Charleston Ranked Among 2023’s Best Cities to Start a Career

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With employers planning to hire 14.7% more graduates from the Class of 2023 than they did from the Class of 2022, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2023’s Best & Worst Places to Start a Career.

To help recent graduates launch their careers in the right place, the site compared more than 180 U.S. cities based on 26 key indicators of career-friendliness. The data set ranges from the availability of entry-level jobs to monthly average starting salary to housing affordability.

Charleston came in at #6 in the nation, just ahead of Austin and Miami.

Best Cities to Start a Career

Overall Rank  City Total Score  Professional Opportunities  Quality of Life 
1 Atlanta, GA 66.87 2 7
2 Orlando, FL 64.75 3 12
3 Salt Lake City, UT 63.54 8 6
4 Columbia, SC 62.31 5 24
5 Tampa, FL 62.17 6 31
6 Charleston, SC 60.78 10 18
7 Miami, FL 60.73 1 101
8 Austin, TX 60.44 26 2
9 Minneapolis, MN 60.08 23 3
10 Pittsburgh, PA 60.04 14 8
11 Wilmington, DE 59.75 4 63
12 Tempe, AZ 58.53 54 1
13 Denver, CO 58.52 22 9
14 Seattle, WA 58.26 39 4
15 St. Louis, MO 57.97 9 57
16 Scottsdale, AZ 57.86 19 20
17 Portland, ME 57.39 31 10
18 Boise, ID 56.92 25 21
19 Richmond, VA 56.86 15 38
20 Grand Rapids, MI 56.56 18 32
21 Madison, WI 56.20 75 5
22 Overland Park, KS 56.09 24 27
23 Washington, DC 55.67 44 14
24 Boston, MA 55.50 27 33
25 Providence, RI 55.13 12 85
26 Raleigh, NC 55.12 53 15
27 Knoxville, TN 54.88 20 54
28 Charleston, WV 54.66 7 138
29 Fargo, ND 54.42 72 13
30 Colorado Springs, CO 54.25 32 36
31 Cincinnati, OH 54.16 46 23
32 Rochester, NY 53.56 29 53
33 Charlotte, NC 53.31 36 44
34 Burlington, VT 53.22 99 11
35 Rapid City, SD 53.18 35 48
36 Tulsa, OK 53.11 21 90
37 Oklahoma City, OK 52.95 30 68
38 Sacramento, CA 52.87 41 47
39 Durham, NC 52.86 38 52
40 Chattanooga, TN 52.53 17 109
41 Des Moines, IA 52.46 48 49
42 Omaha, NE 52.40 59 37
43 St. Petersburg, FL 52.38 37 60
44 Portland, OR 52.31 95 17
45 Chandler, AZ 52.30 74 25
46 Fort Lauderdale, FL 52.27 28 86
47 Gilbert, AZ 52.21 42 58
48 Birmingham, AL 52.18 13 142
49 Sioux Falls, SD 51.98 69 35
50 Reno, NV 51.97 61 40
51 Lewiston, ME 51.89 11 153
52 Tallahassee, FL 51.71 83 26
53 Cheyenne, WY 51.55 34 76
54 Dallas, TX 51.21 43 79
55 Nashville, TN 50.95 65 50
56 Kansas City, MO 50.86 55 71
57 Spokane, WA 50.71 56 70
58 San Francisco, CA 50.67 125 16
59 Cedar Rapids, IA 50.61 73 51
60 St. Paul, MN 50.60 100 29
61 Fort Worth, TX 50.59 50 80
62 Jacksonville, FL 50.53 40 97
63 Columbus, OH 50.39 101 30
64 Tacoma, WA 50.34 52 82
65 Dover, DE 50.17 16 152
66 Irving, TX 50.12 57 81
67 Phoenix, AZ 50.01 77 55
68 Manchester, NH 49.98 45 91
69 South Burlington, VT 49.98 89 45
70 Irvine, CA 49.96 98 39
71 Tucson, AZ 49.79 76 62
72 San Diego, CA 49.72 113 28
73 Bismarck, ND 49.52 63 78
74 Huntsville, AL 49.24 85 59
75 Laredo, TX 49.04 33 129
76 Lincoln, NE 48.97 129 22
77 Nampa, ID 48.92 51 112
78 Mesa, AZ 48.88 67 89
79 Aurora, CO 48.82 49 122
80 Houston, TX 48.65 92 66
81 Indianapolis, IN 48.34 62 113
82 West Valley City, UT 48.20 84 84
83 Nashua, NH 48.20 71 94
84 Plano, TX 48.19 123 42
85 Las Vegas, NV 48.00 120 46
86 Lubbock, TX 47.87 88 87
87 Little Rock, AR 47.72 47 137
88 Buffalo, NY 47.66 97 83
89 Springfield, MO 47.56 79 96
90 Columbia, MD 47.37 146 34
91 New Orleans, LA 47.21 68 128
92 Virginia Beach, VA 47.07 127 56
93 Fort Wayne, IN 47.06 60 130
94 San Antonio, TX 47.02 112 77
95 Albuquerque, NM 46.89 119 75
96 Worcester, MA 46.81 90 105
97 Glendale, AZ 46.75 96 103
98 Baton Rouge, LA 46.68 80 121
99 Arlington, TX 46.67 87 115
100 Modesto, CA 46.64 58 144
101 Missoula, MT 46.58 170 19
102 Norfolk, VA 46.44 110 92
103 Louisville, KY 46.36 104 98
104 Winston-Salem, NC 46.33 66 141
105 Huntington, WV 46.10 81 124
106 Riverside, CA 46.09 91 125
107 Lexington-Fayette, KY 46.04 151 41
108 San Bernardino, CA 45.99 70 148
109 Wichita, KS 45.87 105 108
110 Vancouver, WA 45.85 86 127
111 New Haven, CT 45.85 102 106
112 San Jose, CA 45.83 133 64
113 Augusta, GA 45.67 64 157
114 Chesapeake, VA 45.43 116 107
115 Amarillo, TX 45.23 111 111
116 Billings, MT 45.20 144 69
117 Chicago, IL 45.14 143 65
118 Akron, OH 44.95 82 147
119 Greensboro, NC 44.94 108 126
120 Milwaukee, WI 44.69 126 110
121 Philadelphia, PA 44.61 124 120
122 Honolulu, HI 44.55 152 61
123 Peoria, AZ 44.50 106 133
124 Ontario, CA 44.48 118 123
125 Mobile, AL 44.22 78 160
126 Henderson, NV 44.20 132 102
127 Baltimore, MD 44.19 107 143
128 Cleveland, OH 44.02 121 132
129 Jersey City, NJ 43.98 167 43
130 Fort Smith, AR 43.91 94 155
131 El Paso, TX 43.81 141 95
132 Aurora, IL 43.66 109 146
133 Grand Prairie, TX 43.63 103 150
134 Warwick, RI 43.54 117 135
135 Fremont, CA 43.37 158 74
136 Oakland, CA 43.35 149 93
137 Bakersfield, CA 43.10 138 119
138 Fresno, CA 43.09 122 149
139 Port St. Lucie, FL 43.04 93 173
140 Salem, OR 42.95 148 104
141 Casper, WY 42.80 128 131
142 Columbus, GA 42.38 114 164
143 Fontana, CA 42.37 150 116
144 Juneau, AK 42.18 172 73
145 Los Angeles, CA 41.99 154 114
146 Las Cruces, NM 41.98 173 67
147 Rancho Cucamonga, CA 41.78 163 100
148 Corpus Christi, TX 41.73 145 134
149 Pearl City, HI 41.64 155 117
150 Memphis, TN 41.45 131 168
151 Toledo, OH 41.39 134 159
152 Newport News, VA 41.26 130 167
153 Fayetteville, NC 41.10 160 118
154 Oceanside, CA 40.91 142 154
155 Garland, TX 40.85 140 163
156 Anchorage, AK 40.73 178 72
157 Huntington Beach, CA 40.72 174 88
158 Jackson, MS 40.58 137 171
159 Santa Rosa, CA 40.41 135 172
160 Brownsville, TX 40.25 139 169
161 Santa Ana, CA 39.99 156 145
162 Stockton, CA 39.89 136 177
163 Montgomery, AL 39.57 153 158
164 Garden Grove, CA 39.22 179 99
165 Hialeah, FL 39.08 115 182
166 Cape Coral, FL 38.91 166 151
167 Chula Vista, CA 38.88 164 162
168 Anaheim, CA 38.84 168 140
169 Glendale, CA 38.84 169 136
170 Pembroke Pines, FL 38.80 159 170
171 Bridgeport, CT 38.50 147 180
172 Long Beach, CA 38.50 171 139
173 Yonkers, NY 38.43 165 166
174 Oxnard, CA 38.35 157 175
175 Moreno Valley, CA 37.81 162 176
176 Shreveport, LA 37.12 161 178
177 North Las Vegas, NV 36.99 175 165
178 Santa Clarita, CA 36.05 180 161
179 Detroit, MI 35.48 177 179
180 Newark, NJ 35.32 176 181
181 Gulfport, MS 34.18 182 156
182 New York, NY 33.29 181 174

Note: With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that city, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.

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