36 Worst Cities to Find a Job for Recent Graduates

Thomas C. Frohlich
0

With student debt levels at record highs, the pressure on college graduates to quickly get a decent paying job is higher than ever. The typical student debt among Americans with a bachelor’s degree is close to $20,000. Among those with a master’s degree it is $36,000, and among those with a professional degree or doctoral degree holder it is $100,000.

While obtaining a college degree is by far the most reliable method of boosting earning potential, stable high paying jobs are by no means guaranteed to college graduates. It pays to consider an area's economic conditions and labor market before trying to find a job there.

ALSO READ: 30 Best Westerns of All Time

For each U.S. metro area, 24/7 Wall St. examined the concentration of jobs in select industries that tend to require highly educated workers. Nationwide, these industries -- professional and business services, education and health services, information, and financial activities -- are hiring college graduates.

While it is not a direct measure of job openings for college graduates, in the metro areas with below-average concentrations of jobs in these industries it stands to reason that fewer jobs will also be available to college graduates. Nationwide, 43.5% of workers work in these four white collar industries.

In the 37 metro areas on this list, the share of workers employed across the four white collar sectors tends to be relatively low. Wages across all jobs tend to be relatively low. And the percentage of adults with at least a bachelor’s degree is almost always lower than the national average share.

To identify the worst cities to find a job for new grads, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the annual average employment location quotient for the professional and business service, education and health services, information, and financial activities sectors in each metropolitan statistical area. The location quotient is a measure of concentration that in this case shows the industry’s share of an area’s employment relative to the national average. These are the metro areas with the lowest average location quotients across these four sectors. The four sectors were selected based on having relatively many job openings as well as currently high shares of college-educated workers.

We also reviewed average weekly wages for 22 to 24 year old recent hires of all education levels employed in all industries for at least one quarter obtained from the Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI) extraction tool. The percentage of adults in each metropolitan area with at least a bachelor’s degree, and the percentage of people with incomes below the poverty line, came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 American Community Survey.

36. Bremerton-Silverdale, WA
> White collar sector employment: 43.2%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $745
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 30.5%
> June unemployment rate: 4.7%
> Poverty rate: 9.6%

35. Jacksonville, NC
> White collar sector employment: 34.1%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $544
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 20.8%
> June unemployment rate: 4.6%
> Poverty rate: 15.4%

34. Ocean City, NJ
> White collar sector employment: 26.8%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $640
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 30.7%
> June unemployment rate: 6.1%
> Poverty rate: 8.7%

33. Auburn-Opelika, AL
> White collar sector employment: 31.8%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $624
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 34.3%
> June unemployment rate: 4.7%
> Poverty rate: 21.9%

32. Watertown-Fort Drum, NY
> White collar sector employment: 35.4%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $691
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 23.0%
> June unemployment rate: 5.4%
> Poverty rate: 13.4%

31. Albany, OR
> White collar sector employment: 27.4%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $790
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 17.2%
> June unemployment rate: 4.6%
> Poverty rate: 15.9%

30. Rocky Mount, NC
> White collar sector employment: 28.0%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $699
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 16.4%
> June unemployment rate: 6.4%
> Poverty rate: 22.0%

29. Farmington, NM
> White collar sector employment: 30.7%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $846
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 14.1%
> June unemployment rate: 8.0%
> Poverty rate: 19.6%

28. Columbus, IN
> White collar sector employment: 24.7%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $1,001
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 29.6%
> June unemployment rate: 2.4%
> Poverty rate: 13.9%

27. Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA
> White collar sector employment: 28.0%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $804
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 24.4%
> June unemployment rate: 5.1%
> Poverty rate: 16.0%

26. Jefferson City, MO
> White collar sector employment: 34.6%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $756
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 27.1%
> June unemployment rate: 3.5%
> Poverty rate: 13.5%

25. Anniston-Oxford-Jacksonville, AL
> White collar sector employment: 33.4%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $659
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 17.3%
> June unemployment rate: 5.9%
> Poverty rate: 20.0%

24. Norwich-New London, CT
> White collar sector employment: 33.7%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $1,034
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 33.4%
> June unemployment rate: 0.0%
> Poverty rate: 11.4%

23. East Stroudsburg, PA
> White collar sector employment: 27.9%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $722
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 24.9%
> June unemployment rate: 6.0%
> Poverty rate: 12.5%

22. New Bern, NC
> White collar sector employment: 36.5%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $680
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 23.0%
> June unemployment rate: 4.3%
> Poverty rate: 13.7%

21. Ames, IA
> White collar sector employment: 35.3%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $800
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 51.6%
> June unemployment rate: 2.6%
> Poverty rate: 20.7%

22. Danville, IL
> White collar sector employment: 26.5%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $771
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 13.0%
> June unemployment rate: 6.8%
> Poverty rate: 18.1%

19. Odessa, TX
> White collar sector employment: 21.6%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $1,016
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 16.2%
> June unemployment rate: 4.7%
> Poverty rate: 11.7%

18. Morristown, TN
> White collar sector employment: 26.7%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $739
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 14.9%
> June unemployment rate: 4.4%
> Poverty rate: 17.7%

17. Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, MS
> White collar sector employment: 27.8%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $764
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 20.4%
> June unemployment rate: 6.0%
> Poverty rate: 20.0%

16. Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA
> White collar sector employment: 31.2%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $714
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 35.2%
> June unemployment rate: 4.5%
> Poverty rate: 19.0%

15. Bakersfield, CA
> White collar sector employment: 27.9%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $785
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 16.2%
> June unemployment rate: 9.5%
> Poverty rate: 21.9%

14. Flagstaff, AZ
> White collar sector employment: 31.0%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $710
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 33.1%
> June unemployment rate: 5.8%
> Poverty rate: 20.0%

13. Madera, CA
> White collar sector employment: 29.1%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $738
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 15.4%
> June unemployment rate: 8.1%
> Poverty rate: 23.4%

12. Elkhart-Goshen, IN
> White collar sector employment: 20.4%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $891
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 18.3%
> June unemployment rate: 2.3%
> Poverty rate: 15.1%

11. College Station-Bryan, TX
> White collar sector employment: 34.3%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $721
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 36.3%
> June unemployment rate: 3.8%
> Poverty rate: 23.0%

10. Wenatchee, WA
> White collar sector employment: 24.8%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $654
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 21.6%
> June unemployment rate: 4.0%
> Poverty rate: 11.4%

9. Yakima, WA
> White collar sector employment: 24.8%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $671
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 15.7%
> June unemployment rate: 5.0%
> Poverty rate: 18.8%

8. Dalton, GA
> White collar sector employment: 20.9%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $801
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 13.4%
> June unemployment rate: 5.5%
> Poverty rate: 15.2%

7. Salinas, CA
> White collar sector employment: 23.5%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $795
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 23.3%
> June unemployment rate: 5.5%
> Poverty rate: 15.3%

6. Visalia-Porterville, CA
> White collar sector employment: 23.1%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $670
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 14.2%
> June unemployment rate: 9.9%
> Poverty rate: 27.6%

5. Merced, CA
> White collar sector employment: 25.1%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $711
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 14.4%
> June unemployment rate: 9.4%
> Poverty rate: 26.7%

4. El Centro, CA
> White collar sector employment: 28.7%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $566
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 14.3%
> June unemployment rate: 20.8%
> Poverty rate: 25.1%

3. Warner Robins, GA
> White collar sector employment: 31.0%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $692
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 20.7%
> June unemployment rate: 5.2%
> Poverty rate: 17.8%

2. Hanford-Corcoran, CA
> White collar sector employment: 26.7%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $704
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 16.1%
> June unemployment rate: 9.2%
> Poverty rate: 23.6%

1. Hinesville, GA
> White collar sector employment: 27.3%
> Avg. weekly wage, all sectors: $686
> Adults with at least a bachelor’s degree: 17.5%
> June unemployment rate: 5.3%
> Poverty rate: 22.0%

Related Articles

Advertisement

Recommended Stories

  • Plug Power (PLUG) Reports Q1 Loss, Lags Revenue Estimates

    Plug Power (PLUG) delivered earnings and revenue surprises of -34.38% and 26.18%, respectively, for the quarter ended March 2024. Do the numbers hold clues to what lies ahead for the stock?

  • Can I Use My RMDs to Transfer Money Into My Roth IRA?

    If you're taking a required minimum distribution from an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-deferred account and don't need the money to cover living expenses, where should you stash that unneeded cash? Investors now need to start taking RMDs at age 73 or, if they were born after 1960, at age 75. Depending on the balances of […] The post Can I Use My RMDs to Transfer Money Into My Roth IRA? appeared first on SmartReads by SmartAsset.

  • Billionaire Bill Gates Has 51% of His Portfolio Invested in 2 Brilliant Stocks

    The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust outperformed the S&P 500 by a wide margin over the past three years, in part because of these two stocks.

  • ‘Seriously Underwater’ Home Mortgages Tick Up Across the US

    (Bloomberg) -- Roughly one in 37 homes are now considered seriously underwater in the US and that share is much higher across a swath of southern states, according to data out Thursday.Most Read from BloombergMicrosoft’s Xbox Is Planning More Cuts After Studio ClosingsAmericans Are Racking Up ‘Phantom Debt’ That Wall Street Can’t TrackArm Slides as Tepid Outlook Fuels Concerns Over AI SlowdownStormy Daniels Will Return to Court in Test of Trump’s DemeanorNationally, 2.7% of homes carried loan ba

  • Ask an Advisor: Can a Nursing Home Take Our IRA? We Have a $100K IRA and a Trust to Protect Our Assets

    My wife and I are elderly. I have an individual retirement account (IRA) worth about $100,000, and we have a trust set up through our children to protect our assets. If one or both of us have to go into … Continue reading → The post Ask an Advisor: Can a Nursing Home ‘Take Our IRA?' My Wife and I Are Elderly. We Have a $100K IRA and a Trust to Protect Our Assets. appeared first on SmartAsset Blog.

  • Morgan Stanley Predicts up to 110% Rally for These 2 ‘Strong Buy’ Stocks

    Uncertainty is the word of the day, in reference to the near-term economic future. Sentiment will hinge on the inflation numbers due out next week. March’s figure rose to 3.5%, and April’s job numbers showed a marked slowing in the labor market; that combination has stoked fears of stagflation. But – corporate earnings from Q1 are beating expectations, and the stock market has taken a turn for the better with the S&P 500 closing just below 5,200 yesterday. Economic strategists are still optimist

  • How Much Cash Can A $300,000 Annuity Generate For Me Each Month?

    Imagine having a reliable source of income you can count on throughout your retirement. That’s the promise of an annuity. These insurance products have been designed to turn your savings into a steady stream of monthly payments. They guarantee peace of mind and financial security in your golden years. Don't Miss: Are you rich? Here’s what Americans think you need to be considered wealthy. Can you guess how many Americans successfully retire with $1,000,000 saved? The percentage may shock you. An

  • Too many tractors: As boom times fade, farm equipment piles up

    Falling crop prices are leaving agriculture equipment sellers with an excess of unsold tractors and combines. The slower equipment sales are a knock-on effect of corn and soy prices dropping to more than three-year lows as U.S. farm income plummets and equipment makers and dealers are forced to pivot quickly after a period of booming business. Reuters interviewed ten equipment dealers, mostly in the Midwest, as well as farmers and analysts, who said low crop prices combined with persistently high interest rates are deterring farmers from purchasing machinery.

  • Roblox Stock Plunges On Firm's Weak Outlook. Investors Say 'Game Over.'

    Video game platform Roblox beat estimates for the first quarter but guided below views for the current quarter and full year. Roblox stock plummeted on the news.

  • 1 Vanguard ETF That Can Serve as a Complete Stock Portfolio

    This single Vanguard ETF provides a straightforward path to a secure retirement.