More young people are living with their parents than at any other time in history, according to a study released this month by the Pew Research Center. In fact, the parent-child household has replaced marriage and cohabitation as the most common living arrangement for 18 to 34-year-olds—another first for the modern era. While experts cite a number of factors, a lack of quality job opportunities and stagnant wages are believed to play a central role. So it's even more important for young people to make sure they're starting off on the right foot career-wise to avoid conforming to the stereotype of the freeloading millennial.
Fortunately, WalletHub.com is here to help with its list of the best and worst cities to start a career in 2016. The personal finance site based its rankings on 17 key metrics across the 150 largest cities in the U.S., including job opportunities and salaries, projected population growth, mobility, housing and social ties.
Bottom line: With some exceptions, California doesn't seem all that friendly for those just starting out. There were no Golden State cities anywhere within the top 20, but 9 of the 20 worst cities for starting a career were in California. Fresno ranked second-to-last, barely edging out the City of Detroit at #149. Also faring rather poorly were the communities of Moreno Valley (#148); Modesto (#144); Glendale (#143); Stockton (#139); San Bernardino (#137); Santa Clarita (#136); Santa Ana (#133); and Garden Grove (#130).
Salt Lake City, UT was ranked as the best city to start a career. It was followed by Denver, CO; Austin, TX; Sioux Falls, SD; and Minneapolis, MN.
Learn more about the researchers’ methodology and see a full list here.