--- title: Top Ten Cities for Recent College Graduates in 2022 description: This analysis focused the post-graduation outcomes the top 10 cities for recent college graduates. image: https://blog.steppingblocks.com/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-19%20at%201.49.16%20PM.png --- [![Sb_logo220.png](https://blog.steppingblocks.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Logo%20Image%20Files/Sb_logo220.png?width=220&name=Sb_logo220.png "Sb_logo220.png")](https://www.steppingblocks.com) ## **Steppingblocks Stories** Industry trends, innovations and news for an empowered campus. Lead the future of higher education. ### Featured Story [All posts **](https://blog.steppingblocks.com/all) - ** [Lists](https://blog.steppingblocks.com/tag/lists) ## [Exploring Outcomes For High Earning Female Graduat...](https://blog.steppingblocks.com/high-earning-female-plc) Pay equity is a critical issue in the workforce and for Higher Education. Steppingblocks previously explored the R2 universities producing the highest... - ![](https://blog.steppingblocks.com/hubfs/Untitled%20design%20(65)%20(1).png) - **Dr. Jacob Bonne ** July 11, 2023 12:56:04 PM EDT . 6 min read - READ TIME 8 MINS | - - [Lists](https://blog.steppingblocks.com/tag/lists) # Top Ten Cities for Recent College Graduates in 2022 - ![Dr. Jacob Bonne](https://blog.steppingblocks.com/hubfs/Untitled%20design%20(65)%20(1).png) - Written by Dr. Jacob Bonne ![Think before you speak. Read before you think.](https://blog.steppingblocks.com/hubfs/Screen%20Shot%202022-10-19%20at%201.49.16%20PM.png "Think before you speak. Read before you think.") [![Tour the outcomes behind this list.](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2665497/77f43c19-a930-4613-a4e6-6e5b517b40b5.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2665497/77f43c19-a930-4613-a4e6-6e5b517b40b5) More than ever before, flexibility and remote work have allowed recent college graduates to exercise greater freedom in where they live and work after graduation. Furthermore, the great resignation has encouraged individuals to find employment in areas of the country where cost of living is lower and quality of life is higher. [Insurify](https://insurify.com/insights/best-cities-new-graduates-2022/) conducted a study of the best cities for new college graduates, including factors like affordability, starting-salary, entertainment, and transportation. They identified the top 10 metro areas: St Louis, MO Minneapolis, MN Rapid City, SD Pittsburgh, PA Lincoln, NE Portland, OR Fargo, ND Fort Wayne, IN Denver, CO Tampa, FL Leveraging Steppingblocks Data To take the analysis a step further, we then used Steppingblocks data to explore the outcomes for graduates in those areas. To obtain a comprehensive picture of education and workforce outcomes, we collect, organize, classify and analyze demographic, education and employment data from hundreds of sources. Our data then undergoes a rigorous process of validation for quality and veracity to ensure reliable, high-quality information on over 135 million people, over 25 million companies and over 1 billion career milestones. Our analysis included: **Industry:** The top industries by volume for each metro area. **Employers:** Top employers within these industries for each metro area. *Note: Institutions are very frequently one of their own top employers and have been excluded from the list of top employers.* **Salary:** Average salary for these industries (combined) in each metro area. **Universities:** The top undergraduate and graduate universities by volume contributing to these industries in each metro area. *Note: Some universities may report high volume for an out-of-state institution. Our analysis was based on residents of a metro area rather than where the university is located.* [![Tour the outcomes behind this list.](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2665497/77f43c19-a930-4613-a4e6-6e5b517b40b5.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2665497/77f43c19-a930-4613-a4e6-6e5b517b40b5) Would you like more information about your institutions alumni data and graduate outcomes? Feel free to reach out to our team [to learn more.](https://www.steppingblocks.com/university-sign-up)  ## St. Louis, Missouri Top industries: Healthcare, Education, Information Technology, Finance Top employers in these industries: BJC Healthcare, Mercy, Edward Jones, Centene Corporation, Wells Fargo Average salary in these industries: $72,536 Top universities producing graduates who work in these industries: University of Missouri-Columbia, Saint Louis Community College, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Saint Louis University, Lindenwood University Postgraduate degree?: 46% of people have a postgraduate degree ## Minneapolis, Minnesota Top industries: Healthcare, Education, Information Technology, and Finance Top employers in these industries: Wells Fargo, US Bank, Allina Health, Fairview Health Services Average salary in these industries: $66,609 Top universities producing graduates who work in these industries: University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, University of Minnesota, Metropolitan State University, University of St Thomas Postgraduate degree?: 38% of people have a postgraduate degree ## Rapid City, South Dakota  Top industries: Healthcare, Education, Finance, Hospitality Top employers in these industries: US Airforce, Monument Health (Hospital & Health Care), Regional Health, Rapid City Area Schools Average salary in these industries: $66,579 Top universities producing graduates who work in these industries: Black Hills State University, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, South Dakota State University, University of South Dakota Postgraduate degree?: 40% of people have a postgraduate degree ## Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Top industries: Healthcare, Education, Information Technology, Finance Top employers in these industries: UPMC, PNC, Allegheny Health Network, BNY Mellon Average salary in these industries: $72,533 Top universities producing graduates who work in these industries: University of Pittsburgh, Penn State University, Community College of Allegheny County, Duquesne University, Robert Morris University Postgraduate degree?: 49% of people have a postgraduate degree ## Lincoln, Nebraska Top industries: Education, Healthcare, Information Technology, Finance Top employers in these industries: Lincoln Public Schools, Bryan Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Fiserv Average salary in these industries: $65,302 Top universities producing graduates who work in these industries: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Southeast Community College, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Doane University Postgraduate degree?: 39% of people have postgraduate degrees ## Portland, Oregon Top industries: Information Technology, Education, Healthcare, Consumer Goods Top employers in these industries: Nike, Intel, Providence Health, Kaiser Permanente Average salary in these industries: $74,106 Top Universities producing graduates who work in these industries: Portland State University, Portland Community College, University of Oregon, Oregon State University Postgraduate degree?: 36% of people have postgraduate degrees ## Fargo, North Dakota Top industries: Healthcare, Education, Information Technology, Finance Top employers in these industries: Sanford Health, Microsoft, Essentia Health, U.S. Bank Average salary in these industries: $67,459 Top Universities producing graduates who work in these industries: North Dakota State University, Minnesota State University Moorhead, Concordia College, Minnesota State Community and Technical College Postgraduate degree?: 34% of people have postgraduate degrees ## Fort Wayne, Indiana Top industries: Education, Healthcare, Finance, Information Technology Top employers in these industries: Parkview Health, Lincoln Financial Group, Ft. Wayne Schools, Sweetwater Average salary in these industries: $74,106 Top universities producing graduates who work in these industries: Indiana University Bloomington, Ball State University, Purdue University, Ivy Tech Community College Postgraduate degree?: 37% of people have postgraduate degrees ## Denver, Colorado Top industries: Information Technology, Education, Healthcare, Finance Top employers in these industries: Denver Public Schools, UCHealth, Children’s Hospital Colorado, Kaiser Permanente, Charles Schwab Average salary in these industries: $75,429 Top universities producing graduates who work in these industries: University of Colorado, Denver, Colorado State University, University of Denver, Metropolitan State University of Denver Postgraduate degree?: 38% of people have postgraduate degrees ## Tampa, Florida Top industries: Healthcare, Information Technology, Finance, Education Top employers in these industries: Moffitt Cancer Center, PWC, Hillsborough Schools, Tampa General, Baycare Health, Verizon Average salary in these industries: $72,564 Top universities producing graduates who work in these industries: University of South Florida, Hillsborough Community College, University of Florida, University of Tampa Postgraduate degree?: 33% of people have postgraduate degrees   ### [![Tour the outcomes behind this list.](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2665497/77f43c19-a930-4613-a4e6-6e5b517b40b5.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2665497/77f43c19-a930-4613-a4e6-6e5b517b40b5) ## How are you leveraging graduate outcomes data? Graduation outcomes have become increasingly important to higher education. Universities across the country are leveraging outcomes data to make strategic decisions or support their student success initiatives. [For example,](https://blog.steppingblocks.com/datau/diagnose-post-graduation-health-with-data) Florida International University is leveraging data in their efforts to support alumni success. Georgia State is putting data-driven career roadmaps in the hands of every student as part of their leadership on the [Taskforce of Higher Education and Opportunity.](https://taskforceonhighered.org/initiatives/goal-1/data-driven-career-roadmaps) Interested in how you could leverage Steppingblocks? [Explore now.](https://www.steppingblocks.com/graduate-outcomes) ## Where do you rank? Want to see where your institution ranks or to see how we developed these rankings in real time? Get a [free consultation](https://www.steppingblocks.com/university-sign-up) for student success, and we’ll show you a lifetime of graduate outcomes data in seconds. *Photo by Steppingblocks.* - [**](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.steppingblocks.com%2Ftop10-cities-recent-graduates-2022) - [**](https://www.twitter.com/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.steppingblocks.com%2Ftop10-cities-recent-graduates-2022) - [**](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://blog.steppingblocks.com/top10-cities-recent-graduates-2022) ## What is Steppingblocks for students? Research your future career with real-world stats about *your* major, *your* interests, and *your* job title. Turn billions of data-points into actionable insights about your future with a few simple clicks. Watch the video to find out how. ![](https://fast.wistia.com/embed/medias/znvys18gjs/swatch) ## Related Articles - [Lists](https://blog.steppingblocks.com/topic/lists) ### [Exploring Outcomes For High Earning Female Graduat...](https://blog.steppingblocks.com/high-earning-female-plc) Pay equity is a critical issue in the workforce and for Higher Education. S... [Read More →](https://blog.steppingblocks.com/high-earning-female-plc) - [Lists](https://blog.steppingblocks.com/topic/lists) ### [Exploring Outcomes For High Earning Female Graduat...](https://blog.steppingblocks.com/high-earning-female-wac) Pay equity is a critical issue in the workforce and for Higher Education. S... 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