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Charleston Ranked As One of The Best Cities in America to Start a Career

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With graduation season upon us and employers planning to hire 7.3% more graduates from the Class of 2025 than they did from the Class of 2024, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2025’s Best & Worst Places to Start a Career, as well as expert commentary.

To help recent graduates launch their careers in the right place, the site compared more than 180 U.S. cities based on 25 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 as the 6th best city in America when it comes to starting a career, with an opportunities ranking of 10th and a quality of link ranking of 15th overall.

Best Cities to Start a Career

Overall Rank  City Total Score  Professional Opportunities Rank  Quality of Life Rank 
1 Atlanta, GA 69.33 1 5
2 Orlando, FL 68.50 2 9
3 Tampa, FL 65.26 3 19
4 Austin, TX 63.38 16 1
5 Miami, FL 61.69 4 71
6 Charleston, SC 60.82 10 15
7 Richmond, VA 59.96 6 49
8 Salt Lake City, UT 58.90 20 6
9 Columbia, SC 58.72 11 23
10 Pittsburgh, PA 58.71 18 12
11 Minneapolis, MN 58.11 28 4
12 Charleston, WV 57.69 5 92
13 Wilmington, DE 57.27 7 65
14 St. Louis, MO 57.22 13 52
15 Boise, ID 56.61 22 18
16 Scottsdale, AZ 55.98 27 16
17 Raleigh, NC 55.78 30 14
18 Tempe, AZ 55.42 56 7
19 Knoxville, TN 55.00 12 88
20 Boston, MA 54.99 23 24
21 Rochester, NY 54.98 15 79
22 Birmingham, AL 54.89 8 124
23 Washington, DC 54.74 47 11
24 Chattanooga, TN 54.73 14 90
25 Denver, CO 54.53 69 3
26 Seattle, WA 54.52 89 2
27 Cincinnati, OH 54.04 26 34
28 South Burlington, VT 53.99 19 57
29 Fort Lauderdale, FL 53.97 17 73
30 Portland, ME 53.61 51 17
31 Chandler, AZ 53.43 40 21
32 Charlotte, NC 52.77 35 37
33 Huntsville, AL 52.73 32 45
34 Overland Park, KS 52.61 53 20
35 Durham, NC 52.44 31 51
36 Dallas, TX 52.39 24 68
37 Grand Rapids, MI 52.31 36 42
38 Las Vegas, NV 52.18 39 39
39 Nashville, TN 51.63 44 41
40 Madison, WI 51.61 93 13
41 Sioux Falls, SD 51.44 57 30
42 St. Petersburg, FL 51.38 37 56
43 Dover, DE 51.26 9 172
44 Phoenix, AZ 51.15 48 43
45 Sacramento, CA 51.14 46 50
46 Reno, NV 50.97 59 35
47 Providence, RI 50.95 25 97
48 Colorado Springs, CO 50.89 62 32
49 Fort Worth, TX 50.82 34 72
50 Springfield, MO 50.75 29 89
51 San Francisco, CA 50.68 111 10
52 Worcester, MA 50.48 21 113
53 San Diego, CA 50.24 73 27
54 Bismarck, ND 50.20 54 53
55 Plano, TX 50.12 74 26
56 Gilbert, AZ 49.99 49 61
57 Omaha, NE 49.88 76 29
58 Jacksonville, FL 49.81 38 85
59 Nampa, ID 49.76 33 95
60 St. Paul, MN 49.54 96 22
61 Des Moines, IA 49.46 61 58
62 Irvine, CA 49.37 78 38
63 Spokane, WA 49.23 55 67
64 Tulsa, OK 48.93 60 69
65 Indianapolis, IN 48.92 41 103
66 Houston, TX 48.91 75 47
67 Mesa, AZ 48.72 51 84
68 Portland, OR 48.45 152 8
69 Manchester, NH 48.33 45 104
70 Cedar Rapids, IA 48.16 66 74
71 Tallahassee, FL 47.95 81 60
72 Oklahoma City, OK 47.94 87 54
73 Irving, TX 47.92 65 80
74 Rapid City, SD 47.76 90 55
75 Columbus, OH 47.52 118 33
76 Kansas City, MO 47.41 85 66
77 Tucson, AZ 47.17 77 77
78 Virginia Beach, VA 46.99 113 48
78 Burlington, VT 46.99 121 44
80 San Antonio, TX 46.80 91 70
81 Albuquerque, NM 46.80 80 83
82 Cheyenne, WY 46.77 86 76
83 Chicago, IL 46.76 119 46
84 Arlington, TX 46.69 64 112
85 Nashua, NH 46.67 68 106
86 Huntington, WV 46.62 42 135
87 Cleveland, OH 46.50 70 109
88 Jersey City, NJ 46.33 142 25
89 Glendale, AZ 46.18 67 116
90 Greensboro, NC 46.11 58 126
91 Columbia, MD 46.10 141 40
92 Honolulu, HI 46.04 114 64
93 Fargo, ND 46.02 145 31
94 Norfolk, VA 45.85 92 93
95 Lincoln, NE 45.53 154 28
96 Mobile, AL 45.47 43 158
97 Tacoma, WA 45.22 95 101
98 Aurora, CO 45.05 83 117
99 Missoula, MT 44.96 160 36
100 Winston-Salem, NC 44.85 63 141
101 Warwick, RI 44.65 84 120
102 Los Angeles, CA 44.39 103 110
103 Fayetteville, NC 44.38 115 100
104 West Valley City, UT 44.26 108 108
105 Chesapeake, VA 44.21 127 87
106 New Orleans, LA 44.11 102 118
107 Riverside, CA 44.11 71 155
108 Fort Smith, AR 44.08 79 134
109 Lubbock, TX 44.00 117 107
110 Fort Wayne, IN 43.87 82 137
111 Henderson, NV 43.85 137 75
112 Billings, MT 43.81 149 63
113 Vancouver, WA 43.76 101 122
114 Wichita, KS 43.40 130 94
115 Amarillo, TX 43.34 110 121
116 Louisville, KY 43.33 126 111
117 Buffalo, NY 43.20 138 86
118 Baltimore, MD 43.06 98 139
119 Philadelphia, PA 42.90 125 119
120 Huntington Beach, CA 42.80 140 96
121 Akron, OH 42.78 109 131
122 Lexington-Fayette, KY 42.59 165 62
123 Columbus, GA 42.57 97 145
124 San Jose, CA 42.50 146 91
125 San Bernardino, CA 42.47 72 175
126 Anchorage, AK 42.43 170 59
127 Milwaukee, WI 42.35 133 114
128 Salem, OR 42.35 143 102
129 Peoria, AZ 42.27 120 130
130 North Las Vegas, NV 42.20 128 123
131 Pembroke Pines, FL 42.19 105 140
132 Newport News, VA 42.16 94 159
133 Little Rock, AR 42.14 88 163
134 Baton Rouge, LA 42.10 122 136
135 Montgomery, AL 42.10 99 154
136 El Paso, TX 42.00 153 98
137 Corpus Christi, TX 41.99 134 115
138 Santa Ana, CA 41.96 106 152
139 Garland, TX 41.94 107 151
140 Brownsville, TX 41.92 104 149
141 Casper, WY 41.86 164 82
142 Hialeah, FL 41.80 50 182
143 Augusta, GA 41.74 112 148
144 Modesto, CA 41.56 116 146
145 Lewiston, ME 41.54 100 165
146 Oakland, CA 41.47 168 81
147 Fremont, CA 41.38 172 78
148 Las Cruces, NM 41.33 161 99
149 Memphis, TN 41.01 123 162
150 Laredo, TX 40.61 150 125
151 Rancho Cucamonga, CA 40.32 148 128
152 Long Beach, CA 40.31 136 143
153 Fresno, CA 40.27 131 150
154 Stockton, CA 40.26 124 168
155 Fontana, CA 39.82 132 157
156 Oceanside, CA 39.73 134 156
157 Juneau, AK 39.50 176 105
158 Glendale, CA 39.30 162 133
159 Aurora, IL 39.14 157 138
160 Garden Grove, CA 39.07 166 132
161 Cape Coral, FL 38.86 171 127
162 Port St. Lucie, FL 38.85 129 174
163 New Haven, CT 38.58 147 164
164 Grand Prairie, TX 38.56 163 141
165 Santa Rosa, CA 38.51 155 153
166 Gulfport, MS 38.19 156 160
167 Ontario, CA 38.17 144 171
168 Jackson, MS 38.00 139 177
169 Anaheim, CA 37.57 159 169
170 Yonkers, NY 37.27 167 166
171 Bakersfield, CA 37.25 180 129
172 Chula Vista, CA 37.08 173 161
173 Moreno Valley, CA 36.71 158 176
174 Toledo, OH 36.66 177 147
175 Newark, NJ 36.23 151 181
176 Santa Clarita, CA 36.18 174 170
177 Shreveport, LA 35.94 169 178
178 Detroit, MI 35.62 175 173
179 New York, NY 34.13 181 167
180 Oxnard, CA 34.05 178 179
181 Bridgeport, CT 33.49 179 180
182 Pearl City, HI 33.23 182 144

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.

Scott Jensen
onMay 13, 2025
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