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There you are, a bachelor’s degree in hand, a spring in your step, gleam in your eye, growing debt on your credit report, and a great desire to move things along. Maybe you’ve already got a starting gig and a few years of real-world experience under your belt. Maybe you’re still kicking back, waiting for your future to crystallize while gorging on angsty, postgrad movie classics like “Slackers,” “Reality Bites,” or “The Graduate” (“Plastics!”). Either way, you find yourself immersed in that eternal quarter-life crisis:
What are you really going to do with your life? And where are you going to do it?
While we can’t offer you the secrets of professional success or Magic 8-Ball your future, we can help with the “where” part. And we’re here to tell you that you don’t need to sacrifice space, savings, and sanity, living with a busload of roommates in crazy-expensive New York or San Francisco. Instead, realtor.com®’s data team set out to find the most affordable metros, where hard-working, entry-level workers can build long-term careers. And these aren’t all-work-and-no-play areas. These are also places with tons of culture, fun, and natural beauty to enjoy.
In other words, places where you can put down roots.
“Technology has really helped boost job growth into some of these smaller metros,” says Chris Porter, chief demographer for John Burns Real Estate Consulting. “These local economies are constantly evolving and are seriously attractive—especially since the cost of living is so much lower.”
To figure out the 10 most affordable places for young people to jump-start their careers and lives, we looked at the following:
- Job growth: We measured declines in the unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2014 to the first quarter of 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Business growth: Number of new businesses versus the number of businesses that closed in 2014, according to the most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data
- High salaries: Median salaries of the top 25% of earners of all occupations, using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data
- Happiness index: Hedonometer.org’s analysis of Twitter data, assessing the happiness of residents of different areas
- Affordability: Metros where the median home price is $400,000 or less, according to realtor.com
Ready? Life is waiting. Let’s join the race.
1. Fort Collins, COMedian home price: $391,400
Median salary of the top 25% of earners: $59,810
Fort Collins Museum
RiverNorthPhotography /istock
They don’t call it Colorado Cool for nothing. In case you haven’t heard, the Centennial State is thriving these days. And Fort Collins offers some of the best that Colorado has to offer—the mountains, the gigs, the craft beer, the emerging legal marijuana scene—without the mile-high costs of Denver, just over an hour away.
There are a myriad varied career opportunities in this city, from high-tech companies like Intel and Hewlett-Packard to a slew of local breweries and a major Anheuser-Busch facility. The local Colorado State University is increasingly acting as an innovation driver: Its CSU Ventures is helping spur growth in the biotech, energy, and natural resources industries.
All that has driven down unemployment from 5.5% in the first quarter of 2014 to just 2.9% in the first quarter of 2017. To put that in perspective, the national unemployment rate is a much higher 4.4%. This means local companies need workers, like, yesterday.
Housing isn’t cheap, but it’s a bargain compared to Denver’s median home price of $518,500. Plus, a slew of new apartment buildings have gone up recently, meaning that there are more rentals to go around.
“There are enormous numbers of small, high-tech companies ideal for people who really want to make a difference and have a creative lifestyle,” says Mary Atchison, chief operating officer of the Northern Colorado Economic Alliance. “It’s just a great place for young professionals who want a laid-back lifestyle.”
2. Charlotte, NCMedian home price: $334,300
Median salary of the top 25% of earners: $58,970
Charlotte, NC
SeanPavonePhoto/istock
This Southern city has become a magnet for new college graduates seeking work. Charlotte’s metro area boasts the nation’s second highest concentration of financial institutions (New York is No. 1), and nearly 40 colleges and universities. Big-name brands like Bank of America, Lowe’s, and Duke Energy are just a few of the Fortune 500 companies in the area.
And it’s more than the jobs drawing new residents. Charlotte has 37 miles of greenway trails and is a NASCAR hub. Southern fare is serious here, so loosen your belt for the region’s famed biscuits, barbecue, and regional fast foods. (BYO Mylanta!)
Many of the new millennial residents are becoming homeowners, thanks to the significantly cheaper prices and lower cost of living in Charlotte compared to the nearby coastal cities. Here, buyers on a budget can find a cute, two-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath house on a cul-de-sac for under $200,000. Those with a bit more cash can score a four-story, two-bedroom, two-bathroom townhouse in a popular uptown neighborhood near the greenway for $325,000.
3. Madison, WIMedian home price: $299,900
Median salary of the top 25% of earners: $63,370
Madison, WI
timhughes/istock
Madison continues to enchant new grads with its job possibilities, higher-than-average salaries, and an undeniably cool lifestyle. And this city is an increasingly strong player in the health care, information technology, and manufacturing industries.
“People are able to earn and buy” homes in the metro, says Zach Brandon, president of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce. “Here, you end up with disposable income. That translates into community wealth.”
The best part for aspiring homeowners? The median home price in the metro is less than a third of what it would cost in the way-more-established tech hub San Francisco (where it’s a heart-attack-inducing $907,400).
Top 10 Metros
realtor.com
4. Colorado Springs, COMedian home price: $386,500
Median salary of the top 25% of earners: $60,460
The view of the 14,115-foot Pikes Peak and the Rocky Mountains from downtown Colorado Springs is reason enough to head to this metro area. But, yeah, there are jobs here too.
“The Springs,” as locals call the city, has long been a military and defense center with Army and Air Force bases, the Air Force Academy, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), and others. It’s also home to about 30 Fortune 500 firms and has grown into a high-tech, aerospace, and entrepreneurial hub, with big players like Lockheed Martin and Boeing Co.
There are more than 150 parks and 260 miles of trails where you’re likely to see some Olympians strutting their stuff. The U.S. Olympic Committee and one of the Olympic Training Centers are based there.
Buyers can find a five-bedroom, four-bathroom house for $374,900. But more modest condos also abound.
5. Dallas, TXMedian home price: $355,000
Median salary of the top 25% of earners: $63,110
Dallas at night
Aneese/istock
If y’all want a place with affordable housing, better-than-average salaries, and plenty of cultural diversity, head to Dallas.
The Texas city promotes itself as pro-business, with no corporate, state income, or local income taxes. So it’s no surprise that the region has one of the nation’s highest concentrations of corporate headquarters in the United States, including AT&T, Texas Instruments, and Dean Foods.
And generally speaking, Dallas is king of the job creation hill, adding jobs faster than any of the nation’s other 15 largest metro areas. It’s known as a stronghold for tech, defense, and telecom operations.
“Over half of my clients are from out of state. They’re a good mixture of millennials and mid-career buyers,” says Dallas-based real estate agent Katie Tijerina of Rogers Healy and Associates. “And they’re always moving for work.”
Many of her clients hail from more expensive parts of the country, like California and the Northeast, and are thrilled with the lower real estate prices. Most are looking for single-family homes in the $350,000 range, she says.
When her clients aren’t busy climbing the corporate ladder, they can enjoy the area’s endless arts and sports attractions (go Mavs!). It’s also known as a foodie mecca, particularly for barbecue, Tex-Mex, and Southern cuisine. Oh, and be warned: And once you try a Whataburger, you’re hooked for life.
6. Austin, TXMedian home price: $396,500
Median salary of the top 25% of earners: $61,710
The quirky capital of Texas embraces its “Keep Austin Weird” moniker, while still being a hub for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. The city is also home to the University of Texas’ flagship campus, which helps fuel its entrepreneurial spirit.
Earlier this year, city leaders approved a stimulus package to lure Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a pharmaceutical giant, to Austin (beating out 50 other cities) with at least 600 jobs paying an average salary of about $84,600 a year. (Not bad.)
This place is famous for its hundreds of live music venues, with an eclectic local scene of rock, blues, and country, and for its Austin City Limits and South by Southwest festivals. And if you dig BBQ, tequila bars, and fusion food trucks, you’re way in luck.
Austin’s housing has been hot for a while, but it’s less cutthroat than in bigger metros. And there are still plenty of opportunities to buy, such as in new developments like Whisper Valley. The community, located just outside of Austin, is touted as the largest “net-zero” housing development in the nation, designed to send as much energy back to the power grid as residents use.
7. Fayetteville, ARMedian home price: $280,200
Median salary of the top 25% of earners: $52,670
Old Main Building at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville
BlazenImages/istock
Not to be confused with the other Fayettevilles around the South, the third largest city in Arkansas is nestled in the Ozarks, bordering the Boston Mountains. The local economy is anchored by Walmart’s headquarters, based in Bentonville, 25 miles north of Fayetteville. Affordable living and upward career mobility bring new grads here, but the lifestyle—surprisingly awesome live music, cycling, parks, and an abundance of mountain beauty—makes them want to stay.
“It’s a very affordable area with a lot of opportunity,” says local career coach Patti Latta. “You can find employment in northwest Arkansas if you want to work.”
8. Durham, NCMedian home price: $347,000
Median salary of the top 25% of earners: $71,630
Durham, in North Carolina’s Research Triangle, has undergone an economic and cultural revitalization in recent years, with a downtown renaissance and redevelopment of the area’s former tobacco districts. Those old mills are today’s urban lofts and trendy office spaces.
It’s hard to separate Durham from its top employer, Duke University. The university helped create the town’s thriving health care and research industries, which provide high-paying jobs for local residents. Other top-dog employers include IBM, GlaxoSmithKline, and Fidelity Investments.
Newly minted grads pursuing careers in information technology, life sciences, or financial services will find many opportunities in this highly regarded tech research hub. They’ll be in good company, with plenty of other driven millennials—with more than 100,000 residents of ages 18 to 34 living in the area.
Those watching their pennies can score a townhouse in a gated community just a few miles from Duke without going broke. Those with a few more zeroes in their bank account balances can check out this four-bedroom, Cape Cod-style home for $350,000.
9. Kansas City, MOMedian home price: $248,800
Median salary of the top 25% of earners: $60,000
Kansas City, MO
Josh_Weinstock/istock
Kansas City’s core is undergoing a massive revitalization, with new residential, business, and entertainment options bringing an influx of new residents, jobs, and more entrepreneurs. The health care technology giant Cerner Corp. is building a $4.5 billion Kansas City campus. The company already employs about 12,800 workers, and plans to add 16,000 more over the next decade. Other big tech companies with local operations include Garmin, Sprint, and DST Systems.
The area is also becoming a hotspot for start-ups and innovators, and millions in venture capital dollars are starting to flow in.
You know of Kansas City’s jazz heritage and barbecue (mmm … burnt ends), but here’s something that might not be on your radar: It was also one of the first areas to receive the lightning-fast, 1-gigabit Google Fiber network. This makes it a prime spot for tech-focused folks of all ages.
And many residents can afford to become homeowners. “Kansas City is probably the most affordable place we’ve ever lived,” says local realtor Libby Tullis. But as in much of the rest of the country, “The market is growing crazy fast.”
10. Nashville, TNMedian home price: $359,900
Median salary of the top 25% of earners: $54,930
Nashville’s lower cost of living, coupled with its country music culture, has attracted many corporate headquarters and job seekers alike.
A surging technology sector and thriving creative class produce jobs in graphic design, marketing, and in fields such as accounting (hey, somebody needs to pay the bills). Meanwhile, the Nashville Entrepreneur Center focuses on areas like music tech, technology, and health care.
“You can live here, and you can afford a home,” says Courtney Ross, chief economic development officer for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, pointing out that many residents also have disposable income, because they are likely to have netted a great job.
The metro may not stay affordable for long, as median prices have risen 11% year over year, according to realtor.com.
The post Work Hard, Play Hard! The 10 Best Cities to Launch a Career appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.
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