Atlanta is the third best city in the country to start a career, according to financial website WalletHub. The metro region that has exploded over the past two decades is in a good position to continue growing and is attracting young professionals at a quick clip – not to mention the many colleges in the metro region, and several very large ones within an hour or two.
The study looked at a number of factors, including availability of entry-level jobs, number of job fairs, starting salaries, job growth rates and a number of others. Atlanta comes in third on the list behind Salt Lake City at number one and Pittsburgh at number two.
All of the metrics used to determine the rankings were separated into two categories, “Professional Opportunities” and “Quality of Life.” Atlanta performs very highly in the professional opportunities category, coming in second – behind Salt Lake City. This category is composed of many metrics to come up with the category, a category that is weighted 70% of the overall score for cities.
Availability of entry-level jobs, monthly average salary, share of workers in poverty, economic mobility, workforce diversity, unemployment rate, job satisfaction, number of career counselors and a few other factors help to come up with an exhaustive research for “professional opportunities.”
The high number of Fortune 500 companies in Atlanta is certainly a nice arrow in Atlanta’s quiver. Mercedes-Benz, Home Depot, UPS, Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, Southern Company, Genuine Parts Company, SunTrust Banks, Veritiv – a business-to-business paper and printing company, PulteGroup – a home-building company, HD Supply, AGCO Corporation, NCR Corporation, Asbury Automotive, Intercontinental Exchange, and WestRock are all headquartered either in the city of Atlanta or in the metropolitan area. Not only do these companies have numerous employees but the services required by the companies – and the jobs all those services provide – exponentially increase their value to the region.
Atlanta was ranked lower in quality of life at 12th. The lowest ranking for any city in the top 10 besides Boston, which was ranked 45th – where affordable housing problems and the less than fantastic business climate of Massachusetts make things difficult. Commute time is certainly a mark against Atlanta in this category.
Georgia Tech is undoubtedly a big factor in Atlanta’s favor. Engineering jobs are relatively lucrative right from the start and there are certainly plenty of available applicants coming off of North Avenue. With all of those engineering graduates, Atlanta is home to a number of engineering companies. When asked why he robbed banks, infamous bank robber Willie Sutton replied, “Because that’s where the money is.” Well Atlanta is where the engineers are. And all those other graduates streaming out of not only Georgia Tech but also Georgia State, Emory, Morehouse, Spelman, Oglethorpe, Clark Atlanta and others.
