After the tassel is moved to the left side of the mortarboard cap and the diploma is safely in its engraved cover, college graduates have to confront a big decision: where to go (or stay) to start a career.
The next chapter of life is daunting enough, and choosing where to live can also be stressful.
A recent study by Zumper examined data from the U.S. Census Bureau to rank the best and worst cities for new college graduates in the country. Louisianans are no strangers to landing at the bottom of lists when it comes to things like education, crime, economy and more, so it may not be a surprise that three of Louisiana's largest cities were among the bottom 15 of the ranking.
Here's a look at the data and where New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Shreveport rank.
How the college grad living list was created
Zumper, an online service and marketplace renters and property managers, analyzed data on 100 major cities to create the list.
Factors used in the ranking include:
- Average income
- Average rent prices
- Unemployment rate
- Social environment, including food and dining options
Zumper, the largest privately owned rental platform service, gathered data from a variety of sources for the ranking, including the U.S. Census:
- Population, income and unemployment rate statistics were obtained from 2019 and 2020 American Community surveys.
- Median rent prices were based on one-bedroom apartments on Zumper.com.
- The restaurants category sourced information from OpenStreetMap with calculations per 100 thousand people.
New Orleans
New Orleans ranked 87 out of 100. The Crescent City received an A for non-married population and a B for unemployment rate and restaurants per capita. Where the city strugged was median income, and it was given an F grade by Zumper.
It received moderate scores for rent, population of 18-to-34 year olds and 25 year olds with a bachelor's degree.
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge ranked No. 91 on the list, several spots lower than New Orleans.
The capital city received failing grades in four categories: median income, people with bachelor's degrees, young people and restaurants per capita. Rent, single population and unemployment rates did better, with high A and B grades.
Shreveport
Right behind Baton Rouge is Shreveport at 92 out of 100. Shreveport overall ranked similar to Baton Rouge, receiving four Fs, two Bs and one A in median rent.
Not so fun fact: Shreveport tied the No. 99 city on the list for the most F's received.
The bottom five cities in descending order were Boise, Idaho; Newark, New Jersey; Providence, Rhode Island; Augusta, Georgia; and Laredo, Texas.
The Best
No city received a perfect, all-A ranking, so there is no perfect place to live. Wherever feels right and provides what a person needs is all that matters in the end. However, here are the places that are most likely to fulfill those needs, according to Zumper.
Minneapolis, Minnesota ranked No. 1 with B grades in most categories and A grades in the rest.
Although both failed in median rent, Denver, Colorado and Seattle, Washington ranked No. 2 and 3, respectively.
Columbus, Ohio solidified itself in the No. 4 spot with no grade below a C.
San Francisco, California and Washington, D.C. received the most A grades but ultimately ranked No. 5 and 8, respectively.
Check out the rest of the list here to see where other cities ranked.