This post was originally published on this site
A new report by Renthop, Best Cities for New College Graduates 2025, found that Santa Ana ranks #85 out of 100. Santa Ana also has a lifestyle rank of #83, a job market rank of #59 and a cost of living rank of #77.
Those are not good ratings at all. Santa Ana’s average montly rent came to $2,750, the average earnings for grads was $64,333, the lifestyle ran wa 83, the jobs market rank was 59 and the cost of living rank was 77.
Perhaps this is not super bad news as according to the U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts for Santa Ana city, California, only 18.0% of persons aged 25 years and over have a Bachelor’s degree or higher (as of 2019-2023). According to Census Reporter for Santa Ana, CA, only 4% of the population has a Post-grad degree (which includes Master’s, Professional, and Doctorate). However the news is better when it comes to high school diplomas as according to the U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts for Santa Ana city, California, 66.1% of persons aged 25 years and over have a high school graduate or higher (as of 2019-2023).
The Top 10 cities included:
- Arlington, VA
- Seattle, WA
- Madison, WI
- Denver, CO
- San Francisco, CA
- Fremont, CA
- Austin, TX
- Scottsdale, AZ
- Gilbert, AZ
- Chandler, AZ
These cities had higher annual incomes, lower monthly rents, and better lifestyle and job market rankings than Santa Ana, by far.
The lowest monthly rents were in CO and WI at about $1,800 a month.
As bad as Santa Ana rated the worst city in the rankings was the Big Apple, New York City. New York City has a higher unemployment rate than most, with 9.2% and 11.4% for males and females, respectively. Additionally, there are limited work-from-home opportunities, and those who work in the office spend 33 minutes getting to work.
Methodology
To find the best cities for newly college graduates, the RentHop team compared the top 100 most populated cities in the U.S. based on (1) jobs market, (2) lifestyle & benefits, and (3) housing. The index covers the following metrics:
Jobs Market (40 points)
- Percentage with a Bachelor’s Degree among the population aged 18 to 34 (12 points)
- Local unemployment rate(14 points)
- Median earnings of the city’s population aged 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree (14 points)
Lifestyle & Benefits (40 points)
- Percentage of population working from home, WFH (10 points)
- Average commuting time to work (10 points)
- Percentage of population insured through employer-based insurance (10 points)
- Concentration of food establishments (5 points)
- Dating opportunities, based on RentHop’s best cities for single young professionals index (5 points)
Housing Cost (20 points)
- Median two-bedroom rent (20 points)
Related
