Where are best places for new college grads? NC city scores a top spot on national list
North Carolina is home to one of the places with the “hottest jobs” for recent college graduates, a new report finds.
The Durham metropolitan area ranks No. 9 on a list of U.S. regions that are ideal spots for people launching their careers, according to results released last week from apartment website RentCafé.
While the Bull City metro was the only North Carolina region to make it into the top 10, others weren’t far behind. Raleigh ranked 11th, and Charlotte took the 16th spot on the list, data show.
To come up with the rankings, RentCafé said it looked at U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and determined which entry-level positions are expected to have the most growth from 2019 to 2029. Then, analysts studied the 100 most populated U.S. metro areas to figure out which places had the highest concentrations of those trending jobs.
Nationwide, growth for nurse practitioners was expected to top 52%, making that the hottest career choice for new college graduates. Rounding out the top three were two other health-related positions — physician assistants and medical managers — followed by software developers and information security analysts, results show.
“The healthcare sector and those who work in it have proven to be literally vital in the context of the pandemic,” RentCafé said. “However, even before the pandemic, the healthcare industry was expected to grow exponentially — driven by the aging population, medical advances and a constant need for services and qualified personnel.”
The Durham area took a spot near the top of the nationwide list after boasting one of the highest shares of in-demand entry-level positions. The region received nods for being a top place for people working in technology roles.
“As part of the Research Triangle, Durham is also an attractive option for those kicking off careers as medical and health services managers,” RentCafé said.
The Bull City is no stranger to being recognized as a top place for graduates to start their next chapters.
Last month, Durham also took the No. 9 spot on a list of best cities to live in after finishing school. The rankings from the personal finance website WalletHub weighed starting salaries, unemployment and other quality-of-life factors, McClatchy News reported.
In the latest study, the overall top-ranking metro area was San Jose, California.
This story was originally published June 1, 2021 at 2:16 PM with the headline "Where are best places for new college grads? NC city scores a top spot on national list."
