As recent college graduates search for their first job out of school, a new study finds that the majority of millennials and Gen Z are looking at different factors than before when considering where they want to be hired.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, traditionally popular and bustling cities like New York and Los Angeles were common locations graduates would head to when entering into the workforce. But the study, conducted by Bankrate in June, found that other regions in the are becoming more attractive to younger workers.
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For the study, analysts assessed the economic landscape of major U.S. cities to find the best places for incoming workers to start their career, considering factors including quality of life, employment opportunities and overall affordability, and the Northeast didn't make the top 10.
What cities are graduates moving to?
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Cities like Austin, Texas; Seattle, Washington; Salt Lake City, Utah; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Nashville, Tennessee, were among the top places for graduates to move to when considering affordability and employment opportunities. Boston came in at number 12, making it the top city in the Northeast, followed by Washington D.C., at No. 19.
According to the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, Boston’s unemployment rate during graduation season in May 2023 was 2.8%, below the national rate of 3.7%. In addition, nearly 5,700 jobs were added across the Commonwealth in May, which made it an optimal time for those hoping to enter the job market.
However, Boston’s high rent costs and long commute times made the city less appealing to younger workers, a trend observed after more workers migrated to lower-cost states during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alex Gailey, senior data reporter at Bankrate, said that the attractiveness of cities for graduates was largely affected by the pandemic and the expansion of remote work.
“You find that younger generations really value a work-life balance a lot more,” said Gailey in an interview with NBC10 Boston. “They're not trying to climb up the corporate ladder as much as older generations have sort of traditionally, and they really want that flexibility to work remotely … even if they're in a hybrid work situation.”
Why are college graduates moving out of Boston?
While businesses in Boston have adapted their company structures to provide more workers with flexibility and there has been a greater investment in community life in recent years, Gailey said the rate at which new jobs are being created in Boston isn’t as competitive as in other major cities.
“The Boston economy is adding a lot of jobs year over year, but it's just not adding it at the pace of other major cities like Austin, Raleigh, Nashville, or Seattle,” said Gailey. “It is seeing growth when it comes to jobs but just not as high compared to other major cities.”
With the majority of the highest rankings being cities in the South, trends suggest that incoming workers are abandoning cities known for a constant pace of work. Instead, they are now looking for a good balance of social, professional and community development in the area around their first job.
A greater emphasis on a company’s diversity, the value placed on employees and high salary offers was also observed in the study — especially when factoring in higher rates of burnout among workers under 30 and skyrocketing rent prices across the country.
What are graduates looking for when starting their career?
For Jeanette Villanueva, a 2023 graduate of Boston University, a company’s proximity to her family, general cost of living and Latino representation were important factors when she was applying for jobs in the spring. However, finding a company that valued a good work-life balance was a top priority for her after years in an intense engineering program.
“I really considered how they respect us as human beings because we have problems,” Villanueva said. “Especially given the pandemic, there were just so many things that were going on. Looking towards my career, I was thinking, ‘What can this company do for me, and how can they treat me as an equal amongst all the other employees that they have?’”
After factoring in housing prices and the distance away from her family on the West Coast, she knew that it would be unlikely for her to remain in Boston when she began her job quest.
“Realistically speaking, as a postgraduate in your undergrad, you don't have a lot of money,” said Villanueva. “That would probably be a very big reason why a lot of people move out post-college. We don't have the financial means to actually sustain the Boston lifestyle.”
How can Boston appeal to younger workers?
Limited land and strict housing codes only add onto the sentiment shared amongst many graduates that while Boston might be a great college hub, it doesn’t offer the greatest affordability or practicality of other major cities with thriving businesses.
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Gailey said these factors may force businesses in Boston to look at new ways to both recruit and retain incoming talent.
“Businesses really have to look at workers differently than they have in the past,” Gailey said. “[Recent graduates] want to feel like they're entering a culture where there is diversity that is being prioritized and their needs are being heard by their employers. It's less like the rat race that we've seen in the past.”
As Villanueva heads into her first job, as a full-time software engineer for American Express in Arizona, she said that more college graduates should be encouraged to find out what their top necessities are in the location and the company they want to work at.
“I think being able to be confident in who you are and knowing what your skills are will really benefit your career search,” she said. “Because at that point, once you find a company that you really want to work for, you can be able to articulate and express. ‘This is who I am, and you need me.’”
Read Bankrate's full analysis here.
