WSJ Your Money Briefing - The Best Cities for Starting a Career

Episode Date: July 31, 2024

Raleigh, N.C., tops the list of U.S. cities where young professionals struggling to find work may find success, along with affordable living expenses. Wall Street Journal repor ter Ray A. Smith joins host J.R. Whalen to discuss other locations with strong job markets and vibrant cultural scenes. Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Uber Reserve, you can book your Uber ride in advance. 90 days in advance. Perfect for all you forward thinkers and planning gurus. Reserve your Uber ride up to 90 days in advance. Uber Reserve. See Uber app for details. Here's your money briefing for Wednesday, July 31st. I'm J.R. Whelan for The Wall Street Journal. first. I'm J.R. Whelan for The Wall Street Journal. Last week, we told you about how,

despite an overall strong U.S. labor market, many college graduates in their early 20s are having trouble finding a job. Part of the issue might be where they're looking. It turns out the best opportunities for young professionals might be in the South. They tend to have a higher concentration of technology, health and financial firms, biohealth and science, for instance, as well as several universities. And those universities are serving as pipelines for all those firms with locations there. In a moment, Wall Street Journal reporter Ray Smith will join us, and we'll go through the list of cities where 20-somethings have a better chance of landing a job, and where they don't. That's after the break.

Shop Best Buy's ultimate smartphone sale today. Get a Best Buy gift card of up to $200 on select phone activations with major carriers. Visit your nearest Best Buy store today. Terms and conditions apply. It's been a frustrating job search for many college grads in their early 20s. Wall Street Journal reporter Ray Smith found several cities that could be just the place for them to launch their career. He joins me now. Ray, you were with us last week discussing the job scene.

Refresh us as to why white-collar college graduates are having such a hard time in the current labor market. Fewer white-collar workers are leaving jobs than there were a year ago or two years ago, so there are fewer openings. And also, generative AI can handle a lot of the tasks entry-level workers would perform, so that means less need for college graduates to fill some of those entry-level roles. In your story, you track the top metro areas in the U.S.

where companies are hiring grads, according to ADP. All the cities are in the Mid-Atlantic or the South. What do they have in common? They tend to have a higher concentration of technology, health and financial firms, biohealth and science, for instance, as well as several universities. And those universities are serving as pipelines for all those firms with locations there. What they also have in common is affordability, lower cost of living relative to other parts of the country. Raleigh, North Carolina topped the list.

Why is it number one? Raleigh had the best combination of brisk hiring, good salaries, and affordability. Its nickname is the Research Triangle, and that's because there are a lot of research universities there. Duke University is also there. It's one of the prestigious research institutions in the area that companies are saying they're expanding their recruiting efforts from.

Several companies, including Gilead Sciences and Cisco, MetLife, told us they've recently expanded their recruiting from schools there and in the state. The rest of the top five are Charlotte, Atlanta, Austin, and Baltimore. Why are the top markets for young people in the South? The South has long had a lower cost of living. That's not so new that they've had a lower cost of living than the coast. The same with Baltimore when compared with D or New York City. It's the lower cost of living, but also the growth of a range of businesses there. A lot more businesses have opened sites and locations in

those areas. And also some people point out there's just a better quality of life in the South, whether there's just more nature, nicer weather, the people are friendlier, some people have told us. There's just more breathing room and walkability and affordability. Austin garnered a lot of attention when it experienced a job and housing boom during the pandemic. Does the fact that the growth there appears to have crested pose a challenge? Interestingly enough, job growth there continues to outpace the national average and rents down more than 7% since last July, combined with new apartments that have come online.

That's making the city actually more affordable for recent graduates and 20-somethings. And how about the culture in Austin? What's attracting people there? What's attracting people there is a burgeoning music scene, as well as cultural festivals. Obviously, you know about South by Southwest and some other festivals there. It's becoming a foodie city. And so there are a lot of cultural aspects in addition to the affordability and the job growth that's still continuing. How are local officials in these cities trying to attract young people to move there? They're pointing out how their cities aren't sleepy towns, basically.

They tout burgeoning downtown scenes and trendy restaurants, and it's all an effort to sort of make people think about these cities in a different way. Because people usually think of cities like obviously New York and San Francisco as sexier cities to be. And these cities are really making a point with marketing campaigns and branding campaigns to sell their cities, basically. The Metro Atlanta Chamber, for example, this spring, they launched a campaign aimed at new grads and professionals under 40. And they're promoting the area's diverse career paths, but also its cultural scene and social scenes and even its green space. So they're really

trying to market their cities as something you just don't fly over. Now let's discuss the bottom of the list. What cities are not ideal for grads looking for work? At the moment, those cities include Salt Lake City, Seattle, and Portland, Oregon. They were among the cities that ranked in the bottom 10, and that's primarily due to their slower hiring rates, lower wages, once cost of living is factored in. So they have some work to do. What should people take into account when considering which city to work and live in? New graduates should consider where they are most likely to find the job and an affordable life, even if that might mean that they earn less there than they would in more expensive cities.

It's affordability, it's the cost of living there, it's how much you're being paid. It's a combination of all these factors. And a lot of people that we talked to told us that what really is important, especially when you're starting your career, even if it's not a city that you imagine you would be, is can you afford it? And are your wages enough so that you won't feel like you're just living paycheck to paycheck? He spoke to a 30-year-old man from Charlotte who lived in a few cities trying to find the right setting. Tell us about his experience. Yeah. My colleague, Sanvi Bangalore,

found this young man. The cost of living played a big role in his decision to relocate to Charlotte earlier this year. He had spent his 20s in more expensive cities such as Miami, and he said his spending on food and gas in Charlotte is about half what it was in Miami. He basically told us, I don't want to be broke in a sexy city. I want to be thriving in a mediocre city. He says his money just went so much further in Charlotte. I don't want to be broke in a sexy city. That's a pretty good barometer. Yes, it is. That's WSJ reporter Ray Smith. And that's it for your Money Briefing. This episode was produced by Zoe Kalkin with Deputy Editor Chris Zinsley.

I'm J.R. Whelan for The Wall Street Journal. Thanks for listening.