18. I hated it there. Rent on a one bedroom in St. Louis ranges from $300 to 600 for normal non luxury apartments and I don't mean in the ghetto. Gas has never GOTTEN to $4.00 a gallon here. A carton of cigarettes (I'm not saying you should smoke this is just for price comparison) is about $25.00. Eating at sit-down restaurants that are not fancy costs between $7-20 a person. Movies are $8.75. The zoo, science center, history museum and art museum are free. etc etc etc etc...
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