Employment Spot

Top 10 Cities for Entry-Level Positions

Where do you go if you are looking for a great job but don’t have much actual work experience? Maybe you’ve completed your college degree or are re-entering the work force in a new field. According to city statistics on employment, some cities may be better than others when searching for entry-level positions. Here are the top 10 cities for entry level positions, as stated by CollegeGrad.com in their quarterly survey:

1. New York, NY
2. Los Angeles, CA
3. Washington, DC
4. Chicago, IL
5. San Francisco, CA
6. Dallas, TX
7. Philadelphia, PA
8. Miami, FL
9. Houston, TX
10. Phoenix, AZ

As you can see, all of the cities in this list of the top 10 cities for entry level jobs are major cities. In terms of the city statistics, eight of these are in the top 15 most populated cities, with the exception of Miami and Washington, D.C. Of course it makes sense that the biggest cities will also have more jobs available. Here are city statistics about the population of each of the top 10 cities for entry-level positions (based on 2006 U.S. Census Bureau data):

• New York, NY: 8,250,567
• Los Angeles, CA: 3,849,378
• Washington, D.C.: 581,530
• Chicago, IL: 2,833,321
• San Francisco, CA: 744,041
• Dallas, TX: 1,232,940
• Philadelphia, PA: 1,448,394
• Miami, FL: 404,048
• Houston, TX: 2,144,491
• Phoenix, AZ: 1,512,986

If you are looking for an entry-level job, it’s likely that you are also facing an entry-level salary. Before relocating to one of the top 10 cities for entry-level positions, you might want to factor in cost of living in these major cities. Here are some city statistics regarding cost of living in each of the best cities for entry-level jobs:

• New York, NY: 64.5 percent higher than average
• Los Angeles, CA: 55.65 percent higher than average
• Washington, D.C.: 65.92 percent higher than average
• Chicago, IL: 26.45 percent higher
• San Francisco, CA: 87.23 percent higher
• Dallas, TX: 7.06 percent higher
• Philadelphia, PA: 7.69 percent higher
• Miami, FL: 37.41 percent higher
• Houston, TX: 14.25 percent higher
• Phoenix, AZ: 4.23 percent higher

Unfortunately, all of these top cities have a cost of living that is higher than average. However, there is a large variation between them. As you can see, the cost of living in Phoenix is only 4.23 percent higher than average, while San Francisco has the highest cost of living at 87.23 percent higher than average. If you want to do your own cost of living comparison, check out CBsalary.com.

If you are interested in working for one of the best cities for entry-level positions, you may be wondering what these major cities have to offer in terms of employment positions. Here are the major industries for each of the top 10 cities for entry-level jobs:

• New York, NY: NYC is a great city for business. The most popular industries in NYC include finance, insurance, real estate, media, journalism and publishing, the arts, fashion, advertising, healthcare, medical research and manufacturing.
• Los Angeles, CA: L.A. offers great job opportunities, including ones in their major industries such as aerospace, entertainment, fashion, finance, manufacturing, retail, technology and tourism.
• Washington, D.C.: Of course D.C. has many government jobs, but there are also opportunities in other industries such as education, finance, publishing and printing, tourism and technology.
• Chicago, IL: Major industries in Chicago include finance, insurance, manufacturing, printing and publishing and food processing.
• San Francisco, CA: The San Francisco economy includes finance, technology, medical research, aerospace and tourism.
• Dallas, TX: With many jobs in technology, telecommunications, finance, real estate and tourism, Dallas has a variety to offer in terms of employment positions.
• Philadelphia, PA: Philly offers diverse industries which include finance, healthcare, manufacturing, technology, tourism and telecommunications.
• Miami, FL: With a large tourism industry, there are lots of retail, restaurant and hotel jobs in Miami. Other important industries include finance, international trade and international banking.
• Houston, TX: The biggest industries in Houston are the energy and chemical industries. Aerospace, biomedical research and financial services are also important industries here.
• Phoenix, AZ: Manufacturing and tourism are the main industries in Phoenix. Others include government, education, technology and telecommunications.

While you can get almost any kind of job you want in these major cities, these are the best cities for their specific industries. If you are interested in learning about the best cities in terms of other factors, you might want to take a look at our other articles.