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Which US cities give new grads the best shot in 2026?

The ideal place to start a career might be less about prestige and more about where the paycheck stretches furthest.

5/6/26 9:16AM

For young workers fresh out of college, the lure of America’s big coastal cities has always been pretty obvious: chase the higher-paying jobs, stomach the rent, and trust the grind will eventually pay off. For a new grad in 2026, though, the math in that deal may be getting harder to justify, according to new analysis from ADP Research.

The study ranked 53 major US metro areas for workers in their 20s based on hiring rates, wages, and affordability. So, where can a 23-year-old realistically launch a career without having to hand half their paycheck to a landlord — or wait months just to get past the resume screening process?

Birmingham-Hoover, Alabama, claimed the top spot, driven by strong hiring, low living costs, and median wages for recent grads that rose more than 16% to roughly $59,000 over the past year. Florida’s Tampa region jumped to No. 2 from 26th place last year, after posting the fastest hiring rate among all of the metros analyzed in the study.

Down is up

Six of the top 10 metros were in the South, including areas like Raleigh, Tulsa, Nashville, and Charlotte — cities where corporate expansions are helping drive job growth, while the lower cost of living means that starting salaries stretch further.

Still, large coastal hubs held their ground in the top half, including San Francisco (No. 7) and New York (No. 10). San Jose ranked third despite ongoing tech layoffs, as improved hiring and the highest wages of any metro, roughly $70,700, helped offset its low affordability score.

Meanwhile, some of America’s traditional youth magnets are starting to look less attractive: San Diego and Portland both landed in the bottom 10, while Seattle ranked 38th, as hiring has cooled and housing costs continue to eat into paychecks.

Salt Lake City, Utah, finished last for the second straight year, weighed down by below-median wages and affordability, along with one of the weakest hiring rates in the study.

Hyunsoo Rim

hardly working

5/27/26

Teens aren’t getting summer jobs like they used to — this year could be worse than ever

Teen summer hiring in the US might hit its lowest level since federal tracking began, new report finds.

Saleah Blancaflor

5/15/26

From Desi Arnaz to SpaceX: Understanding the rules of the modern economy

We talked with “Planet Money” author Alex Mayyasi about how AI might help or replace you, the superstar effect, and how the compounding effect extends beyond money.

Globes covered with various currencies suspended in space

Millie Giles5/8/26

Ahead of Mother’s Day, Google searches for “same day flower delivery” have ticked up a little earlier this year

If you’ve already made plans for a Mother’s Day gift in advance of this Sunday, congratulations. But if alarm bells are suddenly ringing, consider this a gentle reminder that, like a sizable share of the US population this time of year often does, you can still scrape together some last-minute flowers for the woman who carried you for nine months.

Data from Google Trends reveals that searches for “same day flower delivery” spike in the US in May every year, when Mother’s Day takes place. As we noted last February, the same query also gains traction around Valentine’s Day.

This year, however, it appears that searches for last-minute flowers have remained elevated in the last two months after the usual peak in February — with the search interest this April actually exceeding that seen around Cupid’s Day.

Honestly, we’re not sure why searches are spiking a little early. One explanation might be that Passover and Easter have overlapped at the start of April, and Americans wanted to celebrate with some flowers. Maybe it’s a host of Claude bots that are now running errands for AI-obsessed execs — or perhaps Americans are just impulse-buying some seasonal spring blooms after an unusually warm March, without a particular occasion.

Millie Giles

HOLDING FIRE

5/1/26

US jobless claims have sunk to the lowest level in more than 50 years

Fewer people are claiming unemployment benefits, as BLS data shows the US labor market hiring less and firing less.